Following her stratospheric rise to stardom, South African-born soprano Pumeza Matshikiza has returned with her second album, Arias, which showcases a mix of her operatic roles—from Purcell to Puccini—and newly arranged songs. 

Born in the Eastern Cape town of Lady Frere, Matshikiza’s musical journey began when she stumbled across opera while listening to the radio: found herself awestruck by Swiss soprano Edith Mathis singing in The Marriage of Figaro. “I didn’t even know it was opera,” Matshikiza says of the life-changing discovery. "I only knew that the beauty of the human voice and orchestra opened up a whole new world to me. I still love listening to some of the great voices of the past," she adds. "Old records have a lot to say to a young singer!”

Growing up in a township in the final years of apartheid, becoming a classically trained singer didn't seem an obvious path for the black South African. “Our music education was so basic that I had no means to understand opera," she explains. "But the sound overwhelmed me.” After studying at the University of Cape Town, Matshikiza traveled to the UK (under the advice of composer and mentor Kevin Volans), taking up a scholarship at the Royal College of Music and joining the Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera House, where she made her debut as a flower maiden in Wagner’s Parsifal. 

“Despite all the violence, South Africa remains a beautiful country," she says of her homeland. "I love nature and draw a lot of inspiration from the landscape.” It is her strong connection to her beginnings that, along with her captivating voice and presence, has won her audiences the world over, including over a billion viewers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.

Now well established as a leading musical talent—with a summer of open-air concerts across Europe and a role in Carmen at the Stuttgart State Opera ahead of her—Matshikiza is the subject of director Claire Oakley’s Tuning In, a portrait that captures the singer’s meditative preparation process and captivating performance style.