Born in South Africa, soprano Pretty Yende has risen with remarkable speed to become one of the leading opera singers of her generation. Since making her professional operatic debut in Riga as Micaëla in Carmen, she has appeared at many of the world’s foremost opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, the Royal Opera House, Opéra national de Paris, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, Staatsoper Berlin, Opernhaus Zürich and Gran Teatre del Liceu.
Yende’s repertoire encompasses many of the most demanding bel canto and lyric soprano roles. Among her most acclaimed portrayals are Violetta in La traviata, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Marie in La fille du régiment, Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Amina in La sonnambula, Elvira in I puritani, Gilda in Rigoletto, Manon, Juliette in Roméo et Juliette, Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare in Egitto and the four heroines in Les Contes d’Hoffmann. She has also appeared as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Norina in Don Pasquale, Leïla in Les Pêcheurs de perles, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and Musetta in La bohème.
Her international breakthrough included an acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut, when she stepped in as Countess Adèle in Le Comte Ory. Since then, she has returned regularly to the Met and other leading theatres, while continuing to expand her repertoire through major role debuts. Her concert career has taken her to Carnegie Hall, the Barbican, the Wiener Konzerthaus and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. She has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, collaborating with conductors including Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
A landmark moment in Yende’s career came on 6 May 2023, when she performed at the coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey, becoming the first African solo artist to sing at the coronation of a British monarch. In December 2024, she also performed Amazing Grace at the ceremonial reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Yende is a graduate of the Young Artists Academy of Teatro alla Scala. In 2010, she became the first artist in the history of the Belvedere Singing Competition to win the top prize in every category, and in 2011 she won First Prize at Plácido Domingo’s Operalia competition. Her honours include South Africa’s Order of Ikhamanga in Silver, Italy’s Order of the Star of Italy and France’s Order of Arts and Letters.
Her discography includes the Sony Classical albums A Journey and Dreams, showcasing her virtuosity, expressive range and affinity for bel canto. Combining technical brilliance, stage presence and an increasingly diverse repertoire, Pretty Yende continues to hold a prominent place on the international opera and concert stage.
Photo by Pierre Mouton