Gerhardus Petrus "Gert" Potgieter (14 November 1929 – 2 July 1977) was a South African

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 translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

who had a great influence on

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

culture.

Early life

Born at Aasvoëlkop, a suburb of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, on 14 November 1929, he was one of the five children of Hermanus Potgieter, a printer, and his wife Maria Naudé. He was educated at the Laërskool (

Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

) Louw Geldenhuys and

Helpmekaar Kollege Helpmekaar Kollege is a private Afrikaans medium co-educational high school situated in Braamfontein, in the city of Johannesburg in the Gauteng province of South Africa. History Helpmekaar was the first Afrikaans high school in Johannesbur ...

, Johannesburg, where he matriculated. After leaving school he worked at Voortrekkerpers :af:Voortrekkerpers, a publishing firm, in Johannesburg until 1960 when he qualified as a printer.

Singing career

From the age of sixteen he took singing lessons with Kosie Boshoff and, after his voice had broken, with Beatrice Lovegrove and Alberto Terassi. When PJ Lemmer, Inspector of Music in the

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

, wanted to stage a performance of the

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

''Vasco da Gama'' in 1949; he chose Potgieter for the

role. This was the beginning of his singing career. Andre Brink and

Anton Hartman Anton Carlisle Hartman (1918–1982) was a South African conductor.Malan, J. (ed). 1982. South African Music Encyclopedia vol. 2, Cape Town, p 170: Oxford University Press. He was head of music and principal conductor at the South African Broa ...

, head of music at the South African Broadcasting Corporation and the principal conductor of the SABC orchestra (and thus the most influential conductor in the country)Bond of broeders: Anton Hartman and music in an apartheid state
/ref> gave Potgieter the opportunity of taking part in

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

broadcasts and in 1960 he sang with Mimi Coertse and George Fourie in

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's opera, '' Rigoletto''. In the same year he was awarded the Mimi Coertse Scholarship for singing. Towards the end of 1960 he enrolled as a student at the Vienna Opera School and took part ''inter alia'' in a performance of

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period (music), classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the ...

's ''

Iphigénie en Tauride ''Iphigénie en Tauride'' (, ''Iphigenia in Tauris'') is a 1779 opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck in four acts. It was his fifth opera for the French stage. The libretto was written by Nicolas-François Guillard. With ''Iphigénie,'' Gluck took ...

''. On his return to South Africa in 1962, he went back to the printing industry as a

proof-reader Proofreading is the reading of a galley proof or an electronic copy of a publication to find and correct reproduction errors of text or art. Proofreading is the final step in the editorial cycle before publication. Professional Traditional ...

and machine compositor. From 1966, he devoted himself to full-time singing. He soon became known as a singer of light music and a

s. His popularity was confirmed by the several Sarie Awards he received for his records. Sarie Awards are made by the South African Recording Industry. His greatest operatic success was in the leading role in ''Peter Grimes'', an

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

. He also sang

aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

s from ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

'' by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

, '' Cavalleria Rusticana'' by Mascagni, '' La Boheme'' by

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long lin ...

and from the Afrikaans opera ''In die Droogte'' by John Joubert. His repertoire also included extracts from the

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

s of

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

and

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

, Britten's ''

War Requiem The ''War Requiem'', Op. 66, is a large-scale setting of the Requiem composed by Benjamin Britten mostly in 1961 and completed in January 1962. The ''War Requiem'' was performed for the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral, which was b ...

'', and the radiophonic opera ''Asterion'' by the Dutch composer Henk Badings based on the lyrics of NP van Wyk Louwbr>
https://openlibrary.org/b/OL5999544M/Asterion]. His powerful physique and acting ability earned him film contracts. During 1969-70 he played the leading role in the film ''Lied in My Hart'' (Song in my Heart). In ''Forgotten Song of Summer'' only his acting was used. Various recordings of his singing are available commercially and the South African Broadcasting Corporation made a number of transcription recordings.

Family life

He married Mona Dreyer of Boshof,

, in 1952. The marriage was childless.

Death

He died on 2 July 1977 in a motorcar accident at Tarlton,

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

. His sudden death was a great shock to his many fans. He had a friendly and charming disposition. His death left a void, particularly in the

music world. Shortly before he died a programme about him, entitled ''GP gesels'' was broadcast on the Afrikaans service of the SABC.

References

External links

South African Opera Singers
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Potgieter, Gehardus Petrus (Gert) 1929 births 1977 deaths South African operatic tenors Musicians from Johannesburg Afrikaner people 20th-century South African male opera singers