Matshikiza was born in
Lady Frere, South Africa. She studied at the
University of Cape Town College of Music, graduated cum laude under Professor Virginia Davids, then at the
Royal College of Music, London, with a full three-year scholarship and in the Young Artist Programme at the
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where she made her début as a flower maiden in
Parsifal. Winner of the
Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition in Dublin in 2010, Pumeza later joined the
Stuttgart Opera, where she has been part of the full-time ensemble since 2011, performing Pamina in
Die Zauberflöte, Susanna in
Le nozze di Figaro, Mimì in
La bohème, Micaëla in
Carmen. she recorded her debut album,
Pumeza – Voice of Hope, at
Abbey Road Studios. She sang one of the Innocents in the 2008 première of
Harrison Birtwistle's
The Minotaur, and her first major role was that of Mimì at the
Edinburgh Festival in 2010 in a production by
Opera Bohemia. There she was described as "the real star of the show ... who plays the role of Mimì ... with a rich, lustrous voice. She also sang at the
wedding of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Charlene Wittstock, accompanied by French guitarist Eric Sempe and percussionist Patrick Mendez. Speaking about the song afterwards, she said: "The song ... is not one I was even aware of until I was given it to rehearse but it is so beautiful. I love what the song stands for – freedom for everyone regardless of race or social standing or nationality." She released her debut studio album,
Voice of Hope in 2014 on
Decca Records and containing four classical
arias from
Puccini and
Mozart, in addition to mainly African popular and traditional. The
Staatsorchester Stuttgart and Simon Hewett accompany her for the arias, whereas the
Aurora Orchestra and Iain Farrington accompany her for most of the songs, with one song with the
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. ==Discography==