Friday, 8 May, 19:00
Moravian Church Greyton
R200
Critics have hailed celebrated songstress Zanne Stapelberg as a “national treasure.” In her latest production, Classic Zanne, with the formidable pianist Professor Albie van Schalkwyk, the duo presents a vibrant programme featuring classical favourites, musical theatre gems, operatic highlights, and music from Africa. It is quintessential Zanne — joyful, fiery, passionate, and exhilarating. Zanne captures the spirit of the evening beautifully: “Music is confetti for the soul, coffee when you’re tired, the answer to the question, the twinkle in your eye, the magic that makes everything better, and the joy that never ends.” Zanne and Albie will be joined by an ensemble of Suretha Theron on clarinet, joined by Nadine Roussopoulos on violin and Rosamund Roth on cello, performing works such as Song to the Moon from Dvořák’s Rusalka, Quando m’en vo from Puccini’s La Bohème, and If I Loved You from Carousel. Expect a performance that is elegant, refined, and overflowing with joy.
ALBIE VAN SCHALKWYK
Albie van Schalkwyk established himself as performer in a number of fields over the past 40 years. One of the leading chamber musicians and vocal accompanists in South Africa, he has also performed as soloist with SA orchestras, performed solo recitals, given master classes for singers and accompanists, worked as a music producer for the SABC, and arranged music for various combinations, including Broadway musicals and operas for 2 pianos and orchestral pieces for from 3 to 8 pianos. He completed his PhD in Music at the University of the Free State in May 2012.
His interest in vocal music and the art song in particular has led to many fulfilling concert partnerships with singers. One of these was the formation in 1994 of The Songmakers’ Guild, a Cape Town organisation which provides a regular platform to performers in the field of the art song and from which he recently retired as Artistic Director. He was involved in the Neuberg Internationale Kulturtage summer school as coach and performer for over 20 years and during one university sabbatical year worked as coach in the Vocal Department of the Mozarteum Music University in Salzburg, Austria. In 2009 the SA Academy of Arts and Sciences awarded him the Huberte Rupert Prize for his contribution to ensemble playing and teaching over more than 30 years.
Albie retired from his post as Associate Professor in Piano and Chamber Music at the SA College of Music, University of Cape Town, at the end of 2017. Since then he has continued his activities as collaborative pianist in chamber music and the art song repertoire, as piano teacher (live and online), as vocal coach and as arranger for multiple pianos, all under the heading of the Musicumbrella Piano Studio.
SURETHA THERON
Suretha Theron discovered her love for the clarinet as a Grade 8 learner at Durbanville High School. She went on to study music at Stellenbosch University under the guidance of Jimmy Reinders, completing her Master’s Degree in Clarinet Performance cum laude in 2010.
Suretha has since performed as an ad hoc clarinettist with several leading orchestras in South Africa, including the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, KZN Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra. An avid ensemble musician, she performs regularly in a wide range of chamber and orchestral settings.
Her passion for music education is evident in her long-standing involvement with the Durbanville High School Wind Band, where she has served for over 20 years. Under her leadership, the ensemble has achieved numerous accolades at major competitions and eisteddfods, including the Cape Town Eisteddfod, Tygerberg Eisteddfod, and the South African Orchestra Championships. Suretha is deeply committed to community music-making and regularly adjudicates competitions and eisteddfods. She strives to create inclusive, inspiring musical environments where music education fosters not only artistic growth, but also teamwork, discipline, and self-confidence.
ZANNE STAPELBERG
Hailed by critics as a “national treasure”, Zanne Stapelberg is one of South Africa’s most celebrated and versatile singers and performers. A graduate of the University of Stellenbosch, she completed her BA in Music and Higher Licentiate in Musical Performance (English Literature, voice and jazz saxophone), summa cum laude. She studied under the guidance of renowned voice teacher Professor Magdalena Oosthuizen and went on to further her training at the University of Cape Town and the prestigious Cape Town Opera Studio.
Zanne’s operatic repertoire includes many of the most iconic roles in the soprano canon. She has performed Angelica in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, Mimi in La Bohème, Alice in Verdi’s Falstaff, Ilia in Mozart’s Idomeneo, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Rosalinde in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust and Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen, among others. Her performances are praised for their emotional depth, vocal purity, and dramatic nuance.
In concert, Zanne is an accomplished oratorio soloist, with performances including Verdi’s Requiem, Dvořák’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, Vivaldi’s Gloria and Handel’s Messiah. Her deep connection to Art Song was cultivated during her university years, and she has since performed extensively across South Africa and Europe. Her Art Song repertoire includes works such as Schumann’s Frauenliebe und Leben, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, Ravel’s Chansons Madécasses and Shéhérazade, Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été, and Debussy’s Fêtes Galantes. She also champions South African composers, performing pieces like Arnold van Wyk’s Vier Weemoedige Liedjies and Hendrik Hofmeyr’s Die Stil Avontuur, Tre Liriche in Stile Antico, and The Death of Cleopatra.
Zanne has collaborated with celebrated visual artist and director William Kentridge in his stage productions of The Confessions of Zeno, Refuse the Hour, and The Magic Flute, in which she sang the role of the First Lady. Her theatrical instincts and musical curiosity have led her to explore multiple genres. As a producer, she created and performed Secret Songs, a classical reinvention of popular music, and Spieël/Speel, an Afrikaans cabaret written with pianist Kathleen Tagg that blends jazz, blues, African and classical styles. She also appeared alongside Karen Zoid and Zolani Mahola in the acclaimed production Zoid, Zanne, Zolani. Her most recent production, Once Upon a Tune, with long time collaborators Professor Albie van Schalkwyk and director Steven Stead, played to sold out houses at the Suidoosterfees this year and they have subsequently been invited to do the production at The Playhouse Theatre in Durban, Die Woordfees in Stellenbosch and Aardklop Arts Festival. Zanne and Albie are currently performing their production, Opera-Tango & Beyond across the country. Gia Radnai of The Lowvelder writes about the production, “Opera-Tango cultivates a new love amongst theatre goers, it is a production which makes you sing and gives audiences a new appreciation for the arts”.
Her recording career includes the critically acclaimed Soul of Fire, a collaboration with Kathleen Tagg that was nominated for a South African Music Award (SAMA) and hailed as “one of the most remarkable musical productions yet to have emerged from South Africa.” Music from the album is featured in Deon Meyer’s film Die Laaste Tango. She also released Opera Gala – Live in Concert, recorded with the University of Stellenbosch Symphony Orchestra and funded by Standard Bank.
Amongst others, Zanne received the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Classical Music, the KANNA Award for Best Classical Production at the KKNK, and a Woordfees Award for Zoid, Zanne, Zolani. She has also been recognised with the Best Young Opera Singer Award from the Friends of Cape Town Opera, and was named a Cosmopolitan Awesome Woman for her contributions to opera and music production. Insig magazine selected her as South Africa’s Top Theatre Attraction.
Beyond the stage, Zanne is deeply committed to music education and community engagement. She is an experienced voice teacher and choral conductor, regularly leads masterclasses and music outreach programmes throughout the Western Cape, and adjudicates for various eisteddfods. She also serves on the board of directors of the Heydeburgh Symphony Orchestra, continuing to inspire and shape the next generation of South African musicians.
“’Soul of Fire’ is the mere continuation of Stapelberg’s rebellious refusal to be pigeonholed by convention and to be imprisoned by the refined, cultural confines of traditional classical music. Stapelberg is hurling classical music and opera into the laps of audiences who previously wouldn’t have listened to the genres – while not cheapening the styles and maintaining their integrity.” (Darren Taylor – Voice of America)
“The zeal with which Stapelberg approaches this recital, proves that she does not see her craft as a job or a calling – it is far more than that – her passion for performance is the essential ingredient in her life. She remains one of SA’s most prolifically talented and engaging artists.” (Jeff Brukman – Cue, Grahamstown)
Nadine Roussopoulos
Nadine Roussopoulos is a South African violinist and chamber musician committed to classical performance and collaborative work. She began learning with Madelein van Rooyen and went on to study at the University of Cape Town under the instruction of Associate Professor Farida Bacharova.
She holds a Bachelor of Music in Performance (solo violin), graduating with distinction in Violin and Chamber Music as class medallist and recipient of the Best Western Classical Performance award.
Her orchestral highlights include solo engagements with UCT ensembles and the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, membership in the South African National Youth Orchestra international tour (2007), participation in the Britten-Pears Orchestra at the Aldeburgh Festival, England, concertmaster of the UCT Symphony and String Orchestras, and guest concertmaster of the Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.
She is an enthusiastic and accomplished chamber musician, winning the Muziq Competition (2008) with the Cape Town Quintet and the Schock Chamber Music Competition (2009) with her trio.
After many years overseas she currently performs regularly with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, teaches privately and in community projects, and has lectured at UCT, where she is pursuing a Master’s in Violin Performance.
Rosamund Roth
Rosamund Roth (cello) was born in Pretoria and started her musical education at an early age. She attended Pro Arte High School for the Arts and went on to obtain her BMus from the University of Stellenbosch, where she studied under Magdalena Roux. There she also completed honours degrees in both Latin and English Literature. During her studies she played with professional orchestras like the CPO and the KZNPO on a regular basis as an ad hoc player. Her studies next took her to Zürich, Switzerland, where she studied in the class of Professor Roel Dieltiens.
She obtained a Masters in Music Pedagogy, as well as a Masters in Transdisciplinary Studies from the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste. She was very active as a teacher in St Gallen, Appenzell, and Zurich, and as a performer throughout Switzerland. She was co-principal cellist with the Zürcher Kammerphilharmonie for six years. During the Covid pandemic she started playing the viola da gamba after discovering a great passion for early music, and took private lessons with Paolo Pandolfo in Basel. In 2022 she returned to Cape Town to play full time with the CPO, and to focus on a career as a performer on the cello, the Baroque cello, and the viola de gamba.
