©Photo: Jeremy Knowles
©Photo: Jeremy Knowles
©Photo: Jeremy Knowles

Siyabonga Maqungo

Tenor
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The South African tenor Siyabonga Maqungo has been a member of the prestigious Staatsoper Unter den Linden ensemble since the 2020/21 where his roles to date include Trin (La Fanciulla del West), David (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Count Almaviva (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Froh (Das Rheingold), Tamino (Die Zauberflöte) and Jaquino (Fidelio). In the 2024/25 season, Maqungo returns to Staatsoper Unter den Linden and Count Almaviva (Il barbiere di Siviglia) and notably in the role of Henry Morosus (Die schweigsame Frau) which will also mark the beginning of Christian Thielemann’s Music Directorship of the theatre. He will also make his debut at Teatro alla Scala as Froh (Das Rheingold) in David McVicar’s new production, and sings Mitridate, re di Ponto at Teatro Real under Ivor Bolton in a new production by Claus Guth. 

Maqungo has also made a name for himself on the concert platform most recently in performances of Beethoven Symphony No IX with the Orchestre de Paris under Klaus Mäkelä; and Orchestra e Coro dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Lahav Shani. 

Siyabonga Maqungo © Jeremy Knowles 

Other collaborations include with Osmo Vänskä, Antonio Pappano, Vladimir Jurowski and Daniel Barenboim and his repertoire includes, Britten’s War Requiem and Evangelist in both St John and St Matthew Passions, as well as recitals with pianist Klaus Sallmann in Berlin. He sang the role of Pong in Puccini’s Turandot in the 2023 Opera-awards nominated Warner Classics recording, collaborating with the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome and conductor Sir Antonio Pappano. 

Siyabonga Maqungo completed his studies at the North-West University in South Africa and at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln with Josef Protschka. In 2018, he won second prize at the Portofino International Opera Competition and in 2019 was nominated for the International Opera Awards in the Young Singer category. 

Beethoven Symphony No.9 © Rai
Siyabonga Maqungo - Adelaide - Beethoven
Siyabonga Maqungo - Ein Traum - Grieg
“Dem Druck erliget die Natur” Die Jahreszeiten - Haydn

“Here is a Mozartian tenor like we rarely hear, of admirable poetry and delicacy, with an ability to nuance dynamics and colors as we dream of.”

(Resmusica, November 2023)

“Maqungo mastered the trills and coloratura that darker-voiced tenors often struggle with. His angry aria […] at the end of the first act was a joy to hear.”

(Das Opernmagazin, November 2023)

“South African tenor Siyabonga Maqungo’s Walther von der Vogelweide exalts Tannhäuser’s sacrifice of sensuality in a clear and luminous light.”

(Forum Opera, Christine Ducq, May 2023)

“Siyabonga Maqungo’s Walther von der Vogelweide stands out because of its auspicious, characteristically silvery glowing sound.”

(Forum Opera, Ducq, May 2023)
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