| Biography | Pumeza Matshikiza (born in Cape Town), often billed professionally as Pumeza, is a South-African operatic soprano.
Pumeza was born in a township on South Africa's Eastern Cape in either 1978 or 1979, growing up experiencing extreme crime and poverty.
Pumeza studied at the University of Cape Town College of Music under Professor Virginia Davids, then at the Royal College of Music, London with a full three-year scholarship and in the Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where she made her début as a Flower maiden in Parsifal. Pumeza later joined the Stuttgart Opera, where she has been part of the full-time ensemble since 2011.
Signing with the London-based label Decca in 2013, she recorded her debut album, Pumeza - Voice of Hope, at Abbey Road Studios.
She sung one of the Innocents in the 2008 première of Harrison Birtwistle's The Minotaur, her first major role being Mimi at the Edinburgh Festival in 2010. 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.
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. 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 and equality for everyone regardless of race or social standing or nationality." (September 2014) |