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É«ÂþÌìÌà students and alumni star in Theater an der Wien's Porgy and Bess

Tuesday 29 September 2020

Four É«ÂþÌìÌà singers are to perform lead roles in a production of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess in Vienna this October. É«ÂþÌìÌà Opera Studio alumni Simon Shibambu will sing Porgy, Pumeza Matshikiza sings Bess/Serena and April Koyejo-Audiger sings Strawberry Woman, while current student Zwakele Tshabalala sings Sportin’ Life.

and will premiere at the historic Theater an der Wien on Wednesday 14 October, running throughout the month to an in-person socially distanced audience.

South African bass Simon Shibambu studied at the É«ÂþÌìÌà between 2014-2016 with Graeme Broadbent, as an ABRSM scholar. In 2016 he participated in the Young Singers Project at the Salzburg Festival and between 2016-2018 he was a Jette Parker Young Artist for The Royal Opera, performing Pietro (Simon Boccanegra) and Doctor Grenvil (La traviata) in the 2018/19 season. His operatic repertory also includes Sarastro and Speaker of the Temple (Die Zauberflöte), Leporello (Don Giovanni) and Méphistophélès (Faust). Concert repertory includes Mozart’s Requiem, Rossini’s Petite Messe solennelle, Puccini’s Messa and Verdi’s Requiem.

Described as ‘one of today’s most exciting new operatic voices’ by The Independent, South African soprano Pumeza Matshikiza studied at the É«ÂþÌìÌà between 2004-2007. She was a member of the Jette Parker Young Artists’ Programme for The Royal Opera from 2007-2009, performing Blumenmädchen (Parsifal), Sandmann (Hänsel und Gretel) and Tebaldo (Don Carlo), conducted by Antonio Pappano. In 2010 she was awarded 1st Prize in the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition and became an Associate Artist of the Classical Opera Company. As a five-year ensemble member of the Staatsoper Stuttgart, Pumeza has appeared as Micaëla (Carmen), Mimì (La bohème), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Ännchen (Der Freischütz), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), and Pamina (Die Zauberflöte).

British soprano April Koyejo-Audiger is a Jette Parker Link Artist for The Royal Opera. She studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland before gaining a Masters in Vocal Performance from the É«ÂþÌìÌÃ, where she was a Leverhulme Arts Scholar and a Help Musicians UK postgraduate award recipient, taught by Amanda Roocroft. Her operatic performances include Strawberry Woman (Porgy and Bess) for English National Opera, and Narrator (Ayanfe, a Yoruba Opera, which she wrote the text for and staged, with music by Pierre Audiger) for Opera in the City Festival. She has also performed in concert at venues including the Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, the Barbican and Westminster Cathedral.

Zwakele Tshablala is a Christopher Hogwood Scholar supported by the Ann Driver Trust Scholarship and International Students House, currently studying for a Master of Performance with Tim Evans-Jones. Born in South Africa, Zwakele was a member of the South African Youth Choir in 2009, before joining the South African College of Music in 2012 to study with Virginia Davids and Khamal Khan. In 2016, Zwakele won The Schock Foundation Prize for Singing at the University of Cape Town. In May 2019 he won critical acclaim for the role of Hot Biscuit Slim in English National Opera’s Paul Bunyan at Alexandra Palace.

Nicholas Sears, É«ÂþÌìÌà Head of Vocal & Opera, comments: ‘To witness three current and former É«ÂþÌìÌà singers performing principal roles in Porgy and Bess this autumn is a remarkable testament to their individual and exceptional talent, and to all those who have helped them to flourish and develop throughout their journey. In bocca al lupo!’

Find out more about the É«ÂþÌìÌà Opera Studio on the É«ÂþÌìÌà website.