Pumeza Matshikiza

Pumeza Matshikiza (born 27 February 1979[2]) is a South-African operatic soprano.[3] A graduate of the Royal College of Music and a member of the Royal Opera's Jette Parker Young Artists Programme from 2007 to 2009, she made her début as a flower maiden in Parsifal and has gone on to sing leading soprano roles with Stuttgart Opera. Matshikiza has released two solo albums on the Decca Classics label.

Pumeza Matshikiza
Born (1979-02-27) February 27, 1979[1]
Lady Frere, South Africa
EducationSouth African College of Music, Royal College of Music
OccupationOpera singer (soprano)

Career

Matshikiza was born in Lady Frere, South Africa. She studied at the University of Cape Town College of Music, graduated cum laude under Professor Virginia Davids, then at the Royal College of Music, London, with a full three-year scholarship[4] and in the Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where she made her début as a flower maiden in Parsifal.[5] Winner of the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition in Dublin in 2010, Pumeza later joined the Stuttgart Opera, where she has been part of the full-time ensemble since 2011, performing Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Mimì in La bohème, Micaëla in Carmen.[1]

Signing with the London-based label Decca in 2013,[6] she recorded her debut album, Pumeza - Voice of Hope, at Abbey Road Studios.[7]

She sang one of the Innocents in the 2008 première of Harrison Birtwistle's The Minotaur, and her first major role was that of Mimì at the Edinburgh Festival in 2010 in a production by Opera Bohemia. There she was described as "the real star of the show ... who plays the role of Mimi ... with a rich, lustrous voice.[8] She also sang at the wedding of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Charlene Wittstock, accompanied by French guitarist Eric Sempe and percussionist Patrick Mendez.[5] She was a South Bank Sky Arts Breakthrough Award in 2011. Pumeza performed a rendition of "Freedom Come-All-Ye" at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which was viewed by one billion people worldwide. The song refers to Nyanga, one of the oldest black townships in Cape Town, which is also one of the places where Pumeza grew up as a child.[9][2] Speaking about the song afterwards, she said: "The song [...] is not one I was even aware of until I was given it to rehearse but it is so beautiful. I love what the song stands for – freedom for everyone regardless of race or social standing or nationality."[9]

She released her debut studio album, Voice of Hope in 2014 on Decca Records and containing four classical arias from Puccini and Mozart, in addition to mainly African popular and traditional. The Staatsorchester Stuttgart and Simon Hewett accompany her for the arias, whereas the Aurora Orchestra and Iain Farrington accompany her for most of the songs, with one song with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.

On 7 July 2020, she announced being tested positive for COVID-19 after being hospitalized for three days.[10]

Discography

Studio albums
List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
DEN
[11]		 FRA
[12]		 SCO
[13]		 UK
[14]
Voice of Hope 121882571
Arias
  • Released: 6 May 2016
  • Label: Decca Records
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 ————
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles
Title Year Album
"God Bless Africa"[15] 2013 Voice of Hope

Music videos
Title Year Album
"God Bless Africa" 2014 Voice of Hope
"Thula Baba (Hush, My Baby)"
"O Mio Babbino Caro"
"Dvorák: Song to the Moon" 2016 Arias
"Hahn: A Chloris"
"Après un rêve, Op.7, No.1"
"Tuning in"

References
  1. Anna Picard (27 July 2014). "Pumeza Matshikiza: the township soprano who wooed the world". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  2. "South African Soprano Stuns at Commonwealth Games in Scotland". SA People. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  3. "Pumeza Matshikiza, Soprano". Musical World. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  4. Mary Isokariari, "Cape Town Soprano Singer's Got Talent" Archived 2014-08-11 at the Wayback Machine, The Voice, 7 July 2013.
  5. Jenni Baxter (2 July 2011). "South African Flag Flying High at Charlene's Royal Wedding in Monaco". SA People. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  6. Lottie Butler, "Former Jette Parker Young Artist Pumeza Matshikiza signs global record contract", Royal Opera House, 21 June 2013.
  7. Earl Nurse and Jenny Soffel, "African Voices – Pumeza Matshikiza", CNN, 23 September 2013.
  8. Amanda Heddie, The List, 23 August 2010 in a review of Opera Bohemia's La bohème in Edinburgh.
  9. "I loved the Freedom to perform says South African soprano Pumeza Matshikiza". Daily Record. 27 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  10. Salazar, Francisco (2020-07-07). "Pumeza Matshikiza Diagnosed With COVID-19". OperaWire. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  11. "danishcharts.dk Pumeza discography page". danishcharts.dk.
  12. "LesCharts.com Pumeza discography page". lescharts.com.
  13. Peak chart positions for albums in Scotland:
  14. "Official Charts Pumeza Matshikiza". officialcharts.com.
  15. "Pumeza Matshikiza - God Bless Africa (Single)". iTunes. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
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