baritone
Praised for his “chilling refinement in bearing and voice” (Opera Wire), Thandolwethu Mamba has been described as having a “magnificent voice” and “possessing an extraordinary capacity for timbral flexibility, which he exploits with a level of artistic maturity and musical tact” (Classical Voice of North Carolina). Mr. Mamba is an upcoming baritone who continues to establish himself on opera and concert stages, showcasing his command of diverse styles and repertoire.
Fresh from his Metropolitan Opera debut in the ensemble of X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X in November 2023, recent roles have included the title roles in Le Nozze di Figaro and Gianni Schicchi, Baron Duophol in La Traviata, Dancaïro in Carmen, Don Calogero Sedàra in The Leopard (a world premiere), Town Magistrate in Signor Deluso, and Max in Stone Soup with Opera Wilmington, Frost Opera Theater, Si parla, si canta, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Florida Grand Opera. The rest of his 2022-23 season featured a series of solo recitals in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Performances in Tosca, Così fan tutte, Treemonisha, and Susannah amongst other engagements as a Gerdine Young Artist with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis were unfortunately stifled by delays in federal work authorization documents which have since been resolved.
As an artist who always seeks to create experiences that will reach a diverse audience, his concert program with pianist David Heid, Paths & Journeys, debuted in North Carolina in the Fall of 2022 and was described as “a vibrant and enriching collaboration” (CVNC). He regularly features music from diverse cultures and languages, including music from Sub-Saharan Africa and his home country, Eswatini. At Duke University, he was awarded the prestigious Louis Sudler Prize as well as the Benenson Award for the Arts. Named the First Place and Grand Prize recipient of the 2022 Heafner/Williams Vocal Competition, he is also a winner of the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra Rising Stars Competition, which led to his orchestral debut in Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen. Mamba has also been a finalist and prize winner in the Mary Jacobs Singer of the Year Competition, Pasadena Vocal Competition, Mildred Miller International Voice Competition, and Benjamin Mathews Vocal Competition.
Mamba is a recent double graduate (Artist Diploma and Master of Music) of the Frost School of Music in Miami where he studied with Metropolitan Opera baritone Kim Josephson. Thando, as he is more commonly known, is originally from Eswatini in Southern Africa and is committed to developing the growth of opera as a celebrated and sustainable art form in his home country and the continent of Africa at large.
