There's a lot of hype and myth surrounding South African soprano Pumeza Matshikiza. She's been billed as the township soprano, for instance, when actually she came from an extremely small town called Lady Frere in Eastern Cape province. Her debut album proclaimed her "The Voice of Hope," a difficult status for anyone to live up to. She had a top-flight musical education at the University of Cape Town and then in Covent Garden's Young Artist Programme, and you can set aside the hype and discover that yes, this young soprano ...
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There's a lot of hype and myth surrounding South African soprano Pumeza Matshikiza. She's been billed as the township soprano, for instance, when actually she came from an extremely small town called Lady Frere in Eastern Cape province. Her debut album proclaimed her "The Voice of Hope," a difficult status for anyone to live up to. She had a top-flight musical education at the University of Cape Town and then in Covent Garden's Young Artist Programme, and you can set aside the hype and discover that yes, this young soprano is well above average. There's a particular specialty that fits her to a T, and the program of this selection of arias, which goes all over the map, does not fully play to her strengths. No one would choose Matshikiza in "Dido's Lament;" she overwhelms Paolo Tosti; and she does not seem to connect with Mozart or Gluck. When you put her in the late 19th century, though, watch out. The arias from La Bohème and especially La Wally have the kind of effortless, controlled power and silky...
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