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About
“Fast-rising South African soprano, Golda Schultz” (The Times) was a journalism major at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa when she took her first music elective, relevant to her exposure to the arts growing up from her classical music loving father and theater loving mother. In the school’s music library, she happened upon a recording of Die Fledermaus featuring soprano Kiri Te Kanawa, followed by an album featuring the legendary Maria Callas. Inspired by these recordings, Ms. Schultz began singing Mozart works, and hasn’t stopped singing since, moving on to pursue a graduate degree in music at the University of Cape Town, cementing her decision to pursue a career in opera. After two years with the Cape Town Opera, Ms. Schultz traveled to the US for the first time to successfully audition for the prestigious Juilliard School.
In early 2011, the head of The Juilliard School’s vocal program contacted Ms. Schultz to let her know that someone had dropped out of their audition slot for the Young Artist Program at the Bayerische Staatsoper. After a second round audition in Munich, they offered her a two-year position on the spot. After her time in Munich’s Opernstudio, Ms. Schultz joined the ensemble of Stadttheater Klagenfurt for one season where she earned considerable attention in new productions of both Der Rosenkavalier (Sophie) and Giulio Cesare (Cleopatra).
Her debuts include critically acclaimed performances at the 2012 Bayerische Staatsoper (principal role debut as Contessa Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro), the 2014 Salzburger Festspiele (Sophie, Der Rosenkavalier), the 2016 Glyndebourne Festival (Contessa Almaviva, Le nozze di Figaro), and at the Staatsoper Hamburg in the world premiere of Beat Furrer’s La bianca notte as the lead female role, Sibilla, led by Music Director Simone Young, solidifying her increasingly glowing reputation. London’s The Guardian claims, “It’s hard to imagine finer soprano singing” and The Financial Times writes, “Golda Schultz sings with strength and assurance, her voice with its own distinctively thrilling radiance; she is a newcomer who simply has everything.” Ms. Schultz made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the 2017-18 season as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte.
Her 2018-2019 season includes engagements as Contessa d'Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with the Vienna State Opera and Zurich Opera House; with San Francisco Opera as the female lead Clara in the West Coast premiere of Jake Heggie’s It’s a Wonderful Life; and returns to the Bayerische Staatsoper as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, and Liù in Turandot, and the Metropolitan Opera as Nannetta in Falstaff. Additionally, she tours with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel, to Lisbon, Paris, Frankfurt, Cologne, Frankfurt, Barcelona, and Madrid; and gives performances with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, and Finnish Radio Symphony, at the Stadttheater Klagenfurt, and a recital at the Boulez Saal in Berlin. In summer 2018, Ms. Schultz appears with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem at the BBC Proms, and in recital at the Aspen Music Festival, and Copenhagen Opera Festival.
In recent seasons, Ms. Schultz, expected to have a “stellar future” (Opera Magazine), made her house and role debut at Teatro alla Scala as Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro) under Franz Welser-Möst; returned to the Salzburger Festspiele for her first Vitellia (La clemenza di Tito) under Teodor Currentzis in a new production by Peter Sellars; debuted at the New National Theatre Tokyo in Der Rosenkavalier (Sophie); performed with Zurich Opera House as The Widow in Mendelssohn’s Elias; and continued as a member of the Bayerische Staatsoper ensemble with roles including Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Carmen (Micaëla), La bohème (Musetta), Das Rheingold (Freia), Cosi fan tutte (Fiordiligi), and Parsifal (Klingsors Zaubermädchen), among others.
She also made a number of exciting concert and recital debuts, including with the National Symphony Orchestra for Mahler’s Symphony No.2 under Christoph Eschenbach, with The Cleveland Orchestra in Cleveland and at Carnegie Hall in Haydn's iconic The Seasons, with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig in Tippett’s A Child of Our Time under Stefan Asbury, with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in a program of Mozart concert arias under John Storgårds; and at Wigmore Hall with pianist Jonathan Ware. Ms. Schultz has also enjoyed recent debuts with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra in Strauss’ Brentano Lieder under Andrew Litton, at the Rheingau Musik Festival in Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and with The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen on tour to Japan in Beethoven’s Fidelio, both under Paavo Järvi, and at Musikfestival Heidelberger Frühling with Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla in Beethoven’s Ah! Perfido.
Ms. Schultz was born in Cape Town and raised in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
