Nelson Mandela’s remarkable life story has been told many times, but never like this. There were more than 60 performers from the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, London’s 12 Ensemble and Cape Town Opera on the crowded stage to perform a “musical/opera” to a backdrop of stills and video of the South Africa where Nelson grew up.

As a piece of storytelling it is compelling, with three singers playing Mandela at different stages of his life, in a narrative that explores his character as well as his political courage. The action begins on Robben Island, before switching to his early life in the Transkei countryside, and ends with his triumphant release from jail in 1990. There are reminders of his days as a sharply dressed ladies’ man, his first wife Evelyn’s discovery that “winning hearts and minds was more important than his wife”, and stories of his self-doubt and anguish over second wife Winnie’s plans for violent insurrection during his prison years.

Michael Williams’s libretto and direction successfully condense Mandela’s story, but the music – the work of two composers – is a curious pastiche. Péter Louis van Dijk’s opening act mixes western opera and South African folk influences, but would have been benefited from more a cappella harmony singing. The Johannesburg sequences from Mike Campbell thankfully incorporated echoes of township jive, though the best song was the Miriam Makeba hit Pata Pata. In the final act, van Dijk introduced a more confident, dramatic operatic style, making powerful use of the chorus during the Rivonia trial sequence.

• At Royal Festival Hall, London, until 3 September. Box office: 020-7960 4200. Then touring until 24 September.