The empire sings back: Pretty Yende’s triumph

Among the invited artists at the coronation of Britain’s King Charles III was the SA soprano Pretty Yende.

Coronations are not events that take place often. What made the moment special is not just singing for a new king, but the rareness of the occasion.

After millions of global television viewers experienced her soaring high notes, stage presence, musicality and star quality, audiences were no doubt asking: “Who is she, where does she come from?”

As a scholar of African opera with a particular research interest in various SA singers including Yende — and what is sometimes called black vocality — I would like to present a slightly different history of her than most writers do.

My interest here is showing Yende as a product of global histories and processes across time and space; that her singing is embedded in the globalisation of the 1800s and its continuity to the 2000s.

The varied and painful tapestry that ultimately led Yende back to Britain has a long historical basis.

Opera stardom did not land in her lap; home, church and school singing was foundational.

For someone with no foundational classical education, to go on to sing in French, Italian and German (and speak these languages with ease) reveals how she triumphed against the limitations of both empire and the legacy of apartheid’s lack of opportunities for black South Africans.

During the reign of Queen Victoria in the 1800s, a group of British settlers entered what became known as Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha).

As they gradually moved east, Scottish missionaries settled on the banks of the Tyhume River to establish what was eventually known as Lovedale College.

Here most locals learnt to read, write, and sing and compose by notating music.

It was in the Lovedale Press that SA’s first choral composition was published.

This space formed the seeds of a choir singing tradition called amakwaya.

Many black South Africans owe their musical prowess to being part of a school or community choir. The joy of singing came through preparing for competitions.

Since the 1800s, choir competitions have pervaded various sectors of society — schools, churches, government departments.

These competitions were based on Welsh eisteddfods.

Over the years, there have been modifications to suit local needs and tastes.

For the late 1990s and early 2000s, opera arias, ensembles and choruses were prescribed in the repertoire.

Black communities in SA typically have no formal music tuition. Training comes through singing with the family at home, and communal singing at school and church.

After colonialism, the white-minority apartheid government provided a system of inferior education to black pupils; a legacy that continued into postapartheid SA.

Born in 1985, Yende began school in the early 1990s, amid a transition to democracy.

Thousands of kilometres from Lovedale, in the small town of Piet Retief, Mpumalanga, her musicality was incubated in her family’s lounge.

She sang with siblings, uncles and her grandmother, who taught her choruses from a church-based form of music called amakhorasi that’s accompanied by dancing and clapping.

She developed her voice there and at Ndlela High, under the guidance of conductor Ndumiso Kwazikwenkosi Sithole, and in community choirs, particularly the Africa Sings Choir under George Mohlala.

Thus, though first hearing French composer Delibes’ Flower Duet sparked awe and interest in a genre she hadn’t known existed before, she was already part of a grassroots network of music making before embarking on an opera path.

In a newly democratic SA, Yende won the national schools championship singing Mozart’s

Batti, Batti, O Bel Masetto.

She earned a platinum category result of 90-100%.

It would be just one of several competition victories that left judges like choir conductor Themba Madlopa mesmerised by her talent.

It is again from the community music scene that Yende received opera assistance and coaching — from the likes of choral music champion and opera singer Nolufefe Mtshabe and leading choir competition organiser Mzwandile Matthews.

Yende finally benefited from a formal music education when, thanks to her eisteddfod success, she was accepted into the University of Cape Town for a diploma in opera studies in 2003.

I have tried to map the importance of amakwaya as an informal conservatoire for black SA opera singers.

Through sheer resilience and some good fortune, singers like Yende, Pumeza Matshikiza, Vuvu Mpofu, Musa Ngqungwana and Cecilia Masabane Rangwanasha made strides towards international stardom.

None knew, as they joined a junior school choir, they would become opera stars.

Amakwaya (choirs) are known for teaching discipline.

Discipline and fortitude led Yende to graduate cum laude from the UCT.

In 2016, in the prestigious international Belvedere Singing Competition, she won a prize for each category and was named overall winner.

Her global career began with bel canto roles in the Italian opera style. She has performed in the globe’s major opera houses, with greats such as Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and in many leading roles.

She has won national orders in her home county, Italy, France and elsewhere.

She has shattered all imaginable glass ceilings and this at only 38 years old.

In 2022, Yende was invited to sing at the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s 75th anniversary celebrations at Windsor Castle.

At King Charles’s coronation, she sang Sacred Fire by British composer Sarah Class.

The creative force of two award-winning female musicians was formidable.

Born into the oppressive legacy of colonialism and apartheid, Yende has adopted a Eurocentric art form and mastered it with skills honed by communal African tutelage.

As she ascends the stage, may her ancestors guide her to even greater heights.