Breaking Barriers With Her Beautiful Voice
Acclaimed South African Soprano To Make Kansas City Debut
KC Studio
September/October 2022
by Patrick Neas
“It’s a long way from Piet Retief, South Africa to the opera stages of Milan, Paris and New York, but through extraordinary talent, pluck and determination, soprano Pretty Yende has the made the journey.
The Harriman-Jewell Series will present Yende, one of the most acclaimed voices of her generation, in her Kansas City debut Jan. 7, 2023, at the Folly Theater.
“She’s amazing,” said Clark Morris, executive and artistic director of the Harriman-Jewell Series. “I think her voice is incredibly beautiful, and she has amazing agility and a real musical sensibility. It feels like we haven’t had much access to her in the United States, so I’m really excited to bring her to Kansas City.”
When she was 16, Yende was introduced to opera when she heard the “Flower Duet” from “Lakmé” in a TV commercial for British Airways. After attending the South African College of Music, from which she graduated “cum laude,” she attended Accademia Teatro all Scala in Milan.