Internationally acclaimed opera singer in Humanities Education

Ms Linette van der Merwe from the Department of Humanities Education is a well-known opera singer. A lecturer in Afrikaans but outside the Faculty, her focus is on singing. She was born in Pietersburg (now Polokwane). Her earliest recollections of music were associated with her mother regularly borrowing records and being involved in an opera group.

There was always music in our house. She remembers how her sister Estelle and her used to play her mother’s Reader’s Digest opera records and made up our own stories around the music. They later lived in Nylstroom and Durban and she matriculated in Middelburg (Mpumalanga). She naturally always sang in the school choir, and when she was in high school she sang with the Oos-Transvaalse Jeugkoor, now known as the Mpumalanga Jeugkoor. Her instructor was Esmé Solms. As a student of the University of Pretoria, she studied singing as a subject for her BA degree with Lize Thomas.

This was with special permission of the Dean of the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy, Prof Wouter de Wet, to whom she will be eternally grateful. Since 1999, she was coached by the legendary soprano Emma Renzi, and we meet regularly. She has performed primarily in South Africa, and sometimes in Europe. Her husband, the tenor Chris Mostert, has been involved with productions of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore in Croatia.

Last year, Linette went there to work with the production manager and realised that South Africans can be ranked among the best in the world. Highlights in her career includes wonderful concerts and productions with highly skilled and talented singers, directors and conductors. What does really stand out for me was the chance to work with directors Gerhard Korsten and Carlo Franci, and even Prof Angelo Gobatto. They demand the very best from their artistes and it is a privilege and honour to work with them.‘Sempre Opera (founded in 2011) is a commissioned production of Verdi’s La Traviata in Stilbaai, Western Cape for the stage. “We are preparing for a production of Carmen (Bizet) in 2018 which will be performed in Nelspruit and Johannesburg”, she said. “As long as there are people who have a love for opera, listen to it and share this passion with your children, there is always hope, and hope never fades. There is definitely a renewal of interest among the youth of South Africa and it reflects in their attendance at classical concerts and opera productions. There is so much local talent that have successful careers abroad, in particular artistes such as Kelebogile Besong, Levy Strauss and Pretty Yende”, she said. They are role models and motivate young singers to pursue classical music. “We will keep creating opportunities to foster opera and classical music, albeit on a smaller scale. In the long run, bit by bit, who knows, the glory of the former days could well shine”, she said.