Kobie van Rensburg (born 23 May 1969 in

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 Dem ...

) is a South African

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing 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 low extreme for tenors is wide ...

and opera director.

Life

Van Rensburg studied singing with Werner Nel at the Northwest University of South Africa,''New Classical Adventure''
retrieved 12 December 2010 (german) and law and international politics at Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education.''Artist Management Augstein & Hahn''
retrieved 12 December 2010 He made his debut in 1991 at the age of 20 as Belmonte in Mozart's ''

Die Entführung aus dem Serail ' () ( K. 384; ''The Abduction from the Seraglio''; also known as ') is a singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Gottlieb Stephanie, based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's ''Belmont und Constanze, oder Di ...

'' for the Roodeport City Opera. In 1996, he started an engagement at the Gärtnerplatztheater in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

. Since the year 2000 van Rensburg has been working regularly with the Lautten Compagney Berlin (director: Wolfgang Katschner). With this ensemble he staged Monteverdi's ''

L'Orfeo ''L'Orfeo'' ( SV 318) (), sometimes called ''La favola d'Orfeo'' , is a late Renaissance/early Baroque ''favola in musica'', or opera, by Claudio Monteverdi, with a libretto by Alessandro Striggio. It is based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, and ...

'' and published three recordings. Since 2011 van Rensburg collaborates with a different emsemble for Ancient and New Music, called "così facciamo". With them he staged Handel's ''

Ariodante ''Ariodante'' ( HWV 33) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The anonymous Italian libretto was based on a work by Antonio Salvi, which in turn was adapted from Canti 4, 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's ''Orlando Furioso''. E ...

''. He sang his first name part in Mozart's ''

Idomeneo ' (Italian for '' Idomeneus, King of Crete, or, Ilia and Idamante''; usually referred to simply as ''Idomeneo'', K. 366) is an Italian language opera seria by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a Frenc ...

'' in 2006 for the New York

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

. Van Rensburg's repertoire focuses on Baroque music. However, he has also made his mark in song and Lied interpretation, focusing on English Baroque composers (i.e. Dowland,

Byrd Byrd commonly refers to: * William Byrd (c. 1540 – 1623), an English composer of the Renaissance * Richard E. Byrd (1888–1957), an American naval officer and explorer Byrd or Byrds may also refer to: Other people * Byrd (surname), includin ...

Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest Eng ...

), as well as German composers

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

and

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

, among others.

Opera stage direction

At the Munich Gärtnerplatztheater van Rensburg staged, together with the

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

Peer Boysen the

pasticcio In music, a ''pasticcio'' or ''pastiche'' is an opera or other musical work composed of works by different composers who may or may not have been working together, or an adaptation or localization of an existing work that is loose, unauthorized, o ...

''Ein Theater nach der Mode'' in 2002, featuring compositions by Handel and other Baroque composers. In 2006, he gave his directorial debut in the Opernhaus Halle with Monteverdi's ''L'Orfeo'', in which he also sang the name part. Handel's first

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 ...

'' Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno'' was staged in 2009 in Passau by van Rensburg. His latest directorial work includes Handel's

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 libr ...

''Ariodante'', premiered in February 2011 at the Munich Cuvilliés-Theater.''ARD Mediathek''
retrieved 16 May 2011, BR Klassik Radio (German). Just like in his former own production ''Il pianto d'Orfeo'' van Rensburg links the expressiveness of dancing with the music of the composition. The dancer serves as an Alter ego to the singer and thereby illustrates the emotions of the character he or she impersonates.''TV Berlin''
retrieved 16 May 2011 (German).

Repertoire (roles)

*Pane in ''

La Calisto ''La Calisto'' is an opera by Francesco Cavalli from a libretto by Giovanni Faustini based on the mythological story of Callisto. The opera received its first performance on 28 November 1651 at the Teatro Sant 'Apollinare, Venice, where it dr ...

'' ( Francesco Cavalli) *Acis in '' Acis and Galatea'' (Georg Friedrich Händel) *Grimoaldo in '' Rodelinda'' (Georg Friedrich Händel) *Jupiter in ''

Semele Semele (; Ancient Greek: Σεμέλη ), in Greek mythology, was the youngest daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, and the mother of Dionysus by Zeus in one of his many origin myths. Certain elements of the cult of Dionysus and Semele came from ...

'' (Georg Friedrich Händel) *Jupiter in '' La divisione del mondo'' (

Giovanni Legrenzi Giovanni Legrenzi (baptized August 12, 1626 – May 27, 1690) was an Italian composer of opera, vocal and instrumental music, and organist, of the Baroque era. He was one of the most prominent composers in Venice in the late 17th century, and ext ...

) *Orfeo in ''L'Orfeo'' (Claudio Monteverdi) *Bastien in ''

Bastien und Bastienne ' (''Bastien and Bastienne''), K. 50 (revised in 1964 to K. 46b) is a one-act singspiel, a comic opera, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. ' was one of Mozart's earliest operas, written in 1768 when he was only twelve years old. It was allegedly commi ...

'' (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) *Don Ottavio in '' Don Giovanni'' (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) *Idomeneo in ''

'' (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) *Tito in ''

La Clemenza di Tito ' (''The Clemency of Titus''), K. 621, is an ''opera seria'' in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Pietro Metastasio. It was started after most of ' (''The Magic Flute''), the last o ...

'' (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) *Tamino in ''

Die Zauberflöte ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that includ ...

'' (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) *Ubaldo in '' Armida'' (

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...

) *Nightingale in '' Ein Theater nach der Mode'' (Kobie van Rensburg & Peer Boysen)

Discography

CDs

2009: ''Rodrigo'' (Georg Friedrich Händel, Eduardo Lopéz Banzo, Al Ayre Español)
2009: ''Bach Cantatas – Vol.4'' (

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Life and career Born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, son of Rolf Gardiner and Marabel Hodgkin, Ga ...

English Baroque Soloists The English Baroque Soloists is a chamber orchestra playing on period instruments, formed in 1978 by English conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Its repertoire comprises music from the early Baroque to the Classical period. History The English B ...

)
2009: ''

Alcina ''Alcina'' (Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis, HWV 34) is a 1735 opera seria by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of ''L'isola di Alcina'', an opera that was set in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he acquired the year after during ...

'' (Georg Friedrich Händel, Alan Curtis, Il Complesso Barocco)
2008: ''

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered t ...

'', ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

'' (Georg Friedrich Händel,

René Jacobs René Jacobs (born 30 October 1946) is a Belgian musician. He came to fame as a countertenor, but later in his career he became known as a conductor of baroque and classical opera. Biography Countertenor Born in Ghent, Jacobs began his music ...

, Concerto Köln & Freiburger Barockorchester)
2007: ''

Der Messias ''Der Messias'', K. 572, is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 1789 German-language version of ''Messiah'', George Frideric Handel's 1741 oratorio. On the initiative of Gottfried van Swieten, Mozart adapted Handel's work for performances in Vienn ...

'' (Georg Friedrich Händel, Wolfgang Katschner, Lautten Compagney,

Dresdner Kammerchor The Dresdner Kammerchor (Dresden Chamber Choir) is a mixed chamber choir which was founded in 1985 by Hans-Christoph Rademann in Dresden and is still conducted by him. The semiprofessional ensemble of about 40 singers has appeared internationally. ...

)
2006: ''Messiah'' (Georg Friedrich Händel,

, Freiburger Barockorchester)
2006: ''Catone in Utica'' (

Giovanni Battista Ferrandini Giovanni Battista Ferrandini (c. 1710 – 25 October 1791), an Italian composer of the Baroque and Classical eras, was born in Venice, Italy and died in Munich, at the age of about 81. He was a child prodigy and entered the service of Duke ...

, Christoph Hammer, Neue )
2006: ''Il pianto d'Orfeo'' (various composers, Kobie van Rensburg, Lautten Compagney)
2005: ''

Der Fliegende Holländer ' (''The Flying Dutchman''), WWV 63, is a German-language opera, with libretto and music by Richard Wagner. The central theme is redemption through love. Wagner conducted the premiere at the Königliches Hoftheater Dresden in 1843. Wagner cla ...

'' ( Richard Wagner, Bruno Weil,

Cappella Coloniensis Cappella Coloniensis is a German orchestra founded by the West German Radio in Cologne in 1954 for the purpose of introducing historically informed performance of Baroque music to the listening public. In 1998 the orchestra received the Georg Phil ...

)
2004: ''

Le Nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'' (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, René Jacobs,

Concerto Köln Concerto Köln is an ensemble specialising in music of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The group formed in 1985, one of many groups associated with the surging interest in period instruments in that decade. Its members consisted mainly o ...

)
2003: '' Griselda'' ( Alessandro Scarlatti, René Jacobs, Akademie für alte Musik Berlin)
2002: ''Madrigali Guerrieri ad Amorosi'' (Claudio Monteverdi, René Jacobs,

Concerto Vocale Concerto Vocale is a Belgian musical ensemble for baroque music. History Concerto Vocale was founded in Amsterdam in 1977 by the Belgian countertenor and conductor René Jacobs. The vocal ensemble has included sopranos María Cristina Kiehr an ...

)
2001: ''Liededition Vol.1 & 2'' (

Fanny Hensel Fanny Mendelssohn (14 November 1805 – 14 May 1847) was a German composer and pianist of the early Romantic era who was also known as Fanny (Cäcilie) Mendelssohn Bartholdy and, after her marriage, Fanny Hensel (as well as Fanny Mendelssohn He ...

, Kelvin Groot)
2001: ''Songs of An English Cavalier'' (various composers, Kobie van Rensburg, Lautten Compagney)
2000: ''Handel's Beard'', Airs for Tenor (Georg Friedrich Händel, Kobie van Rensburg, Lautten Compagney)

DVDs

2008: '' Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria'', live at

Teatro Real The Teatro Real (Royal Theatre) is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace, and known colloquially as ''El Real'', it is considered the top institution of the performing and musical arts in the ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

(Claudio Monteverdi,

Pier Luigi Pizzi Pier Luigi Pizzi (born 15 June 1930) is an Italian opera director, set and costume designer. Biography Pizzi was born in Milan, Italy, and earned a degree in architecture at the Politecnico of Milan. Against the will of his skeptical father, he ...

, Les Arts Florissants)
2005: ''L'Orfeo'' (Claudio Monteverdi, Kobie van Rensburg, Lautten Compagney Berlin)

References

External links

Biography on the webpage of the artist management Augstein & Hahn
* Biography and preview

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rensburg, Kobie Van Musicians from Johannesburg 1969 births Living people South African operatic tenors South African theatre directors South African opera directors 20th-century South African male opera singers 21st-century South African male opera singers