ODYSSEY OF AN AFRICAN OPERA SINGER

195pp., colour illus., paperback, Cape Town, 2018

Autobiography of South African bass-baritone Musa Ngqungwana. He writes about his impoverished and politicised background, with two uncles imprisoned on Robben Island, and his current life in USA, singing on the world’s top opera stages. Born in 1984 in Zwide township outside Port Elizabeth, he came to singing through church choirs. He was the Grand Finals winner of the 2013 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, graduated with honours in Performance (First Class) from the University of Cape Town, and is also a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) in Philadelphia.