South African baritone Sakhiwe Mkosana, a second prize winner of Neue Stimmen International Singing Competition 2022 and finalist of Operalia 2023, has been a member of the Opera Studio at Oper Frankfurt since March 2023.

Sakhiwe’s upcoming roles for the 2024-25 season productions with Oper Frankfurt include the roles of the Priest of Jupiter in Handel’s Hercules, Count Ceprano in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Krähahn, a Comedian in Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf Doktor und Apotheker and Doge of Vernice in Rossini’s Bianca E Falliero. In the 2023-24 season, he showcased his talent as Second Nazarene and Cappadozier in Salome, First Deputy in Don Carlo, Verschwörer in Kurt Weill’s Der Zar lässt sich photographieren and Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly.

His recent engagements include the role of Donny in Michael Tippett’s New Year with the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the baritone part in Bernstein’s Songfest with the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra as well as concerts at the Mozartfest in Würzurg. Notably, Sakhiwe took on the title role in the German premiere of the Namibian opera Chief Hijangua at the Berlin Rundfunkhaus, reprising the role from the world premiere at the National Theatre of Namibia in 2022.

Sakhiwe’s journey in music began with a Bachelor of Music in singing under Gwyneth Lloyd at the University of Fort Hare. In 2019, he joined the choir of the Cape Town Opera, participating in a Netherlands tour with the production African Passion. He was also featured in Orphée et Eurydice and toured Germany with a concert version of Porgy and Bess. Productions with the Cape Town Opera include La Bohème and Britten’s Curlew River.

Furthering his studies, Sakhiwe completed the one-year Advanced diploma in Opera Performance with Prof. Jeremy Silver and singing teacher Patrick Tikolo. He assumed the role of Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte during this period. In 2022, he concluded two years of postgraduate studies for opera performance at the University of Cape Town.

In the fall of 2022, Sakhiwe took on the role of Melisso in a collaborative production of Handel’s Alcina by UCT and the Cape Town Opera. His accolades include winning the Eva Kleinitz Prize at the 8th Concorso Lirico International Sing Competition 2022 in Portofino, Italy, and securing first place in the male category of the Schock Foundation Opera Competition 2020.