Gérard Korsten (popularly known as Gé) (6 December 1927 - 29 September 1999) 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. Born in

Schiedam Schiedam () is a city and municipality in the west of the Netherlands. It is located in the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, west of Rotterdam, east of Vlaardingen, and south of Delft. In the south the city is connected with the village ...

, as the youngest of eight children, Korsten and his family emigrated to South Africa when he was nine years old. He married Elna Burger and had five children, among them renowned conductor and

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist

Gérard Korsten Gérard Korsten (born 1960) is an Austrian musician and conductor. Life Born in Pretoria, Korsten studied violin at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with Ivan Galamian as well as in Salzburg with Sándor Végh. He was initially con ...

Career

Initially he worked as an

electrician An electrician is a tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance ...

, but from the age of 20, started singing in choirs. However, he received his first formal vocal training in 1952, when he was well into his 20s, studying under Adelheid Armhold 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 ...

. In 1955 he moved to

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

, where he was one of the founder members of the Pretoria opera company. In 1956, he debuted as Canio in

Ruggero Leoncavallo Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo ( , , ; 23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Although he produced numerous operas and other songs throughout his career it is his opera '' Pagliacci'' (1892) that remained hi ...

's ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who m ...

''. Korsten won a

bursary A bursary is a monetary award made by any educational institution or funding authority to individuals or groups. It is usually awarded to enable a student to attend school, university or college when they might not be able to, otherwise. Some awa ...

to study in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in 1962, where he received tuition under

Judith Hellwig Judith Hellwig (19 August 1906 – 25 January 1993) was an Austrian operatic soprano. Career Born in Neusohl, (today Banská Bystrica in Slovakia), Hellwig made her debut at the opera house in Saarbrücken. In 1938, she created the role of Ur ...

. During this period he had the opportunity to perform in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, but he never sang professionally outside South Africa, mainly due to family considerations. It was only in 1970 that Korsten sold his business to devote himself to full-time singing. In the course of his operatic career, Korsten appeared on stage more than 3,000 times, playing 23 roles in most of the major operas. In 1965, Korsten started his career in light music, with his album ''Gé Korsten Sing Uit Die Hart'' ( en, Gé Korsten Sings From The Heart), and soon became a best-selling recording artist, with a career spanning 40 years. Nine of his 58 albums achieved

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

status. Most of his recorded work is light

music, including the song "Liefling" ( en, Sweetheart). His popularity as a singer also led to lead roles in

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

s such as ''Hoor My Lied'' ( en, Hear My Song), ''Lied In My Hart'' ( en, Song In My Heart) and ''A New Life'', all of which included singing scenes. He received six

Sarie ''Sarie'' is a South African women's magazine, written in Afrikaans. It is published by Media24, and is their oldest publication for women, first published in 1949 under the title ''Sarie Marais''. Based in Cape Town, it is the most popular ...

awards and, in 1979, an ARTES award for his TV program ''Gé Sing'' ( en, Gé Sings). In his later life, Korsten was well known for his role as family patriarch Walt Vorster in the long-running South African

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'' Egoli: Place of Gold''. In 1985, he was appointed the managing director of the Cape Performing Arts Board ( CAPAB) in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, a post which he held until 1989.

Death

In 1999, he committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

with a self inflicted gunshot to his right temple, with the motive unknown to this day.

References

External links

*
Report on Korsten's death

Facebook Fan Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Korsten, Ge 1927 births German-language singers Afrikaans-language singers Dutch emigrants to South Africa Afrikaner people Naturalised citizens of South Africa Musicians from Rotterdam People from Pretoria South African operatic tenors Suicides by firearm in South Africa 20th-century South African male opera singers 1999 suicides