Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, is an extraordinary Soprano based in Europe and South Africa. In 2021, Masabane Cecilia won the Song Prize as well as reaching the Main Prize final of the world famous Cardiff Singer of the World competition where she was described as “transcendental” a word which has followed her talent.
Masabane Cecilia started singing at an early age at her beautiful Mother’s knee in Limpopo province. Her great enthusiasm for life and remarkable voice sets her apart and her career is already an inspiration. Praised at a young age for her charity work with cancer sufferers in Johannesburg.
Masabane Cecilia’s performances have been described as terrific, outstanding, richly coloured, vivid, glorious, ravishing and tantalising, such performances are acclaimed and never forgotten by audiences and experienced opera lovers.
Masabane Cecilia’s charm is her African warmth and strength of adventure as she travels the World in pursuit of her passion which already has great professional foundations with Opera’s finest including, Sir Antonio Pappano at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. She fulfils her life time dreams, once shared with her Mother in Limpopo. Hardworking and focused, she readily always finds humour while fulfilling her destiny and dedicates time to preparation and detail.
Masabane Cecillia’s passion for life embraces her art and captures hearts and minds from all around the World from her professional beginnings in Cape Town, to maturity in London and Washington and Moscow.
In London, Masabane Cecilia was invited to the world re-known Jette Parker Young Artists Programme forthe 2018/21 Season, in Covent Garden at the Royal Opera House, having finished her training in the University of Cape Town and the Artist Programme at Cape Town Opera.
In 2020, Masabane Cecilia performances in London have won many admirers and great reviews. At the close of 2020, saw her invited to perform in Moscow for 30 years centenary of the Helicon Opera.
In the Autumn of 2021, Masabane Cecilia joins the Konzert Theater Bern for two Seasons.
The 2022/23 season she described as exciting, because Masabane Cecilia with her roles of Mathilde Guilliame Tell and the title role in Iphigenie en Tauride at Theater Bern.
Masabane will return with great acclaim we are sure to the Royal Opera House Covent Garden as Liù Turandot conducted by the great Sir Antonio Pappano whose guidance she loves.
On the concert platform, Masabane Cecilia will perform Mendelssohn’s Lobegesang at Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Mahler’s Das Klagende Lied at Theater Bern, Elgar’s The Apostles with the Hallé Orchestra, and she has already made her United States debut with the Washington Symphony Orchestra for Barber’s Knoxville – The Summer of 1915 followed soon by another performance of Knoxville with Cincinnati Symphony. She will also give solo recitals at Wigmore Hall and Opéra National de Bordeaux.
Previous performances at Theater Bern have included Élisabeth de Valois Don Carlos, and Elettra Idomeneo. Recent concert highlights include Verdi’s Requiem with BBC Symphony conducted by Sakari Oramo at the First Night of the BBC Proms, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 conducted by Adam Fischer with the Orchestra Age of Enlightenment, Vaughn William’s Sea Symphony conducted by Sir Mark Elder with The Hallé Orchestra, Strauss Vier letzte Lieder under the direction of Paul Daniel at Opéra National de Bordeaux and performing as part of Classic FM Live at the Royal Albert Hall.
Future seasons will see a series of exciting house and role debuts, including Staatsoper Hamburg, Semperoper Dresden and returns to the Royal Opera House and on the concert platform with the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony and Chicago Symphony.
Masabane Cecilia is a current BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist.
Masabane loves singing and meeting new people while not forgetting her roots and those who guide her in life.
Cecilia was cast in:
• Christmas Concert
CAST AS SANDMAN (HANSEL AND GRETEL) AND MIMÌ (LA BOHÈME)
• Elektra
CAST AS FOURTH MAID
• Jenufa
CAST AS BARENA
• Susanna
CAST AS SUSANNA
• Death in Venice
CAST AS LACE SELLER
Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha singing at the launch of Wigmore Hall’s Summer Season 2021
Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha in Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, directed by Antony McDonald and conducted by Patrick Milne
The Royal Opera’s Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha sings ‘Pace, pace mio Dio’ from Verdi’s La forza del destino, as part of our Battle of the Arias series.
As part of the Royal Opera House’s #OurHouseToYourHouse Masterclass series, Royal Opera Jette Parker Young Artist Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha is coached through arias from Puccini’s Turandot by Music Director Antonio Pappano.
Classical Music, BBC Music Magazine:
ON ITV NEWS in London
Reflections on the life of the late Jessye Norman (ITV News)
Remembering the late Jessye Norman
Featuring The Royal Opera’s Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha and Sir Bryn Terfel
Masabane Cecilia completed her education at the University of Cape Town where she graduated with distinction, and studied with Virginia Davids, and took examinations in Vocal Art (Performance) at Tshwane University of Technology, where she studied with Kiewiet Pali and participated in concerts and masterclasses with Michelle Breedt, Kliesie Kelly Moog, Barbara Hill Moore and Josef Protschka. At Tshwane University of Technology, she sang Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte) and chorus in Faust, La Cenerentola and Falstaff, as well as the soprano solo in Mozart’s Coronation Mass.
Masabane Cecilia went on to be a Young Artist with Cape Town Opera for two years, singing First Lady in Die Zauberflöte (with University of Cape Town), Mother of Mandela in Mandela Trilogy and Serena in Porgy and Bess (South Korean Tour).
Masabane Cecilia competition successes include the:
Song Prize Winner and Main Prize Finalist at BBC Cardiff Singer of the World (2021)
First Prize and best singer in the second round of the classical category in Pretoria (2018) and Audience Second Prize (2017) in the UNISA International Voice Competition.
Audience Prize and two special prizes in the 2019 Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition,
First Prize in the Phillip H. Moore Music Competition.
First Prize and Best South African Song (final 2017, semi-final 2018) in the ATKV Singing Competition.
In 2019 Cecilia sang the Soprano Solo Verdi Requiem with Oude Libertas choir in Stellenbosch and was nominated Best Singer in the opera category for Woordfees 2019. She has also been awarded Second Prize in Muzicanto in Cape Town, an award from the Schock Philips Foundation at UCT, and the Encouragement Award in the Deborah Voigt International Competition in the USA.
In 2018 Masabane Cecilia was recognised and seen as exceptional talent and was invited to join the Jette Parker Young Artist program which supports the artistic development of talented singers at the beginning of their careers. She was employed as salaried members of The Royal Opera and immersed in the life of the Royal Opera House over a two-year period. The specially-tailored program includes extensive daily coaching in languages, stagecraft and vocal techniques, alongside training for cover roles, performing in concerts and for smaller roles on the main stage.
See: www.roh.org.uk/people/masabane-cecilia-rangwanasha
Cecilia is represented by Nathan Morrison at Askonas Holt.
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