South African tenor Zwakele Tshabalala is currently studying for his Master of Performance degree at the Royal College of Music, London, where he has been awarded a full scholarship. On the professional stage, he most recently appeared in Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 in Portuguese, under Marin Alsop at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Prior to that his performances as Hot Biscuit Slim in English National Opera’s critically acclaimed Paul Bunyan at Alexandra Palace highlighted him as a standout soloist and a young talent to watch. In the current season, Zwakele makes his house debut at Theater an der Wien as Sportin’ Life in Porgy & Bess. Elsewhere, he joins the Hallé Orchestra for a Valentine’s concert of Opera Arias & Duets under Eduardo Strausser.
Born in South Africa, Zwakele joined the Drakensberg Boys Choir at a young age and was then a member of the South African Youth Choir in 2009. An invitation to join the South African College of Music followed in 2012, where he studied for a performance diploma in opera under the supervision of Virginia Davids and Khamal Khan. Zwakele made his operatic debut at the opera school, as Giuseppe in La traviata in 2013, and in 2016 was the winner of The Schock Foundation Prize for Singing at the University of Cape Town.
