Arline Jaftha

Arline Jaftha

Arline Jaftha (Soprano) was born in Worcester and started singing and playing the piano from a very young age, soon becoming a regular soloist as well as organist and conductor in the New Apostolic Church. During her studies at the University of Cape Town, she took voice lessons with renowned Prof. Virginia Davids and piano with Dr. Franklin Larey. At only 18 years of age, she appeared in the soprano solo in Händel's Messiah oratorio at the Cape Town City Hall. Arline’s remarkable career at Cape Town Opera started in 2003 as a member of the Vocal Ensemble, later becoming a part of the Opera Studio and a Staff Soloist. During this time she stood out as one of the outstanding young operatic voices in South Africa, appearing in CTO productions of Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier, Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, Bizet’s Carmen, Verdi’s La Traviata and most notably the role of Serena in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess in the company’s renowned touring production. This as well as her involvement in CTO’s widely acclaimed African Angels allowed her debut in several of the world’s most prestigious opera houses. She also appeared as a soloist alongside Brynn Terfel, Johan Botha and other international stars in several Gala Concerts for CTO, as well as in countless oratorio performances around the country, ranging from Händel to Verdi. During these years Arline was often involved in CTO's Educational Outreach, featuring internationally in the Arté documentary of Cape of Good Voices. She has also ventured into musical theatre to great acclaim when she portrayed the role of Mother Abbess in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music at the Durban Playhouse. Through CTO Arline had the possibility of taking voice lessons with Nellie du Toit, who was to have an indelible influence and effect in her growth and development. Throughout her life Arline has always been greatly involved in choral singing and conducting, having been assistant chorus master of the award-winning Vocal Ensemble at CTO. In 2016 she notably became a member as well as assistant chorus master at the Aix-en-Provence Summer Festival. Arline is currently the choir director of ComArt, a community organization founded by Prof. Virginia Davids and Mr. John Davids. Since 2017 to 2020, Arline played the "Maitre'd" in Kaapse Stories, a dinner theatre production at the Rockwell Hotel, directed by Basil Appollis. In November 2020, Arline debuted her performance Unmasking the Diva, at Diemersfontein Wine Estate, where she portrayed her life story as a coloured opera singer growing up in Worcester. Refreshingly so, Arline won the Worcester fm radio presenter competition in December 2021, where she received training throughout January 2022 and broadcasted alongside DJ Q.

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