Lady Macbeth is a baboon?

The premiere of The Okavango Macbeth was hosted in Botswana on Saturday night, a new opera written by Alexander McCall Smith, to an audience of just 70 people.

McCall Smith, who is the author of the popular No1 Ladies Detective Agency series, rewrote the famous Scottish tragedy and transfers the plot onto a cast of 20 baboons.

The Okavango Macbeth - which was inspired by a real encounter McCall Smith had with two primatologists in the Okavango Delta - features a cast of mainly amateurs who had only sang in choirs before the performance.

The plot focuses on a group of primatologists who observe a troupe of baboons, and cannot intervene as Lady Macbeth persuades a rival male to kill her mate and lead the troupe himself.

The opera premiered at the No1 Ladies Opera House situated on the outskirts of Gaborone, a former garage that only has room for 70 audience members and was opened by McCall Smith last year.

The opera is the first of its kind to premiere in Africa, with choral singing being an integral part of African culture and opera being a Western form.

Speaking to The Guardian, Gape Motswaledi who plays the role of the lead primatologist explained, "In Botswana, we don’t really know about opera or solo singing. But there is a lot of talent here.

"The existence of this opera house offers a fantastic opportunity for this country."

Read more on The Guardian website: http://bit.ly/ENpVu
BBC website: http://bit.ly/9FQFP