BACKWildKat welcomes Vuvu Mpofu
WildKat is delighted to welcome the exciting young South African soprano Vuvu Mpofu. Not yet 30, and already a rapidly rising star in the international firmament, Vuvu has been roundly applauded for her shimmering vocal quality, effortless technique, boundless musicality, and an authentic, engaging stage presence. Although she has been recognized for her triumphs in the virtuosic bel canto repertoire, Vuvu has an impressive range that this year will encompass roles and music by Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, Wagner, and Schrecker.
The latest of a remarkable generation of South African sopranos, Vuvu was born in Port Elizabeth and studied at the South African College of Music at the University of Cape Town. Soon picked up abroad, in 2019 she was awarded the prestigious John Christie Award at the Glyndebourne Festival, and is also a recent prize-winner at both the Operalia Competition and the Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition.
Vuvu is extraordinary. [Her] vocal talent is immense. She keeps a humanity and warmth in the sound… She will be a singer we will be one day be proud to have worked with.
Stephen Langridge, artistic director of Glyndebourne, in the Observer
Recent operatic roles include debuts for the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, for Bergen National Opera as Cunegonde in Bernstein’s Candide, a Bavarian State Opera debut as a Flowermaiden in Pierre Audi’s new Parsifal conducted by Kirill Petrenko, and for Glyndebourne Festival as First Nymph in Rusalka.
In the 2019/20 season, Vuvu has already returned to Glyndebourne as Gilda in a new production of Rigoletto and will soon make her Cologne Opera debut as Corinna in Il Viaggio a Reims. She is currently attracting rave reviews as Astarte in Schrecker’s rarely staged Der Schmied von Gent for Flemish Opera and in April will return to the Bavarian State Opera in Parsifal. On the concert platform she will appear at Musikfest Berlin in a performance of Rusalka conducted by Robin Ticciati.
Her North American debut will be as Pamina at the 2020 Aspen Music Festival. Further engagements include performances as Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore at Seattle Opera and as Gilda with Washington National Opera. She also looks forward to returning to Glyndebourne and to her debut with Chamber Orchestra of Europe at Mozartwoche in Salzburg.
Everyone at WildKat is excited to be working with Vuvu.
Welcome Vuvu. We are thrilled to have you!
Website http://www.vuvumpofu.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/vuvumpofu
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/mpofuvuvu