njabulo madlala, bass-baritone

Based in London / Johannesburg

Njabulo Madlala is a South African lyric Bass-baritone. He studied on the Post-graduate opera course at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London under Robert Dean. Njabulo has been supported by the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, the Sir Peter Moores Foundation, Countess of Munster and Music Benevolent Fund. He is a Britten Pears Young Artist, a Samling Foundation Scholar and a prizewinner of the Young Kathleen Ferrier Bursary and The Kenneth Loveland Gift Prize.

In London, Njabulo has appeared at the Royal Opera House ( Bird of Night & Fidelio), as Porgy in Porgy & Bess for Cheltanham Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall, and Sadler’s Wells. For Opera Holland Park, he sang the role Bello in the production La fancuilla Del West. Njabulo has also appeared with Broomhill and Riverside Opera where he sang Morales and Dancairo in Carmen. He made his debut in the role of Mel in Tippet’s Knot Garden for Montepulcino Festival in Italy broadcast live by radio Italy. In Sweden he has performed with the Swedish Radio Orchestra and the Stockholm Concert Hall.

Recently in London, Njabulo sang Forester in the Cunning Little Vixen. Other performances include the roles of the Disciple and an Angel in the Mysteries filmed by the BBC, Garsington Opera (A. Mozart - Der Stein, der Weisen), Saddlers Wells (A. Wallen - Another America, Fire), and Mid-Wales Opera (G.
Bizet - Carmen) and Peachum (Kurt Weill - Three Penny Opera) for Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. He has performed the Mass of the Children by John Rutter conducted by Rutter himself.

Njabulo has taken part in master classes given by Sir Thomas Allen, Ildebrando D’arcangelo, Isobel Buchanan, Marie McLaughlin, Ann Murray, Philip Langridge, Graham Johnson, Malcolm Martineau, Paul Farringdon, Yvonne Kenny, Dame Anne Evans and many more leading musicians. Conductors and directors have included amongst a few, Antonio Pappano, Graham Vick, Charles Hazelwood, Martin Andre, Stuart Bedford, Martin Lloyd-Evans, John Cox, Jan Latham Koenig and Paul Wynne Griphiths. Njabulo continues to work very closely with the leading opera singer and recitalist Sarah Walker on recital repertoire. He has performed as part of the Oxford Lieder Festival, Concordia Foundation, Tavistock Festival – Vaughan Williams Songs of Travel and Voce Ensemble. Alongside his classical music training background and performing career, Njabulo continues to research and perform South African indigenous Folk music.

Future performances include performing as part of the Steans Young Artists for Ravinia Festival in Chicago and Hawaii Performing Arts Festival summer 2008. He will perform in South Africa with the Kwa-Zulu Natal Philharmonic Orchestra and recital tour in the UK.