Pumeza Matshikiza

From Cape Town to London is almost 10,000 km; yet, the distance Pumeza Matshikiza has traveled cannot be measured geographically. It is a truly impressive achievement to go from a childhood in the townships of South Africa to a professional opera career and a record deal with a major label, despite Pumeza having minimal musical training in her youth. In her youth, Pumeza witnessed her homeland free itself from apartheid in the early 1990s. "I remember people marching and singing freedom songs, and how the police would come with tear gas on certain days. There were big yellow police cars meant to maintain order; I also remember that on some days, when I came home from school, people were burning other people. As children, we shouldn't have seen these things; but that was the time we lived in." Opera, considered an aloof pursuit of the European elite, played no role whatsoever in the cultural life of the townships. Since Pumeza showed a talent for mathematics and science at school, "one of my teachers enrolled me to study surveying at the University of Cape Town. I lived on the upper campus of the university; on the lower was the South African College of Music. I went down there and heard people playing piano and singing and thought, oh, I would really like to be there too! Eventually, I went and enrolled myself at the College of Music." During her time at the College, the South African composer Kevin Volans noticed her, helping her secure her first engagement in Europe and recommending her for an audition at the renowned Royal College Of Music in London – where she was promptly accepted and developed into one of the most promising soprano talents. In 2007, Pumeza graduated with a Master's in Performance and is currently engaged at the Stuttgart Opera House. Her life story has already inspired many people, and in addition to an extensive CNN documentary, she has made numerous prominent appearances, such as at the wedding of Charlene and Albert of Monaco.