ABOUT MUSA

The “powerful bass-baritone” (Wall Street Journal) Musa Ngqungwana​, a native of Port Elizabeth, South Africa,​ has been hailed for his “rich, glowing voice and elegant legato” (The New York Times) and his “striking stage presence and a dignity that never falters” (The Arts Desk).

After a triumphant summer return to Garsington Opera in Beethoven’s Fidelio as the “forcefully creepy [...] impressively nasty” (The Arts Desk) Don Pizarro (“there was much to admire in [...] Ngqungwana’s viciously vindictive prison governor,” Gramophone), this season sees Musa portraying Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni at Florentine Opera and later the title role in Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle with the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera.

Last season, the “standout performer” (The Times) joined the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and was featured in the Academy of Vocal Arts’ BrAVA Philadelphia! 90th Anniversary Celebration and Gala. Musa also covered King Amonasro in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Aida and Pizzaro in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s presentation of Fidelio.

With a voice lauded as “gorgeously resonant” (Limelight Magazine), recent seasons have seen Musa sing Don Bartolo in Rossini’s comedic masterpiece, The Barber of Seville, at Pittsburgh Opera, Austin Opera, and North Carolina Opera; King Amonasro in Verdi’s Aida with the Royal Danish Opera; Don Pizarro in Fidelio at Austin Opera; Vodnik in Rusalka at Garsington Opera and Edinburgh International Festival; Lord Krishna in Satyagraha at English National Opera; Dulcamara in The Elixir of Love at Palm Beach Opera; Giorgio in I Puritani at Washington Concert Opera; Count Capulet in Roméo et Juliette at Florentine Opera; King Balthazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors with On Site Opera; plus Luigi Nono’s Intolleranza 1960 at Salzburg Festival.

In concert, he has been featured with The Philadelphia Orchestra in selections from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess; New World Symphony in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony; Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Bernstein’s Songfest; as Pythéas in Sapho with Washington Concert Opera; plus the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, the University of Cape Town, the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa, and the U.S. Naval Academy.

A versatile performer, Musa has been widely recognized for his talent in both dramatic and lighter roles, with his portrayals described as being “played with anguished magnificence” (The Guardian) as well as “brilliantly comedic” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Musa has received particular critical acclaim for his portrayal of the title role in Porgy and Bess, appearing at the Glimmerglass Festival, Washington National, Atlanta, Grange Park, and Malmö Operas, with the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony. Financial Times celebrated his Porgy, writing “his rich bass-baritone plumbs depths of feeling in a moving portrayal,” while Opera Today described him as “a force of nature [...] with a voice of such jaw-dropping beauty, richness, and power.”

Musa’s repertoire additionally includes the role of Queequeg in Moby Dick (Los Angeles, Dallas, Pittsburgh, and Utah Operas); Zuniga in Carmen (Philadelphia, Norwegian National, and Palm Beach Operas); Angelotti in Tosca (Canadian Opera Company); Gottardo in La g​azza ladra​ (Glimmerglass Festival); Colline in La bohème; and Stephen Kumalo in Lost in the Stars (Washington National Opera).

Nominated in 2014 for the Marian Anderson Award at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC., Musa was the Grand Finals Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2013.

Musa Ngqungwana graduated with Honors in Performance (First Class) from the University of Cape Town and is a graduate of the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. He is the author of the memoir Odyssey of an African Opera Singer, which was published by Penguin Random House South Africa.