pretty yende cover girl (classicfeel august issue)
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7/27/2019 Pretty Yende COVER GIRL (CLASSICFEEL AUGUST ISSUE)
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and back
Mpumalangato Milan
From
When Classicfeelpublished its frst
cover eature on Pretty Yende, the
young South Arican soprano was just
about to appear at the September 2009
edition o Rand Merchant Bank Starlight
Classics and was making her entry
into the international opera scene as a
member o La Scalas Academy. Four
years later, as she explains in another
Classicfeelexclusive interview, she
fnds hersel on the verge o stardom,
having established her name in Europe
and made her debut at the Met. Now,this talented and extremely dedicated
artist is ocused not only on continuing
her rise but also on fnding ways to
bring her success back home.
Prtty Ynd with Juan Digo Florz and nsmbl in th
Mts production of Le Comte Ory
Imags courtsy of th Nw Yor Mtropolitan Opra
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cours, thr is a rason why it is so sought aftr: th standards ar
xtrmly high and th young artists ar xpctd to b abl to p
up. You just ha to gt up to spd with rything fastr than
you thin, says Ynd. Thr is no xcus for not undrstanding
somthing. By th tim you gt thr, your supposd to now
rything. Obiously for m, th languag barrir was th hardst
part. I had to do doubl wor until I rally got to trms with th
languag. Th school offrd languag lssons twic a w so I was
abl to catch up that way. Th programming itslf was ry difficult it
rquird a lot of xprtis. Thr wr twl of us in th programm
and w all cam from diffrnt countris so it was ry dirs. It was
all so nw I had only bn inold with opra for six yars and hr I
was among Russians, Grmans, Italians, Gorgians and this ntir nw
world was opning up. It was quit orwhlming.
Right from th tim that Ynd first bgan hr studis at th
Unirsity of Cap Town (UCT), sh too a highly stratgic approach
to hr craft, wighing ach mo and dtrmining which possibl
cours would b th most ffcti in progrssing hr carr. Hr
dcision to participat in as many singing comptitions as possibl
was drin by this stratgy. Th rason I chos to ntr comptitions
was bcaus, onc I had finishd my courss in Cap Town, it
smd that thr was no othr way to progrss furthr. I thought
to myslf, I dont want to stay hr I want to now mor. Thrs
a whol world out thr, I want to s what othr popl my ag
ar doing. How far am I rally? Is this worth pursuing? My way of
thining thn was that, if I could gt somon to sponsor my tictfor on comptition, thats a way for m to sing to 50 diffrnt popl
within th industry all at onc and that way I dont ha to as for
thousands of rands to do an audition tour. I could ill two birds with
on ston: I would b auditioning in ffct, whilst also sing whr I
was in trms of what on would xpct from a young singr.
As sh dscribs arious points along hr j ourny, Ynd rpats
what sms to b a mantra for hr: Simplify! This is anothr of th
scrts of hr succss whil othrs may jopardis thir prformancs
by bing nrous or uptight bforhand, Ynd mas a point of
minimising or simplifying th situation in hr mind bfor sh gos on to
prform. Lif is difficult so I always li to ma it as simpl as possibl,
sh says. Thus for xampl, bfor waling on stag at La Scala for
th first tim, sh had mad a point of liminating all thought of th
2800-strong audinc or th intimidating history of th plac that has
sn th ry mbodimnts of opra stardom striding across th boards.
Ynd rcalls hr La Scala dbut: On of th grat things about th
La Scala programm is that thy rally gi studnts th opportunity to
xprinc th stag, including taing part in a fully stagd opra opn
to th public. Most young artist programms dont do that. I was chosn
to ta part in a production in my first yar and that was an xprinc
I will nr forgt. What mad it all th mor spcial was that [highly
rgardd singr, opra dirctor and tachr on of Ynds mntors]
Anglo Gobbato flw from Cap Town to Milan, and a fw of my frinds
from Cap Town also cam to s my prformancs and that was
THe SOUTH AFRICAN GOveRNMeNT IS ACTUALLY
STARTING TO ReALISe THe IMPORTANCe OF OP eRA
AND THAT SOUTH AFRICAN SINGeRS ARe MAkING A
HUGe IMPACT OveRSeAS. MORe THAN BeING PLeASeD
THAT I WAS ReCeIvING THIS ReCOGNITION, IT ALSO
MADe Me HOPeFUL THAT SOUTH AFRICA IS FINALLY
OPeNING ITS ARMS TO ITS OPeRA SINGeRS.
In 2009, Prtty Ynd, thn alrady nown to Captonian opra
lors as on of th most promising and rmarabl talnts
among that citys opratic community both in thatrical and
acadmic circls mad intrnational hadlins by winning
th prstigious Hans Gabor Bldr Singing Comptition.
Th thn 24-yar-old singr also ntrd th Acadmy at Tatro
alla Scala in Milan, Italy. Th young hopful from th Mpumalanga
town of Pit Rtif had gaind ntry into th big lagus of
intrnational opra. Whil, on th on hand, sh was in an niabl
position from a profssional point of iw, this opportunity cam
with considrabl prsonal challngs.
Sitting in an upmart Johannsburg rstaurant, Ynd spas
opnly, asily and casually, rminding us that, bhind th hyp and
prais bing hapd on hr by th opratic world and th prss, sh
is still a down-to-arth, small town South African girl at hart albit
a ry talntd and dtrmind on who crtainly nows hr own
mind and posssss a powrful capacity for stratgic thining. Th
formidabl combination of strong slf-blif, humility and shr passion
for hr chosn carr coms through clarly as sh loos bac on thos
arlir days. From a prsonal point of iw, sh says, considring hr
mo to Milan, it was th hardst thing I r had to do. I thought
I nw how to spa Italian until I got thr and ralisd that I rally
only nw thr words: s(ys), no(no) and cosa(what). Also, culturally,
its just so diffrnt. It didnt hlp that I arrid in Nombr so it was
all gry and wintry. I would wa up in th morning and thr would b
no sun, and thn, by th tim I got bac hom at th nd of th day, th
sun was gon again. I just missd th sun so much. I Sypd a lot with
my parnts I would litrally la th Syp running so I could always
s or har somthing I could rlat to. I did fl quit imprisond at
first. I could not xprss myslf, I could not s, har, tast or smll
anything that I had bn familiar with all my lif. All my human snss
for th past 24 yars had just bn shut off. Hr I was, suddnly
thrown into a compltly diffrnt cultur diffrnt wathr, diffrnt
food. So it was ry hard.
From a profssional prspcti, thr ar fw bttr opportunitis
for a budding opra singr than a plac in La Scalas Acadmy. Of
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amazing. With thm thr I actually flt li I was bac in C6 that was
a rharsal room w usd to us at UCT. So whn rybody ls was
so uptight and nrous about it, I was abl to minimis it. By minimising
it, that whol spac of 2800 popl bcam just li a small rharsal
room and all th prssur of thining that Maria Callas sang thr or
Montsrrat Caball sang thr, or whichr stars ar currntly singing
thr I just didnt ma that part of th dal and it was actually on of
th most mmorabl dbuts I had.
At th bginning of this yar, Ynd mad yt anothr
rmarabl dbut whn sh fulfilld hr dram of singing at Nw
Yors Mtropolitan Opra, bing calld upon at th last minut
to sing th rol of Adl in Rossinis Le Comte Ory, whn soprano
Nino Machaidz had to bac out as a rsult of illnss. That showd
m how couragous I could b, sh says. Ynd was at hom in
Pit Rtif for Christmas, haing just compltd wor on th 2012
sason at La Scala, whn sh rcid an mail from hr managr
asing if sh had r considrd Le Comte Ory. Th funny thing
is that just th w bfor, I had bn larning th aria from that
opra. So I told him, Wll, I lo Rossini, I just bn larning
th aria but I nr don th opra bfor I dont n now
what th whol opra loos li. Thn h calls m and h says,
My dar, how about I gi you an arly C hristmas prsnt? How
do you fl about maing your dbut at th Mt in four ws? Of
cours I said, Ar your crazy?!
Bfor maing such a major commitmnt, Ynd dcidd to
download th complt scor for th opra and s what sh was
daling with. I saw that it was only two acts, and that th big
sopranos dont attmpt until much latr in thir carrs: arlir
this yar, sh was ngagd to sing th lad rol in a concrt
prformanc of Donizttis Lucia di Lammermoorin Cap Town.
Ynd calls this hr most challnging wor so far, and crdits it
with rally hlping hr gt to grips with th tchnical dmands
both musical and dramatic with which an opra prformr has
to grappl. Tchnically it hlpd m to tap into placs that I nr
nw xistd in m. Th larning procss of that rol it too
m about two yars to rally mastr it and I dont n thin I
startd yt bcaus I hant prformd it on stag. I had bn
doing rols that wr lightr, mor fun, youngr. This is a much
hair rol and of cours, on of th most famous parts of th rol
is that sh gos mad. What do I now about madnss? This is th
opra that rally taught m how to loo at a rol. I couldnt afford
shortcuts, I couldnt just gt away with singing wll, so I had to gt
into all th intricacis of th rol bfor I could sing it.
At th momnt, hr most chrishd aim as a prformr is to sing
th lads in Donizttis Thr Quns trilogy Anna Bolena, Mary
StuardaandRoberto Devereux. Doniztti is on composr that I
immdiatly loo to. Bllini is just right for my oic as it is now long
lgato lins, a warm sound. Just hr and thr h wants you to show
off but its mostly small singing, which fits ry naturally with my oic.
But with Lucia, Doniztti too to m placs that I nr nw xistd
so I now that, asid from doing a stagd rsion of Lucia, I rally want
to do th Thr Quns. But I also lo vrdi; I will do La traviataon
day. I thin that I can b on of th mmorabl violttas proidd I do
it at th right tim. Im still larning how my oic wors until I can gt
aria, which is th most difficult part, I had alrady larnd. Th
rst was mostly nsmbl wor, so I calld my managr and said,
I can do this. H chos that momnt to tll m that it was with
Juan Digo Florz, who had sung in this sam production opposit
Diana Damrau and Joyc DiDonato. It must ha tan a stady
and thorough application of hr simplify and minimis policy to
orcom this pic of intimidating nws but, of cours, sh was
nr going to pass up on such an incrdibl opportunity. Thr
ws latr, aftr haing larnd hr part at hom, Ynd arrid
in Nw Yor just on w bfor opning night. Whn I first got
thr, th mastro was ry nic to m. H said, Prtty, I wont
ma you sing yt. Just sit and listn to what w bn doing so
far. And as thy startd, it finally hit m: Oh my God, Im at th
Mt. Im in t h sam rharsal room whr Mastro Lin has
word for dcads. This is m, I am hr. Th nxt day I startd
tacling th scor and rharsing and I ralisd thn what I had got
myslf into. I was hitting myslf ry scond Why did you thin
you could do this in a w? And this wasnt just any opra hous,
this was on of my dram opra houss. But it paid off.
It crtainly didpay off and th soprano mad quit an imprssion
on th Mt audinc. A riw in th New York Timessaid that
[Ynds] oic has a luminous shn combind with stly rsol
that powrs both hr clarion top nots and hr outstandingly rich low
rgistr. Sh dlird som of th most difficult coloratura passags
with scintillating prcision, idntly at as in this rprtory.
Hr curtain call, says th sam riwr, was mt by a storm of
braos, whistls and whoops. Th managmnt of th Mt wr so
imprssd with hr prformanc and th audinc rspons that thy
ha asd to ha hr bac as oftn as possibl. Thy ha alrady
ngagd hr to ta th rol of Pamina in nxt yars production of
Mozarts The Magic Flute.
Woring alongsid Juan Digo Florz on Le Comte Orywas not
Ynds first ncountr with this world of opra clbrity of which
sh sms st to bcom an intgral part, but sh admits to hr
usual calm and rsol haing bn shan a littl whn sh first
bgan to wor with him. It was li haing to sing with Paarotti
for m bcaus Juan Digo is th currnt ing of tnors in th
bel cantorprtoir at last. Th first rharsal was trribl I
couldnt sing. Th conductor noticd bcaus w had had sssions
bfor so h nw what I could do and that somhow I just wasnt
bing myslf. I said, Sorry, Mastro, Im haing a bit of a momnt
hr bcaus Juan Digo is right nxt to m. I had mt Juan Digo
bfor at La Scala but this was a diffrnt thing. Hr I was sharing
a stag with him. But h was ry supporti. H was on of th
first popl to say to m, Alright, Prtty, no mor rharsing now.
Just go hom and watch a moi and just switch off. You now th
opra and your th star. Your th saiour of this show so dont
thin about anything ls.
Whn it coms to hr art, rgardlss of hr rcnt succsss,
Ynd ss hrslf as bing in mid-dlopmnt. Sh is still finding
hr oic and so is trying hr hand at arious rols and sounds.
What is clar is that hr oic, for now, is bst suitd to th bel
cantorprtoir, but sh has also attmptd difficult coloratura
singing and n mad a ry imprssi dbut in a r ol that most
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to that point whr I can say, This is who I am. Im still trying to find
my idntity as an artist. Its still a hug puzzl and Im njoying sortingthrough all th pics and slowly fitting thm togthr.
to that point whr I can say, This is who I am. Im still trying
to find my idntity as an artist. Its still a hug puzzl and Im njoying
sorting through all th pics and slowly fitting thm togthr.
Just aftr th Cap Town prformancs of Lucia, Ynd rcid
an mail from th Prsidncy tlling hr that Prsidnt Zuma had
approd hr as th rcipint of th Ordr of Ihamanga in Silr,
which is awardd for xcllnt achimnt in arts, cultur, litratur,
music, journalism and sports. Th South African gornmnt is actually
starting to ralis th importanc of opra and that South African
singrs ar maing a hug impact orsas. Mor than bing plasd
that I was rciing this rcognition, it also mad m hopful that
South Africa is finally opning its arms to its opra singrs.
Ynd is currntly in th midst of an xtndd stay in South
Africa, which is rally all about bringing som of th bnfits of hr
intrnational succss bac hom. Sh is st to gi four concrts
whil sh is hr two in Johannsburg, on in Prtoria and on in
Pit Rtif. Th first concrt, schduld for 1 August, is a gala dinnr
schduld to b hld at Gold Rf City, at which companis ar initd
to buy out tabls for staff and/ or clints. Th procds will go towards
th nwly st up Prtty Ynd Foundation, which is aimd at facilitating
music ducation for childrn in rural and out-of-th-way placs such
as Ynds own homtown. Th scond and third concrts ar opn to
th public and will b hld at th Lindr Auditorium on 2 August and at
th Zk Matthws Hall at th Unirsity of South Africa in Prtoria on 3
August. Th last concrt is a fr on, which will b hld in Pit Rtif
for th bnfit of Ynds old frinds and nighbours. [Editors note:
apologies to our readers for the late notice these dates were only
confirmed after the publication of our July issue. However, Pretty Yende
is due to return to South Africa for more performances in November
2013. Check upcoming issues ofClassicfl as well as www.classicfeel.
co.za for more details.]
Th singr offrd a brif outlin of th concrts. Th ida,
spcially for th Pit Rtif concrt, is to ma it ducational, and
to show what I ha don so far, to balanc who Prtty is now with
what sh was thn and what sh is hading towards. W want to
accommodat ryon so w will b mixing classical with traditional
music. Som of th audinc mmbrs will b xprincd classical
music fans but othrs will nr ha hard classical music bfor. So
w want to includ pics that th old gogoscan also njoy and that
will show thm that ths instrumnts can also play thir music.
Ynd says of hr foundation: Its a dram. Th whol concpt
bhind it is to gi popl a chanc to dram, to gi thm a choic.
I nr had th choic. Somhow it just happnd for m, it all cam
togthr at th right tim. Not ryon has that chanc. So instad
of waiting until I bcom big, whatr that mans, I would li to
ta stps right now to gi othrs that choic. I am saying, I was
born hr and this is what th world has bcom for m and it can
bcom that for you too. So thats th rason for th Prtty Ynd
Foundation, and its not only for singing, its for music in gnral.Ynd crdits hr arly sponsors all priat familis whos
contributions nabld hr to nroll in intrnational comptitions
with hlping hr to launch hr carr. Sh is also full of prais and
gratitud for hr xcptional tachrs, including Anglo Gobbato
and virginia Daids at UCT, Mirll Frni at La Scala and hr currnt
oic coach, th rnownd soprano Marilla Dia. But much of hr
gratitud is rsrd for hr own parnts, who ncouragd hr to
follow hr drams and facilitatd th arly stags of that pursuit.
Im from a loing family that rally proidd for m. My Dad and
my Mom mad m bli that I could always approach thm. Thy
wrnt rich or anything but I nw that I could always call Mom and
Dad thy wr always a phon call away. Thy wr thr from
th bginning. Mom would com to my school concrts and ry
comptition that I did. I got thm to com to my dbut at La Scala
in Don Pasqual. I wantd thm to s that I was alright, bcaus
parnts worry: Whr ar you staying? What ar you ating? I
wantd thm to s th city Im liing in and to s th rspons
of th Italians. Thy wr li, Wow, popl rally lo you hr.
Thyr loing it and thy also ma sur that I rmain m. Whn
Im hom, I am just m. I wa up at a crtain tim, I do th laundry,
I do th cooing and I can just b a girl, not Prtty Ynd th famous
opra singr. I bn ry fortunat and I now that not ryon
coms from such a bacground so what I want to do now with th
foundation is to try and mt th world halfway. CF
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