South African tenor Levy Sekgapane has established himself as one of the leading Rossini and bel canto tenors of his generation, acclaimed for his virtuosity, brilliant upper register and distinctive musicality. Winner of Plácido Domingo’s Operalia in 2017, he appears regularly at many of the world’s leading opera houses, including Teatro alla Scala, Opéra national de Paris, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, Staatsoper Hamburg, Opernhaus Zürich, Glyndebourne Festival, San Francisco Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.

Particularly acclaimed in the music of Rossini, Sekgapane has made Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola signature roles of his repertoire. In recent seasons, his repertoire has expanded further into Mozart and Donizetti, including the title role of Mitridate, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Elvino in La sonnambula and Oreste in Rossini’s Ermione.

2026/27 SEASON

A major focus of Levy Sekgapane’s 2026/27 season is his expansion into the Donizetti repertoire. He makes his role debut as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Opéra National de Bordeaux, opposite Nadine Sierra, before performing the role at the Philharmonie de Paris and the Latvian National Opera in Riga. He also makes his role debut as Leicester in Maria Stuarda at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.

Sekgapane returns to the Opéra national de Paris, Wiener Staatsoper and Bayerische Staatsoper as Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and to the Staatsoper Hamburg as Narciso in Il turco in Italia. He concludes the season at the Glyndebourne Festival as Don Ramiro in a new production of La Cenerentola, directed by Max Webster and conducted by Enrique Mazzola.

On the concert stage, Sekgapane performs Rossini’s Stabat Mater under Speranza Scappucci at MITO SettembreMusica in Milan and Turin. He also sings Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano and later with the Prague Symphony Orchestra at the Smetana Hall in Prague.

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS

Recent highlights include his role and house debut as the title character in Mozart’s Mitridate, re di Ponto at the Teatro alla Scala, with further performances of the role at the Opéra Orchestre national Montpellier and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. He returned to the Opéra national de Paris as Count Almaviva, made his San Francisco Opera debut in the same role, and appeared as Dorvil in La scala di seta at Opernhaus Zürich.

Further recent engagements include Oreste in Ermione at the Opéra de Marseille, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore at the Latvian National Opera, Ernesto in Don Pasquale at the Hungarian State Opera, Elvino in La sonnambula at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl, and Lindoro in L’italiana in Algeri at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.

Sekgapane’s Count Almaviva has taken him to the Opéra national de Paris, Wiener Staatsoper, Glyndebourne Festival, Deutsche Oper Berlin and Opéra National de Bordeaux, while his Don Ramiro has been heard at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Staatsoper Hamburg, Opernhaus Zürich, Los Angeles Opera, Semperoper Dresden, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse.

Other important appearances include Rossini’s Otello at Oper Frankfurt, Arturo in I puritani at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Nadir in Les pêcheurs de perles at Cape Town Opera, the title role in Idomeneo at the Salzburg Festival, and Rossini’s Adina at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro.

Born in Kroonstad, South Africa, Levy Sekgapane studied at the South African College of Music at the University of Cape Town before joining the Young Ensemble of the Semperoper Dresden. He won First Prize at both the Belvedere Singing Competition and the Montserrat Caballé International Singing Competition in 2015, followed by First Prize at Plácido Domingo’s Operalia in 2017.

His debut solo album, Giovin Fiamma, devoted to Rossini arias, was released by Prima Classic with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester conducted by Giacomo Sagripanti.