Janelle Visagie (soprano)

Singer

Award-winning soprano Janelle is best known for her portrayal of Mother Abbess in Pieter Toerien and David Ian’s international touring production of The Sound of Music, for which she was awarded the 2015 Fleur du Cap for best actress in a musical. She was thrilled to reprise this role in the 2023 production by Cape Town Opera and Pieter Toerien Productions, to further audience and critical acclaim.

Janelle received the 2017 Woordtrofee and 2018 kykNET Fiësta for best achievement in classical music for the Afrikaans lieder recital, Pioniers with long-standing duo partner, pianist José Dias. In 2019 she was awarded the Fleur du Cap for best performance in opera for her portrayal of Elle in Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine. Her stage roles include the title role in Sour Angelica, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly and Magnolia in Showboat, among many others.

Janelle studied with Prof. Virginia Davids from the South African College of Music (UCT), under whom she obtained her Licentiate in Performance (LTCL) with honours from Trinity College London. In 2023 she obtained her BMus Honours Cum Laude from Stellenbosch University, and she is currently enrolled for her Master’s degree specialising in Vocal Performance, under the supervision of Minette du Toit-Pearce and José Dias.