South African Opera singer, Pretty Yende will Saturday, May 6th, make history as the first entertainer from the country to perform at the coronation of British monarch, King Charles III at Westminster Abbey in London.
Pretty Yende, a world renowned soprano, will thrill the global audience made up of tens of millions who will be glued to their television screens all over the world.
The 38-year-old Pretty Yende who has performed in some of the world’s greatest opera houses, from the Metropolitan Opera House to the Paris Opera, via La Scala in Milan, will be singing a work by British composer, Sarah Class, according to her management agency.
She was specifically chosen to perform at the coronation of their majesties, the King and the Queen Consort, Camilla, the Westminster Abbey website wrote on Friday.
“Personally selected by HM The King, the music has been chosen to showcase talent from across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.”
While reacting to the special invitation, the singer wrote on Twitter:
“It’s hard to put into words how honored and blessed I feel to receive an invitation to perform at The Coronation of Their Majesties The King and The Queen Consort at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, 6th of May 2023.”
Born in 1985 in a township in Piet Retief, a city in the east of South Africa still under apartheid, the singer said she still couldn’t believe she was invited to sing at the coronation of Charles III who heard her sing at Windsor Castle a year ago when he was still Prince of Wales.
Pretyy Yende has won a number of awards over the years, including the Silver Order of Ikhamanga for her excellent achievement and international acclaim.
In 2017, she won the Best Recording Solo Recital Award for her album, A Journey at the International Opera Awards.