Soprano Batshogile serenades US visitors

At a night of opera hosted by the Botswana Tourism Organisation at the No.1 Ladies Opera House, Batshogile, along with the Three Tswana Tenors and Sedibeng Choral Society showed the American delegates a different side of Botswana.

Opening the show, pianist David Slater of David Slater Music, who is also former director of Maitisong Theatre, said one of the things Batswana are proud of is their singing.

'We have beautiful singing voices, we sing at all occasions,' he said.

Indeed the beautiful voices reverberated across the hall with Batshogile's solo performance of Poor Wand'ring One, an aria from Pirates of Penzance, getting a standing ovation.  Batshogile was singing the part of Mabel, who succumbs to the love of Frederick, a young pirate that she, along with her sisters, found on the beach. Batshogile has mastered the use of her voice and at turns makes it light and flirtatious, as well as sensuous and powerful.   The soprano, who has trained in France's Conservatoire of Bourg-la-Reine, also performed Eben from La Wally, and partnered with Boyce Batlang of the Three Tswana Tenors for Brindisi from Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata.

The Three Tswana Tenors impressed in their rendition of Eduardo di Capua's O Sole Mio and George Bizet's Pearlfishers Duet, which they performed in Setswana.

Sedibeng Choral Society has performed many opera style songs, has toured Sweden and the United Kingdom (UK) and earned the description of 'adventurous' that conductor Andy bestowed on them on Sunday night. While they have performed classical music, it was with their indigenous choral music that they roused the house this weekend. A poignant performance of Ijo Mme (led by Batshogile), a reminder of the effect of the HIV/AIDS scourge, also received a standing ovation while the more light-hearted Dumelang Bagaetso and Saturday Night received applause from the audience.

The Americans had earlier that evening had an opportunity to sample local cuisine like diphaphatha, the ubiquitous seswaa, phaletse and morogo, catered by Mimi Shand, to soothing guitar music played by folk artist Ntirelang Berman.