Hanlie van Niekerk
Hanlie van Niekerk (?-) was an opera singer.
Contents
Biography
Hanlie van Niekerk was born in Johannesburg and grew up in the Western Transvaal. She started singing at an early age and, on leaving school, studied commercial art in Johannesburg and dramatic art at the University of Stellenbosch. She studied singing with Olga Rhyss and featured in two Afrikaans music films.
After her marriage in the early fifties, she lived on a farm in the Western Cape. In 1956 she continued her vocal studies at the Academy of Music in Vienna, where she was hailed the most promising soprano in many years. During that time she appeared on Austrian television and made her first recording for a German company. She joined the Bonn Opera in the sixties and later became principal soprano at the Kassel State Opera where she had a permanent position for several years.
Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
She returned to South Africa on intermittent visits singing for concert tours and opera productions such as Die Zauberflöte in 1960, and roles such as Marguerite (Faust) and Tatiana (Eugene Onegin).
Sources
Alexandra Xenia Sabina Mossolow[1]. 2003. The career of South African soprano Nellie du Toit, born 1929. Unpublished Masters thesis. University of Stellenbosch.[2]
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