REVIEWS

“That moment of rapt silence and attention, when an audience is entirely transfixed by a musician’s artistry, is rare at the best of times — let alone in the middle of a competition. But it happened in the finals of this year’s Kathleen Ferrier Awards, when the South African baritone, Njabulo Madlala, riveted every listener in the hall with his musical storytelling in Schumann’s dramatic ballad, Belsazar. The 28-year-old’s imagination created a gripping and growing sense of menace; and when he cried “Ich bin der König von Babylon”, the walls of the Wigmore Hall shook with terror. He would have taken first prize for this alone. But there was more. Madlala was equally at home in Butterworth’s Bredon Hill and in an aria from Bellini’s I Puritani that revealed the rich velvet plush of his fearless voice, its inner warmth and its flexibility.”
Ferrier Awards / The Times

“Tim Mirfin’s self-mocking Colline and Njabulo Madlala’s expansive Schaunard are warmly drawn.”
Schaunard: La bohème / Opera Holland Park / The Independent

“…there’s a notable Schaunard from Njabulo Madlala…”
Schaunard: La bohème / Opera Holland Park / What’s On Stage