Cape Town Opera’s Khayakazi Madlala Wins 2nd Place at 7th Unisa International Voice Competition

Khayakazi Madlala and Lwazi Dlamini took top honors on January 31 at the 7th Unisa International Voice Competition, held at the ZK Matthews Great Hall in Pretoria.

Khayakazi, a member of Cape Town Opera’s Judith Neilson Young Artist Programme, placed second overall. She also received the award for the Best Rendition of a South African Composition, while Lwazi Dlamini, a Judith Neilson Young Artist alumnus, won third place. It was a stunning result for these talented singers whom opera audiences will remember from CTO’s sold-out productions of Aida and The Barber of Seville presented in Cape Town last year.

"It was incredible to see so much talent from all over sub-Saharan Africa onstage — the future of opera looks brighter than ever and we are so proud of Khayakazi and Lwazi," CTO's Artistic Director Magdalene Minnaar who was in the audience for the final round.

Celebrating exceptional vocal talent and musical excellence, the Unisa competition remains a powerful platform for artistic growth and education.

"This feels so good - it is such a validation that I am doing something right, and it encourages me to keep going and work even harder," said Khayakazi, who will appear in CTO's upcoming Carmen at Artscape and The Cunning Little Vixen at the Joseph Stone Auditorium in May and July, respectively.