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Accomplished opera singer Charles De Long makes a welcome and long overdue return to South Africa this weekend, in a special reunion concert to be held at the Joseph Stone Auditorium in Athlone on Saturday, 16 December.

Charles immigrated to Australia some 25 years ago to escape the oppression of the apartheid government.

In this show, he will be joined by a host of fellow singers, including May Abrahamse, who have not appeared together on stage since that time.

Born in Kalk Bay, Charles began to sing from a very young age, in choirs and school plays.

Of course during that time, options were limited for a young man of colour and Charles knew he needed to explore other options.

He decided to get into building and qualified from Cape Technical College, only to find another hurdle - he couldn?t get the loan he needed to start his own business and so ended up working in the Kimberley diamond mine.

He worked there until he had saved enough money to return to Cape Town and start a sub-contracting business. "I did a lot of jobs on roofs in Constantia," says Charles. "It was here that I began to give 'free roof-top concerts', singing while I worked."

"Residents used to come outside, pretending to water the lawn so they could listen. Of course they never actually acknowleded me. I was still just a colour to them."

But the men who worked with Charles did acknowledge him. In fact it was in a bet with one of them that he began his musical career.

"He bet me that I couldn't get a principle part with the Eoan Group," says Charles.

"I took that bet and went to audition," he continues.

"At first I thought they weren't impressed, but one of the singing teachers took the group aside. When they returned they welcomed me into their singing school."

Three months later Charles was on stage at City Hall performing excerpts from Il Trovatore, and nine months after that he performed the entire opera to great acclaim. "Needless to say I won the bet," he laughs.

Charles and his fellow musicians were becoming despondent at the growing segregation at the various theatres. They decided to form the Joseph Stone Auditorium so that they could perform any opera they liked and to whomever wanted to see it.

Later Charles was offered a bursary to study at the College of Music. He was ecstatic, but this happiness was short lived.

"It was made clear to me that I was to feel privileged that they were allowing me, a man of colour, to get this bursary," says Charles, "as though they were doing me a big favour instead of choosing me on the basis of my talents."

"Basically I told them to shove it 'you-know-where'," he continues.

"I firmly believe that talent will always come to the fore, so I didn't study, I made it on my own strengths."

This was when Charles made the decision to immigrate to Australia, where he could perform without the blatant prejudice he was faced with at home.

In his 25 odd years living in Australia, Charles has made a name for himself not only as an opera singer of the highest calibre, performing at venues such as the Melbourne Conservatory, but also as a singing teacher.

"It is very gratifying working and living in Australia," says Charles, "Lecturers, with distinguished degrees in music, respect me because although they can tell you about how notes should sound, when I open my mouth those sounds come out naturally, without training."

Charles now returns to South Africa to find a country alive with talent and possibility, and in celebration of this he has put together this show with some of his old friends from the early days of the Eoan Group.

"It is going to be a black tie and evening wear event," he says. "It's an evening of opera as it used to be, with a touch of class, after all, I didn't bring my coat-tails all the way from 'down under' for nothing."

The concert will feature works by Verdi, Botticini, Mozart, Lloyd Webber etc. Doors open at 19:00 and the concert commences at 20:00. Tickets cost just R40, which includes refreshments and champagne.

To book or to find out about the full line up of artists, phone 712-7543 or 393-4890. Space is limited, so first come first serve.

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