Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha. (Photo: Twitter @AskonasHolt) 
Listeners can now enjoy her radiant voice at home with her self-titled debut album, Masabane Cecilia.
Born in Lebowakgomo, near Polokwane, in 1993, Rangwanasha studied at the Tshwane University of Technology and University of Cape Town. She first drew international attention by winning the 2018 Unisa International Voice Competition, and by becoming the first African to win the Song Award at the prestigious BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.
Since then her star has continued to rise, and among many other distinguished prizes and honours she has sung prominent solo parts in the BBC Proms, Carnegie Hall, with the London Symphony Orchestra, at the Washington National Opera and the Royal Opera in London.
style="font-weight: 400;">Turandot at that pinnacle of opera houses, the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Those of us who were quick enough to get tickets to the Mzansi Philharmonic’s national tour in August 2023 could enjoy live performances by Rangwanasha; and Cape Town concertgoers can look forward to her arrival in April 2025 to perform Strauss’s Four Last Songs with the Cape Town Philharmonic.
South African listeners who have missed her can find a valuable collection of performances online, from her 2017 stint in Unisa’s National Voice Competition, to masterclasses and Royal Opera promotional videos and the eminent live performances mentioned above.
Now, in keeping with the tradition of up-and-coming opera stars everywhere, her first recital album has been released by Rubicon, with a wide-ranging selection that not only showcases the formidable strengths of her voice, but endearing inclusions of her home country’s repertoire. Her accompanist is Aron Goldin.
As befitting a singer prized for her song repertoire, Rangwanasha embraces South African song with two classics by Stephanus Le Roux Marais: Mali, die slaaf se lied and Heimwee. They’re not only affectionate acknowledgements of her South African roots but also the taking up of a proud tradition. These songs have long been cherished by South African singers, and their legacies began as the calling cards of Mimi Coertse.
In fact, a number of tracks on the album call back to other illustrious sopranos, hinting at the exciting possibilities for Rangwanasha’s future career.
Le spectre de la rose from Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été presents Rangwanasha’s rich lower register like gleaming burnished bronze, reminding listeners of the dark, full-bodied French renditions of the great Jessye Norman.