‘I’m just a humble servant of singing’
The gifted soprano Pretty Yende knows she is still the girl from Piet Retief, writes Christina Kennedy
PRETTY Yende has made triumphant debuts at the New York Metropolitan Opera and La Scala in Milan — and now she is heading home for two celebratory concerts.
“Once a day I make sure I have a quiet moment where I think this is not someone’s else’s dream. It’s not someone else’s life. It’s me — I’m the blessed one,” she said from Milan, a city she fondly described as “my second home”.
She had just touched down in Italy after making her Los Angeles opera debut — described by the Los Angeles Times as “splendid” — as Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen, conducted by celebrated tenor Placido Domingo.
Earlier this year, the 28-year-old from Piet Retief in Mpumalanga, whose diary is already filling up with bookings until 2020, received the Order of Ikhamanga in silver from President Jacob Zuma in recognition of her achievements and her status as a role model.
And to think that a mere 10 years ago she had never heard of opera.
But that changed when, as a teenager, she listened to the Flower Duet from Leo Delibes’s opera Lakmé in the iconic British Airways television commercial and was immediately transfixed.
But she had to ask a teacher what this beautiful but unfamiliar music was — and from that moment on, she had her heart set on becoming an opera singer.
“Opera didn’t exist for me before that,” Yende said.
“I had been exposed to church and South African music, not opera and classical music. I can’t even remember seeing a piano in a movie before then!”
After graduating cum laude from the South African College of Music at the University of Cape Town, she started entering several international opera competitions for young singers, many of which she won. In 2009, she clinched the first prize in every category of the Belvedere competition — the first time in the competition’s history that a participant had achieved such a feat. Then she won Domingo’s Operalia vocal talent search.
So began Yende’s dizzying rise to worldwide acclaim.
She graduated from the Young Artists Academia of the Teatro alla Scala (popularly known as La Scala), where she made her debut as Berenice in Rossini’s L’Occasione fa il ladro in 2010. She has since returned to perform in Don Pasquale and La Bohème.
In January, Yende made her Met debut almost by accident. She was called in at short notice to play the Countess Adèle in Rossini’s Le Comte Ory.
Critics and audiences alike were “pretty” bowled over.
The Telegraph praised her “diamanté tone and megawatt smile” and the New York Times remarked on the “bravos, whistles and whoops” that greeted her curtain call.
“There have been so many highlights, but my Met Opera debut tops them all,” said Yende.
“I never knew I could be so courageous and learn that fast, with such determination and focus. I never knew I could be that strong under pressure.
“To learn the opera in a week — and pull it off with a full standing ovation — was amazing.”
Next year, she will reprise her role as the Countess Adèle at La Scala. Future engagements in her bulging diary include debuts at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden and the Opera Bastille in Paris, and she will return to the Met for several productions, including The Magic Flute. There is also a CD recording on the cards.
But her success has not gone to her head. Yende credited her Christian faith and her supportive family for constantly reminding her that “I’m still Pretty from Piet Retief”.
“You have to remember to stay grounded, no matter how high you fly,” she said.
“I’m learning that a singing career is not all glitz and glamour. It’s a service and I’m a servant serving humbly. We’re all important in our own right. I might be getting applause and wearing gorgeous gowns, but I’m no different to the girl who is sent to buy fruit at the market.
“Money doesn’t make me more important than you. That keeps me normal. If I lose myself, I’ll lose everything I’ve accumulated.”
Having dazzled the world, Yende is returning home for two intimate recitals in Johannesburg and Cape Town. They will include works by Rossini and Bellini.
Does Yende have any advice for young South Africans who aspire to a career in opera?
“I would say to them that nothing is impossible. If I can make it in less than 10 years, anyone can. But don’t think I had it easy — I had to fight. I had to make my voice better and always improve.
“Don’t let the world scare you off your dream . . . It is your responsibility to make that vision come true, no matter what.”
South Africa’s very own diva-intraining said her experiences had taught her that it is possible to dream your dreams, no matter how big.
“You can have it all and still be you,” she said.