BETS BOTHA, mezzo-soprano
Bets Botha has one of those unusual voices that may be described as a coloratura mezzo-soprano, but also with the capacity for lyrical-dramatic soprano roles. She was born and raised in Pretoria where she started her studies in singing under Margaret van der Post. In 1966 she joined PACT's first permanent opera chorus where she quickly progressed to smaller solo roles such as the Shepherd in Tosca, Annina in La Traviata, and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly. In 1970 she was appointed as permanent soloist at PACOFS. Beyond the hundred concerts per year, she also sang the roles of Blonde in Il Segretto di Susanna (Wolf-Ferrari) and Maddalena in Rigoletto (Verdi). During this period she also appeared as a guest artist in opera and concert performances with NAPAC Opera. Bets has sung with several well-known South African and international singers like Nellie du Toit, Gé Korsten, Lawrence Folley, Gert Potgieter, Øystein Liltved, Virginia Oosthuizen, Leonora Veenemans, Nicola Cencherle, Nicola Tagger, Donald Pillay, Giovanni Gibin, Carla Ferrario, Elizabeth Vaughan, Suna Korat and Marcella Pobbe. During this period she studied with the internationally renowned maestro Franco Ferraris. After her marriage she bade farewell to the stage and entered journalism. In 1986 she returned to the stage in a concert performance of Orfeo et Euridice (Gluck). In 1994 Bets recognized the need to firstly develop young emerging singing talent in South Africa, and secondly to provide a platform for local singers. This led her to establish Opera 2000 of which she is the Director.
