South African Singer, Pretty Yende is set to perform at the coronation of Charles III on May 6, in front of tens of millions of television viewers.
First African Singer set to perform solo at King's coronation
South African soprano Pretty Yende poses during a photo session at the Garnier Opera House on September 10, 2019 in Paris
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STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP or licensors
Pretty Yende has performed in some of the world’s greatest opera houses, from the Metropolitan Opera House to the Paris Opera, via La Scala in Milan.
The 38-year-old Opera singer, who will be singing a work by British composer Sarah Class, has been in demand for the past 10 years.
Born in 1985 in a township in Piet Retief, a city in the east of South Africa still under apartheid, the singer still can't believe she was invited to sing at the coronation of Charles III, who heard her sing at Windsor Castle a year ago, when he was still Prince of Wales.
The Opera singer, who is very present on social media, launched for many years the hashtags #Prettyjourney (meaning both the journey of Pretty and beautiful journey), and #PrettyArmy to encourage and inspire her many fans.
The invitation is highly symbolic as the singer claims to be the first African singer to sing solo at a coronation of English kings and queens.