Biography
Formidable South African mezzo-soprano Siphokazi Molteno, on the precipice of a major career, is poised to become one of the most important voices of her generation. Of her performances in the 2023 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, The Guardian’s Rian Evans raved: “For many – and I include myself among them – Molteno’s glorious mezzo was the most memorable voice and, across the week, she showed an unusually wide choice of repertoire, from Mahler to South African songs and, in this final, the richness right through her considerable vocal range in Octavian’s aria ‘Wie du warst’ from Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier. An intensity of demeanour disappeared when, in her last aria, Rossini’s ‘Una voce poco fa’ – more usually a soprano lollipop – she was relaxed, comfortably comic and showing herself to be a mezzo with knockout coloratura, a rare talent.”
Full Biography
Formidable South African mezzo-soprano Siphokazi Molteno, on the precipice of a major career, is poised to become one of the most important voices of her generation. Of her performances in the 2023 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, The Guardian’s Rian Evans raved: “For many – and I include myself among them – Molteno’s glorious mezzo was the most memorable voice and, across the week, she showed an unusually wide choice of repertoire, from Mahler to South African songs and, in this final, the richness right through her considerable vocal range in Octavian’s aria ‘Wie du warst’ from Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier. An intensity of demeanour disappeared when, in her last aria, Rossini’s ‘Una voce poco fa’ – more usually a soprano lollipop – she was relaxed, comfortably comic and showing herself to be a mezzo with knockout coloratura, a rare talent.”
A recent alumna of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Siphokazi made her mainstage Met debut in the 2022–23 season as Flora in La traviata, followed by Soeur Mathilde in Dialogues des Carmélites. She also debuted as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Saratoga in summer 2022. On the concert stage, she was the mezzo-soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Camerata Notturna, Haydn’s Theresienmesse and Mozart’s Sparrow Mass with the New Choral Society, Haydn’s Missa Sancti Nicolai and Mozart’s Coronation Mass with St. George’s Cathedral Cape Town, and Verdi’s Requiem with Dar Choral Society Tanzania.
During her tenure as a member of the Young Artist Program at Cape Town Opera, Siphokazi performed roles including Romeo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, and Third Lady in The Magic Flute. She was twice the recipient of the Fleur Du Cap Theatre Award for “Best Performance in an Opera” (Female Division) for her performances as Dorabella (2022) and Romeo (2020). Additionally, she was honored with the Rising Star Encouragement Award in the 2020 Glyndebourne Opera Cup, and received both the Ana María Martínez Encouragement Award and the Audience Choice Award at Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition in 2017.
Siphokazi Molteno holds degrees from Nelson Mandela University and the University of Cape Town, where she was under the tutelage of Patrick Tikolo. During her studies, she performed the title role in La cenerentola and Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro. She has also been a participant in summer programs at the Aspen Music Festival and the Crescendo Summer Institute.
© CSAM GmbH, August 2023
