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UCT opera stars in international Belvedere finals
03 July 2015 | Story Helen Swingler. Photos courtesy of the 34th International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition 2015.
On Saturday (4 July), four UCT singers, three alumni and a student from the Opera School at the South African College of Music, will compete in the finals of the 34th International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition 2015 in Amsterdam.
They are Noluvuyiso Mpofu (Cape Town Opera Studio member), Lukhanyo Moyake (Cape Town Opera staff soloist), Caroline Modiba (former Cape Town Opera Studio member), and Levy Sekgapane (UCT Opera School).
The UCT trained singers make up more than a quarter of the 15 finalists, who hail from countries as diverse as South Korea, Canada, the US, Georgia, Russia, Finland and Slovenia.
The Belvedere Singing Competition has been the springboard of some world-renowned stars, including UCT alumna Pretty Yende, who won first prize for opera in 2009.
The first Belvedere Competition took place in Vienna in 1982. Since 1995 the name of the late Hans Gabor, a Hungarian conductor was added to the original.
The final rounds, held for the last 31 years in Vienna, take now place in the most renowned opera houses around the world on an alternating basis. In 2013 the city of Amsterdam hosted the first event outside of Austria since its founding, followed by Düsseldorf in 2014, Amsterdam again in 2015 and Cape Town in 2016.
The 2015 qualifying rounds were held in 63 cities worldwide.
Watch a live stream of the event...
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