Pretty Yende

With her magnetic stage presence, extraordinary vocal artistry, and acclaimed performances on the world’s leading opera and concert stages, South African soprano Pretty Yende has established herself as one of the most celebrated opera singers of her generation.
Since making her professional operatic debut as Micaëla in Carmen at the Latvian National Theatre in Riga, Yende has performed at the world’s most prestigious opera houses, including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; the Metropolitan Opera in New York; Opéra national de Paris; Teatro alla Scala in Milan; Wiener Staatsoper; Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich; Deutsche Oper Berlin; Staatsoper Berlin; Opernhaus Zürich; and Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.
Her extensive repertoire includes some of opera’s most celebrated roles, among them Violetta in La Traviata, Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Marie in La fille du régiment, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Juliette in Roméo et Juliette, Amina in La sonnambula, Leïla in Les Pêcheurs de Perles, and the four heroines in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann. She has continued to expand her repertoire through acclaimed role debuts, including Cleopatra in Handel’s Giulio Cesare, Semele, Maria Stuarda, Magda in La Rondine, and Liù in Turandot.
The 2026/27 season features an exciting series of international engagements, including performances in Riga, Bordeaux, and Shenzhen, China. She returns to Opéra de Paris and the Vienna State Opera in L’elisir d’amore, and appears in Le nozze di Figaro in Vienna. At the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, she reprises her celebrated role as Leïla in Les Pêcheurs de Perles. The season also includes two important role debuts: Mimì in Puccini’s La Bohème at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona and Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust at Houston Grand Opera. Her concert engagements include a joint recital with baritone Ludovic Tézier and a solo recital at Salle Gaveau in Paris.
Recent career highlights include her Los Angeles Philharmonic debut under Gustavo Dudamel in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, performances of Verdi’s Requiem at Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, and her appearance at the ceremonial reopening concert of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on December 7, 2024.
On May 6, 2023, Yende made history as the first African solo artist to perform at the coronation of a British monarch, King Charles III, at Westminster Abbey. She performed Sacred Fire, specially composed for the occasion by Sarah Class, alongside works by Handel. This landmark appearance further established her position as an international ambassador for classical music and South African artistic excellence.
Her recording career is equally distinguished. In 2016, she released her debut solo album, A Journey, on Sony Classical, which received the 2017 International Opera Award for Best Recording (Solo Recital) and an ECHO Klassik Award for Best Newcomer. Her second album, Dreams, released in 2017, received the Readers’ Choice Award at the 2018 International Opera Awards. She has also appeared on prominent American television programmes, including The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Wendy Williams Show, and Good Morning America.
A graduate of the Young Artists Accademia of Teatro alla Scala, Yende made her debut with the company in 2010 as Berenice in Rossini’s L’Occasione fa il Ladro. In 2010, she became the first artist in the history of the Belvedere Competition to win first prize in every category. In 2011, she won First Prize at the prestigious Operalia Competition.
Her achievements have been recognised through numerous international honours, including South Africa’s Order of Ikhamanga in Silver, awarded for her outstanding achievements in opera and her contribution as a role model to aspiring musicians. She was also awarded the Italian knighthood, Ordine della Stella d’Italia, in recognition of her contribution to strengthening cultural relations between Italy and other countries, becoming the youngest South African to receive this distinction.
Through her exceptional artistry, international achievements, and dedication to representing South Africa on the world’s greatest stages, Pretty Yende continues to inspire audiences worldwide and remains one of the leading sopranos of her generation.