HOUSE Soloist for Cape Town Opera Brittany Smith says she loves opera because it’s the one place she can be free and not caged in — especially by what society expects of women nowadays.
“I can portray my political view up on a stage, I can portray injustice on stage without being judged too critically by the public for it. It’s a type of protest that people will accept. When I’m standing on stage I feel most at home. It lifts me up if I’ve had a dark day. The thing that has always kept me going was that I can sing.”
When people ask Smith if she gets bored, her response is a clear “never”. She enjoys what she does so much it doesn’t feel like work, as such. “My love for opera…there isn’t a word big enough to describe how it makes me feel,” she says.
While it may not feel like work the way other people feel about work, that doesn’t mean it’s not. Being House Soloist is an incredible honour, she says. “I worked very hard to get here and to reap the rewards of that has always been very satisfying to me.”
Smith, whose love and passion for the art form goes back to her school days at Rhenish when she saw Carmen for the first time and couldn’t believe there were no microphones involved, can be seen in the upcoming CTP production of Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, opening at Artscape Theatre on 18 November 2026. In the lead role of course; Smith is in any and all of CTO’s productions, big or small. More than “just” a House Soloist, she has other fields of interest in the performing arts. “This gives me invaluable experience, not just as a performer but as a behind-the-scenes theatre professional, and forging networking relationships with our patrons. It has been a joyful ride, and a very successful one.”
Roméo et Juliette hasn’t been done in South Africa before, and Smith believes people will find it quite romantically charming. The fact director Dr Marcus Desando is taking a completely different approach to it, underlaying it with a darker current will make it feel as if you are watching a really intense telenovela, she says. “I think that with its love and charm being highlighted by the opera’s darker undercurrents it will make for enjoyable viewing — beautiful singing, beautiful orchestration and melodies. The audience is in for a fantastic treat.”
Juliet is often portrayed as a typical ingenue but she is a very intelligent young woman, and more forward than Romeo, Smith says. Her version is going to add so much depth to the character . “When people think of Shakespeare’s play they think of her as innocent and childlike and this is NOT what Dr Desando and I want to portray,” she says.
When she is not singing opera, Smith loves listening to anything and everything from hip hop and RnB to acoustic music. “My husband Kyle and I sometimes sit and listen to music together and try to identify which instruments are being played in a song. As a classical musician you don’t just listen to the thing you are working on. An eclectic taste in music is very, very important because it means you can draw on the different genres and use them when you are singing opera or musical theatre. I think that makes me a pretty cool musician,” she smiles.
Having achieved so much in her career, in terms of roles, awards and recognition, what would Smith say to her 16-year-old self? “Not to give up on myself, and know I do have a place in this world, especially when it comes to classical music like opera,” she replies. “And to not not work hard. My motto in life is ‘hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work’ and I’ve seen that happen so many times. I’ve made it my mantra to always put my best foot forward. I would tell her I need to be respectful of my talent, my work, and my colleagues. To be diligent and disciplined. If there’s no discipline, there’s no success. I think she’d be pretty proud of me if she had to see where I ended up.”
Smith’s answer to what she does to relax and reset is a delight: “I love sleeping so any and every chance I get to sleep I will sleep. But I also love spending time with my family and with the cat. I like being out and about in nature and not having to bother much with my phone. I love cooking, I love reading, and I love rewatching much-loved series like Downton Abbey and my favourite move is Pride And Prejudice.”
But the most important thing is sleep, she laughs.
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