South African soprano Pumeza Matshikiza continues to soar internationally after powerhouse performances that have further cemented her place as one of opera’s most captivating voices.
Pumeza recently took on the iconic title role in Verdi’s Aida at the legendary Teatro Greco in Siracusa, Italy, as part of the Festival Lirico dei Teatri di Pietra. The open-air production, staged before more than 7,000 audience members in the ancient amphitheatre, marked the soprano’s biggest Italian operatic appearance.
“To bring a powerful role to life in such a historic and resonant space was a true privilege,” Pumeza said. “Aida’s strength, her quiet dignity and inner conflict, they kept me going on stage. This was a dream come true. I come from a township and I stand on the world’s greatest stages.”
Days before her Aida triumph, Pumeza wowed crowds at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles during the Classical Pride celebration with the LA Philharmonic, delivering an emotional programme that left audiences stunned.
A graduate of the University of Cape Town and the Royal College of Music in London, Pumeza is known for her rich, magnetic voice and emotional depth. Her Italian debut in Aida earned glowing international reviews, with media hailing her as “one of the most authoritative figures on the opera scene”.
“Aida is a story that strips you bare,” she said. “It’s about love that can’t survive in the world as it is. It’s about exile, identity and invisible borders. In times like these, it hits differently.”
Her recent engagements have included a performance at Paris’s Olympia Hall and the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s Good Morning, Beauty at the Barbican in London.
Looking ahead to her 2025/26 season, Pumeza will continue her European tour with Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov, perform Porgy and Bess at Paris’ Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, and appear in Tippett’s A Child of Our Time with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
She’ll also headline a celebration of South African composers in Essen, Germany, alongside a reading of her own poetry for artist William Kentridge’s exhibition.
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