Vuvu Mpofu
The young South African soprano Vuvu Mpofu is already entering the international spotlight with her shimmering vocal quality and technique, boundless musicality, and authentic stage presence. In 2019, she was awarded the prestigious John Christie Award at the Glyndebourne Festival, and she is also a recent prizewinner at the Operalia Competition and the Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition.
South African soprano Vuvu Mpofu’s engagements this season include her return to the Bayersiche Staatsoper as Micaela Carmen conducted by Daniele Rustioni; Norina Don Pasquale for the Opéra national de Lorraine; Lauretta in Ersan Mondtag’s new production of Gianni Schicciconducted by Michele Mariotti for the Teatro dell’Opera de Roma; Violetta La traviata for Pittsburgh Opera and the National Theatre, Prague and Lauretta in Sir David McVicar’s new production of Il trittico for Welsh National Opera
In the 2022/23 season Vuvu made her debut at Seattle Opera as Violetta La traviata; at Dutch National Opera in the European Premiere of Jeanine Tesori’s Blue; at Staatsoper Stuttgart as Pamina Die Zauberflöte; at Welsh National Opera as Cunegonde Candide and at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as First Nymph in a new production of Rusalka conducted by Semyon Bychkov.
Other recent operatic appearances include: Gilda Rigoletto and Musetta La bohème for the Glyndebourne Festival; Astarte Der Schmied von Gent (Schreker) and Musetta for the Opera Vlaanderen; Leila Les pêcheurs de perles for Cape Town Opera and at Theater St Gallen she appeared as Bess MacNeill in Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves.
Vuvu made her debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper as a Blumenmädchen in a new production of Parsifal in 2018 conducted by Kirill Petrenko; other appearances include: Cunegonde Candide for the Bergen National Opera; Corinna Il viaggio a Reims for the Rossini Opera Festival and for Opera Köln; Clara Porgy and Bess at the Teatro Real, Madrid and Teatro Colon, Buenos Aries and First Nymph Rusalka at the Glyndebourne Festival.
Vuvu was a prizewinner at the Operalia and Belvedere Competitions, she was participant of the Accademia Rossiniana at the Rossini Opera Festival and she was awarded the John Christie Award at the 2019 Glyndebourne Festival.