Pretty Yende (born 6 March 1985) is a South African operatic soprano. She has performed leading roles at opera houses internationally, including La Scala and the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

Early life and education

Born in

Piet Retief, Mpumalanga Piet Retief, officially eMkhondo, is a town situated in a timber-growing region in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. It is the seat of the Mkhondo Local Municipality. It is located not far from the Eswatini border. History The town was founded ...

, Yende was inspired to learn opera at age 16 after seeing a

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...

TV advertisement that featured the

Flower Duet The "Flower Duet" is a duet for soprano and mezzo-soprano in the first act of Léo Delibes' opera ''Lakmé'', premiered in Paris in 1883. It is sung by the characters Lakmé, daughter of a Brahmin priest, and her servant Mallika, as they go to ...

from ''

Lakmé ''Lakmé'' is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. The score, written from 1881 to 1882, was first performed on 14 April 1883 by the Opéra-Comique at the (second) Salle Favart ...

''. She subsequently enrolled at the

South African College of Music The South African College of Music, abbreviated as SACM, is a department of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Cape Town. It is located on the University's Lower Campus in Rondebosch, Cape Town. Study opportunities The South African ...

, where her teachers included Virginia Davids, and from which she graduated ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

''. She also graduated from the Accademia Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. Her younger sister, Nombulelo Yende, is also an opera singer. Yende won two prizes in the 2008 International Vocal Competition 's-Hertogenbosch: the Prize of the Province of North Brabant, and the Engagement Opera Riga, which gave her the opportunity to take part in the new year concert at the

Latvian National Opera The Latvian National Opera and Ballet (LNOB) is an opera house and opera company at Aspazijas boulevard 3 in Riga. Its repertoire includes performances of opera and ballet presented during the season which lasts from mid-September to the end of Ma ...

in December. She won first prize in operetta and opera at the

International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition The International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition is an annual competition for young opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal t ...

2009 in Vienna. In 2010, Yende won first prizes at three competitions: 1st

Vincenzo Bellini Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania". Many years later, in 1898, Gi ...

International Competition, 1st International Singing Competition of

Savonlinna Opera Festival Savonlinna Opera Festival ( fi, Savonlinnan oopperajuhlat) is held annually in the city of Savonlinna in Finland. The Festival takes place at the medieval Olavinlinna (St. Olaf's Castle), built in 1475. The castle is located amid spectacular lake ...

(shared), 6th

Leyla Gencer Ayşe Leyla Gencer (, née Çeyrekgil; 10 October 192810 May 2008) was a Turkish people, Turkish operatic soprano. Gencer was a notable ''bel canto'' soprano who spent most of her career in Italy, from the early 1950s through the mid-1980s, an ...

Voice Competition. In 2011, she won first prize at Operalia, held that year in Moscow.

Career

Yende performed Berenice in ''

L'occasione fa il ladro ''L’occasione fa il ladro, ossia Il cambio della valigia'' ( English: ''Opportunity Makes a Thief, or The Exchanged Suitcase'') is an opera ('' burletta per musica'' or ''farsa'') in one act by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Luigi ...

'' (2010) and Elvira in ''

L'italiana in Algeri ''L'italiana in Algeri'' (; ''The Italian Girl in Algiers'') is an operatic ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on his earlier text set by Luigi Mosca. It premiered at the Teatro S ...

'' (2011) as part of the academy at La Scala, where she sang four roles next season: the Priestess (''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...

''), Barbarina (''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' ( opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It pre ...

''), Norina (''

Don Pasquale ''Don Pasquale'' () is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Paves ...

''), Musetta (''

La bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '' quadri'', '' tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuse ...

''). Alongside

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

and

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fro ...

, she appeared in the closing concert of the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

on 9 July 2010, two days before the final. She was featured in Bocelli's ''Live in Central Park'' concert on 15 September 2011, which was aired on PBS's ''

Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise theatrical performances such as plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is p ...

'' and physically released as '' Concerto: One Night in Central Park''. They united in the concert entitled ''Amore e perdono'' held by the

Fetzer Institute The Fetzer Institute, based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, was founded by broadcast pioneer and Detroit Tigers baseball team owner John E. Fetzer (1901–1991). He formed the institute to support work “designed to discover and enhance the integral re ...

at the

Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi The Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Basilica di San Francesco d'Assisi; la, Basilica Sancti Francisci Assisiensis) is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor Conventual in Assisi, a town in the Umbria region in ...

on 22 September 2012, which was aired on

Rai 1 Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and ge ...

on 29 September 2012. Yende made her

debut in New York City on 17 January 2013, in the role of Adèle in

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

's ''

Le comte Ory ''Le comte Ory'' (''Count Ory'') is a comic opera written by Gioachino Rossini in 1828. Some of the music originates from his opera ''Il viaggio a Reims'' written three years earlier for the coronation of Charles X of France, Charles X. The French ...

'', as a substitute for Nino Machaidze. She subsequently stepped in for

Cecilia Bartoli Cecilia Bartoli, Cavaliere OMRI (; born 4 June 1966) is an Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist. She is best known for her interpretations of the music of Bellini, Handel, Mozart, Rossini and Vivaldi, as well as for h ...

in the same role at the

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served pri ...

. In July 2014, she returned to La Scala for ''

'', alternating Countess Adèle with Aleksandra Kurzak. Later in the year, she returned to New York for ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a '' Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inc ...

'' (Pamina) at the Met, and between the performances she sang at the Richard Tucker Gala and made her Carnegie Hall debut in a solo recital. In 2015 she portrayed Susanna in Mozart's ''

'' at the

Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center. Leadersh ...

. In 2016 she portrayed Rosina in ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an '' opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was b ...

'' and the title role in ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...

'' at the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

. Yende is credited as a primary artist for the "Ode À L'Humanité" (Ode to Humanity, previously called Aria) track on the

Yanni Yiannis Chryssomallis ( el, Γιάννης Χρυσομάλλης; born November 14, 1954), known professionally as Yanni ( ), is a Greek-American composer, keyboardist, pianist, and music producer. Yanni continues to use the musical shortha ...

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, Conducting, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded Plácido Domingo discography, over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, ...

collaboration '' Inspirato'' (2014). In 2018, she portrayed Adina in

Bartlett Sher Bartlett B. Sher (born March 27, 1959) is an American theatre director. ''The New York Times'' has described him as "one of the most original and exciting directors, not only in the American theater but also in the international world of opera".A ...

's production of ''

L'elisir d'amore ''L'elisir d'amore'' (''The Elixir of Love'', ) is a ' ( opera buffa) in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto, after Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's ' (1831). The opera pre ...

'' at the

, which ran through January and February.

Incident in Paris

Yende accused French border police of

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

and racial discrimination. She detailed on social media her experience of being treated like a criminal at

Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, ), also known as Roissy Airport or simply Paris CDG, is the principal airport serving the French capital, Paris ( and its metropolitan area), and the largest intern ...

on 21 June 2021 while arriving for her fourth ''La sonnambula'' performance at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. She said she was strip searched and held in a dark room with all her belongings taken. The

French National Police The National Police (french: Police nationale), formerly known as the , is one of two national police forces of France, the other being the National Gendarmerie. The National Police is the country's main civil law enforcement agency, with primar ...

disputed that it was she that had a South African passport without a visa to enter. She did present her residence permit issued in Milan, with which she had always travelled throughout Europe, yet they said she needed a separate one-time visa, while Yende and her lawyer claimed she had all the documents required. They also denied having ordered her to undress but a pat-down by a female officer in accordance to standard procedure, and she left around 6 pm with a regularisation visa.

DIRCO The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) is the foreign ministry of the South African government. It is responsible for South Africa's relationships with foreign countries and international organizations, and runs South ...

, aware of the incident, demanded explanation and investigation from the French authorities through the South African Embassy in Paris. It also voiced their intention to démarche the French Ambassador to South Africa, based in Pretoria, to convey its displeasure.

Awards and honours

Yende was awarded

Siola d'oro The Siola d'oro ("Golden Swallow") is a biennial opera prize awarded in Gatteo since 1983, in memory of Lina Pagliughi.Opera - Volume 48, Issues 7-12 - Page 107 1997 "The young soprano Patrizia Ciofi, who this year won the biennial prize of the 'Sio ...

in 2011. She won an Arca d'oro Italia Young Talents Award in 2012, and performed a recital in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...

on 30 March 2013 owing to the award. She was conferred the Silver

Order of Ikhamanga The Order of Ikhamanga is a South African honour. It was instituted on 30 November 2003 and is granted by the President of South Africa for achievements in arts, culture, literature, music, journalism, and sports (which were initially recognised b ...

on 27 April 2013. In a statement by the chairperson of the National Orders Advisory Council, Dr. Cassius Lubisi, Yende was conferred the honour "for her excellent achievement and international acclaim in the field of world opera and serving as a role model to aspiring young musicians." She was one of the winners of the 2013 Women of the Year Awards by '' Glamour'' South Africa. In September 2013 she received an Mbokodo Award in the category of opera. Yende won the Best Recording Solo Recital Award for her album ''A Journey'' in the 2017 International Opera Awards, and was awarded the International Achiever Award in the 23rd South African Music Awards. She won a Readers' Award in the 2018 International Opera Awards, and the Cologne Opera Award (''Kölner Opernpreis''), received during the city's Floraball. In 2019, she was invested a Knight of the

Order of the Star of Italy The Order of the Star of Italy ( it, Ordine della Stella d'Italia ) is an Italian order of chivalry that was founded in 2011. The order was reformed from the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity by the 11th President of Italy, Giorgio Napo ...

Discography

Yende signed a long-term recording contract with

Sony Classical Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by ...

in October 2015. Her first recording under this Sony contract was "A Journey". * 2016: ''A Journey''; Marco Armiliato conducting

RAI National Symphony Orchestra The RAI National Symphony Orchestra ( it, italic=no, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI) is an Italian symphony radio orchestra, owned by the public radio and television company RAI. Its primary concert venue is the Auditorium RAI in the Piaz ...

(Sony) * 2017: ''Dreams'';

Giacomo Sagripanti Giacomo Sagripanti is an Italian conductor, born January 28, 1982, in Giulianova, Abruzzo. He specializes in opera and symphonic music. He began his musical studies at the Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro, in piano and composition. He also trained i ...

conducting Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi (Sony)

Opera roles

* Berenice, ''

'' (Rossini) * Elvira, ''

'' (Rossini) * Priestess, ''

'' (Verdi) * Barbarina, ''

'' (Mozart) * Norina, ''

'' (Donizetti) * Musetta, ''

'' (Puccini) * Comtesse Adèle, ''

'' (Rossini) * Lucia, ''

'' (Donizetti) * Micaëla, ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Opér ...

'' (Bizet) * Juliette, '' Roméo et Juliette'' (Gounod) * Fiorilla, '' Il turco in Italia'' (Rossini) * Pamina, ''

'' (Mozart) * Rosina, ''

'' (Rossini) * Susanna, ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (Mozart) * Adina, ''

'' (Donizetti) * Elvira, ''

I puritani ' (''The Puritans'') is an 1835 opera by Vincenzo Bellini. It was originally written in two acts and later changed to three acts on the advice of Gioachino Rossini, with whom the young composer had become friends. The music was set to a librett ...

'' (Bellini) * Amira, '' Ciro in Babilonia'' (Rossini) * Marie, ''

La fille du régiment ' (''The Daughter of the Regiment'') is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti, set to a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard. It was first performed on 11 February 1840 by the Paris Opé ...

'' (Donizetti) * Zoraide, ''

Ricciardo e Zoraide ''Ricciardo e Zoraide'' (''Ricciardo and Zoraide'') is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Francesco Berio di Salsa. The text is based on cantos XIV and XV of '' Il Ricciardetto'', an epic poem by Niccolò Forteg ...

'' (Rossini) * Leïla, ''

Les pêcheurs de perles ' (''The Pearl Fishers'') is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was premiered on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performances ...

'' (Bizet) * Amina, ''

La sonnambula ''La sonnambula'' (''The Sleepwalker'') is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the ''bel canto'' tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ''ballet-pantomime'' written by ...

'' (Bellini) * Violetta, ''

La traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on '' La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his o ...

'' (Verdi) * Manon, ''

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was fi ...

'' (Massenet) * Stella\Olympia\Antonia\Giulietta, ''

Tales of Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

'' (Offenbach)

References

External links

*
Pretty Yende
on

Sony Masterworks Sony Music Masterworks (Sony Masterworks) is a record label, the result of a restructuring of Sony Music's classical music division. Before the acquisition of Bertelsmann's shares in the former Sony BMG, the label was known as Sony BMG Masterwo ...

Profile
at Medici.tv
"Take 5 – Pretty Yende"
''

Opera News ''Opera News'' is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to engender the appreciation of opera and also supp ...

'', December 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Yende, Pretty 1985 births Living people Zulu people People from Mkhondo Local Municipality South African operatic sopranos South African College of Music alumni Sony Classical Records artists Operalia, The World Opera Competition prize-winners Recipients of the Order of Ikhamanga 21st-century South African women opera singers

Early life and education

Career

Incident in Paris

Awards and honours

Discography

Opera roles

See also

References

External links