Kobie van Rensburg facts for kids
Kobie van Rensburg was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 23 May 1969. He is a famous South African tenor and an opera director. A tenor is a male singer with a high vocal range. As an opera director, he helps bring opera stories to life on stage.
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Kobie van Rensburg's Life and Career
Kobie van Rensburg studied singing with Werner Nel at the Northwest University of South Africa. He also studied law and international politics. He went to Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education.
He started his singing career very early. In 1991, at just 20 years old, he made his first big appearance. He played Belmonte in Mozart's opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail. This was for the Roodepoort City Opera.
In 1996, he began working at the Gärtnerplatztheater in Munich, Germany. Since 2000, Kobie has often worked with the Lautten Compagney Berlin. This group is led by Wolfgang Katschner. With them, he directed and sang in Monteverdi's opera L'Orfeo. They also released three music recordings together.
Since 2011, he has worked with a new music group called "così facciamo". With this group, he directed Handel's opera Ariodante. In 2006, he sang his first main role in Mozart's Idomeneo. This was for the famous New York Metropolitan Opera. Kobie van Rensburg mostly sings Baroque music. This is a style of music from the 1600s and 1700s.
He is also well-known for singing songs called "Lied" (German for song). He enjoys singing works by English Baroque composers. These include Dowland, Byrd, and Purcell. He also sings songs by German composers like Beethoven, Schumann, and Schubert.
Kobie van Rensburg as an Opera Director
Kobie van Rensburg also directs operas. This means he plans how the show looks and how the performers act. At the Munich Gärtnerplatztheater in 2002, he directed a show called Ein Theater nach der Mode. He worked with librettist Peer Boysen. This show used music from Handel and other Baroque composers.
In 2006, he directed his first opera at the Opernhaus Halle. It was Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, and he also sang the main part. In 2009, he directed Handel's first oratorio Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno in Passau. An oratorio is like an opera but usually without costumes or staging.
His recent directing work includes Handel's opera Ariodante. It first showed in February 2011 at the Munich Cuvilliés-Theater. In his shows, Kobie often combines dancing with the music. A dancer might act as an Alter ego (another self) for the singer. This helps show the character's feelings through movement.
Opera Roles Kobie van Rensburg Has Sung
Here are some of the main roles Kobie van Rensburg has performed in operas:
- Pane in La Calisto (Francesco Cavalli)
- Acis in Acis and Galatea (Georg Friedrich Händel)
- Grimoaldo in Rodelinda (Georg Friedrich Händel)
- Jupiter in Semele (Georg Friedrich Händel)
- Jupiter in La divisione del mondo (Giovanni Legrenzi)
- Orfeo in L'Orfeo (Claudio Monteverdi)
- Bastien in Bastien und Bastienne (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
- Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
- Idomeneo in Idomeneo (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
- Tito in La Clemenza di Tito (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
- Tamino in Die Zauberflöte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
- Ubaldo in Armida (Gioachino Rossini)
- Nightingale in Ein Theater nach der Mode (Kobie van Rensburg & Peer Boysen)
Kobie van Rensburg's Music Recordings
Kobie van Rensburg has released many recordings of his music. This list shows some of his CDs and DVDs.
CDs
- 2009: Rodrigo (Georg Friedrich Händel, Eduardo Lopéz Banzo, Al Ayre Español)
- 2009: Bach Cantatas – Vol.4 (Johann Sebastian Bach, John Eliot Gardiner, English Baroque Soloists)
- 2009: Alcina (Georg Friedrich Händel, Alan Curtis, Il Complesso Barocco)
- 2008: Saul, Messiah (Georg Friedrich Händel, René Jacobs, Concerto Köln & Freiburger Barockorchester)
- 2007: Der Messias (Georg Friedrich Händel, Wolfgang Katschner, Lautten Compagney, Dresdner Kammerchor)
- 2006: Messiah (Georg Friedrich Händel, René Jacobs, Freiburger Barockorchester)
- 2006: Catone in Utica (Giovanni Battista Ferrandini, Christoph Hammer, Neue Hofkapelle München)
- 2006: Il pianto d'Orfeo (various composers, Kobie van Rensburg, Lautten Compagney)
- 2005: Der Fliegende Holländer (Richard Wagner, Bruno Weil, Cappella Coloniensis)
- 2004: Le Nozze di Figaro (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, René Jacobs, Concerto Köln)
- 2003: Griselda (Alessandro Scarlatti, René Jacobs, Akademie für alte Musik Berlin)
- 2002: Madrigali Guerrieri ad Amorosi (Claudio Monteverdi, René Jacobs, Concerto Vocale)
- 2001: Liededition Vol.1 & 2 (Fanny Hensel, Kelvin Groot)
- 2001: Songs of An English Cavalier (various composers, Kobie van Rensburg, Lautten Compagney)
- 2000: Handel's Beard, Airs for Tenor (Georg Friedrich Händel, Kobie van Rensburg, Lautten Compagney)
DVDs
- 2008: Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, live at Teatro Real Madrid (Claudio Monteverdi, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Les Arts Florissants)
- 2005: L'Orfeo (Claudio Monteverdi, Kobie van Rensburg, Lautten Compagney Berlin)
