Biographies/ Janinah Burnett
Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, this self proclaimed flower child considers herself a citizen of the world. By 2014, Ms. Burnett will have appeared in over 250 shows and performing in over 30 cities in the United States and abroad.
Childhood:
Ms. Burnett was born to a poet mother Imani Constance Burnett and her father is Jazz drummer Carl Burnett. Under the influence of them both, their only child quickly flourished in vocal training performing in her first concert in the fifth grade and she continued performing through her undergraduate years at Spelman College and through graduate school.
Performances:
Classically trained in Opera, Ms. Burnett joined the Metropolitan Opera roster in 2008 for their productions of Carmen and La Bohème, and since returned for Le Nozze di Figaro, La Rondine, and Iphigenie en Tauride. Ms. Burnett will debut at the Metropolitan Opera In January 2013 as Bianca in La Rondine.
Noted engagements from the past two seasons include Lucy in Treemonisha in her debut at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris; Margru in Amistad at the Spoleto Festival U.S.A.; Micaëla in Carmen with the Michigan Opera Theatre and Arizona Opera; Mimà in La Bohème with Arizona Opera and Nashville Opera; Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Opera Cleveland; Claire in William Grant Still’s Troubled Island in concert with New York City Opera; her role debut as Leila in Les Pêcheurs des Perles at the Syracuse Opera; and Bess in Porgy and Bess at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Cape Town Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Opera Grand Rapids, and in concert with The Israel Symphony Orchestra in Tel Aviv and Rishon LeZion with Mo. Asher Fisch.
Additional engagements include Violetta in La Traviata with Opera Columbus, Mimà in La Bohème with Baltimore Opera and Manitoba Opera, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi and Norina in Don Pasquale with Connecticut Opera, Micaëla in The Tragedy of Carmen with the Skylight Opera Theatre and Todi Music Festival, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte and Stephanie in A Song for Eddie at the Bard Festival, and solo performances with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. She also performed Violetta in La Traviata in Urbania and Fermignano, Italy under the baton of Benton Hess.
Ms. Burnett was just named Artist of the Year in 2011 at Syracuse Opera. She was also a member of the sister group to Three Mo’ Tenors entitled Three Mo’ Divas and toured to Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Spain and Japan with the New York Harlem Productions (NYHP) company performing the roles of Clara and Bess in Porgy and Bess.
During her time at Spelman, Ms. Burnett performed with Ray Charles and with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra featuring Dr. Billy Taylor. She also sang at Oprah' Winfrey's personal birthday celebration at Maya Angelou's home and opened for Vanessa Rubin at the Schomburg Center while she was a member of the Spelman Jazz Ensemble.
In 2012, Ms. Burnett made her movie debut in Spike Lee's 'Red Hook Summer' in which she plays a widely featured church singer. She also performed in the Opening Night Gala for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater along with Anika Noni Rose, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Jessye Norman.
Most recently, Ms. Burnett headlined a self titled, sold out jazz show at the Metropolitan Room for her birthday celebration on December 2nd. Her show featured performances by critically acclaimed artists such as Vivian Reed and Charenee Wade, and was widely celebrated for being backed by an all female band. Selections included renditions of Strange Fruit, Footprints, How High the Moon, and I'll Remember April.
Ms. Burnett resides in Harlem, where she regularly practices bikram yoga and is a vocal advocate of healthy eating and positive living.
Ntobeko Rwanqa
Actor Biography
Ntobeko Rwanqa
Actor Biography
Ntobeko "Top C" Rwanqa is a South African actor and singer best known for his role as Budgets Naledi in the SABC2 television sitcom Stokvel, since 1 July 2007.
He replaced Moagi Modise in the role, who had played it for the first four seasons.
He also played the role of Caiphus in the e.tv soccer drama series Shooting Stars, in 2007.
An accomplished baritone, Rwanqa has performed in numerous theatrical and opera stage productions, including Porgy & Bess (two different roles - Jake and Crown), Tosca, Madame Butterfly and Carmen Jones (also playing two roles - Morales and Escamilla).
In 1998 Rwanqa took part in the choral training program at the Cape Town Opera, after which he appeared in the company's vocal ensemble for four years (1999-2002).
He was a member of the South African Academy of Performing Arts (DDK) from 2003-2006.
In 2005 Rwanqa played the role of Sergeant Mongezi (Corporal Morales in the original opera) in the film opera u-Carmen eKhayelitsha, based on George Bizet's opera Carmen.
He also played the role of James the Disciple in the 2006 feature film Son of Man, described as "One man's journey of love, deception and betrayal in contemporary South Africa".
In 2007 he appeared in the Irish made-for-TV movie Anner House.
Rwanqa is fluent in Xhosa and English. He currently resides in Cape Town.
Porgy and Bess Ntobeko Rwanqa and Janinah Burnett
No comments
Post a Comment