Levy Sekgapane (born December 16, 1990) is a South-African operatic tenor. The singer is a

Bel canto Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song", )—with several similar constructions (''bellezze del canto'', ''bell'arte del canto'')—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing. The phrase was not associat ...

tenor whose repertoire includes roles in works by

G. 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 ...

, G. Donizetti,

W. A. 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. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

, J. S. Bach. Sekgapane was named the 30 Under 30 Europe 2018: Arts & Culture by the Forbes magazine.

Early life and education

Levy Sekgapane was born (December 16, 1990) in Kroonstad South Africa. He graduated from the South African College of Music at the University of Cape Town.

Participation in international vocal competitions

Levy Sekgapane obtained the 1st prize at the

International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition The International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition is an annual competition for young 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 t ...

as well as the 1st prize at the Montserrat Caballé International Singing Competition in 2015. In the summer of 2017, he won the 1st prize at Plácido Domingo's Operalia, the World Opera Competition.

Artistic activity

The singer's stage activity began in Chemnitz (Germany) in 2014 when he sang the role of Don Ramiro in Rossini's '' La Cenerentola.'' During the season 2015/16 he became a member of the Young Ensemble of Semperoper in Dresden. The following season he performed the roles of Don Ramiro, Count Almaviva ('' Il barbiere di Siviglia'') and Lindoro, at Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Bavarian State Opera,

Hamburg State Opera The Hamburg State Opera (in German: Staatsoper Hamburg) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''General ...

and Aalto-Musiktheater Essen. He also appeared at

Royal Opera Copenhagen The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first ser ...

, where he sang the role of Il Conte di Libenskof in a new production of Rossini's ''Il Viaggio a Reims'' (2017). Levy Sekgapane also performed at opera festivals: the

Rossini Opera Festival The Rossini Opera Festival (ROF) is an international music festival held in August of each year in Pesaro, Italy, the birthplace of the opera composer Gioachino Rossini. Its aim, in addition to studying the musical heritage of the composer, is to r ...

in Pesaro singing the roles of Albazar in ''Il turco in Itali''a (2016) and Selimo in ''Adina'' (2018), the Whitsun Festival at State Theatre Wiesbaden when he debuted as Nemorino in Donizetti's ''L’elisir d’amore'' (2018), the internationa
Donizetti Opera festival
in Bergamo singing the role of King Guido in Donizetti's ''

Enrico di Borgogna ''Enrico di Borgogna'' (''Henry of Burgundy'') is an ''opera eroica'' or "heroic" opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Bartolomeo Merelli (who later, as Intendant at La Scala, was to commission Verdi's first opera), wrote the Italian libretto ...

'' (2018), Glyndebourne Festival as Count Almaviva, Salzburg Festival as Arbace in Mozart's '' Idomeneo'' (2019) and lastly in the Wexford Festival Opera in the role of Selimo (2019)''.'' On the concert stage he gave his debut at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg singing in New Year's Eve gala. He took part in a concert dedicated to

Maria Callas Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...

which was hosted by Theatre Champs-Élysées in Paris. Sekgapane also performed in the AIDS Gala concert hosted annually at Deutsche Oper Berlin to support HIV and AIDS.

Early life and education

Participation in international vocal competitions

Artistic activity

Repertoire

Opera roles

Concerts, recitals

References