Stefan Louw Tenor & School of Singing Parys

About

Born in Durban and raised in Pretoria, opera tenor Stéfan Louw has, over the past two decades, become one of the country’s best tenors.  The Sunday Times newspaper wrote of his Rodolfo (2005) that his voice should be declared a national treasure.
 
Although his music career started when he joined the South African Military Band in 1992 (after matric) his opera career kicked off in 1993 while studying music at the University of Pretoria.  After two years in the University choir he joined the Pretoria State Theatre Ad-hoc Opera Chorus and in 1999 made his solo debut in a comprimario role as Beppe in I Pagliacci, for which he received the prestigious FNB Vita Opera Award for Most Promising Newcomer. 
 
Since then Louw has been making a living singing opera and his repertoire includes but is not limited to the roles of Alfredo in La Traviata, Barinkay in Der Zigeunerbaron, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Duncan in Princess Magogo kaDinuzulu, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Tebaldo in I Capuleti e I Motecchi, The Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto, Tonio in La Fille du Regiment, Pang in Turandot, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Radames in Aïda, Don José in Carmen, Rodolfo in La Boheme and the name role in Werther.
 
He made his international debut in 2008 when he sang the role of Pollione in Norma in Vichy (France), followed shortly thereafter by Radamas in Aïda at the Dijon Opera House, also in France. 
 
Louw is the founder and artistic director for Big Wig Opera and in May 2015 made his directing debut at the Roodepoort Theatre for L'elisir d'amore, to great acclaim from the critics.  Shortly thereafter he directed Madama Butterfly, also at the Roodepoort Theatre.
 
In March 2019 Louw performed his solo show at the Wakkerstroom Music Festival to great acclaim. He also performed the role of Alfredo in a privately commissioned production of the opera La Traviata at the Birdsong Theatre in Stilbaai during December 2019.
 
His second album, Lirico – A collection of lyrical tenor arias, was released in 2019.
 
With more than 1,000 performances behind his name, Louw is a well-known face on opera stages and a sought-after vocal coach.
 
In 2020, he started doing solo-performances at private events like birthday and engagement parties to raise funds for his wife’s breast cancer treatment. She was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer in August 2019 and has been on treatment, that included a double mastectomy, chemotherapy, and hormone-blocking therapy.

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