Gert Potgieter (tenor)
Encyclopedia
Gerhardus Petrus "Gert" Potgieter, (14 November 1929 – 2 July 1977) was a South Africa
n opera
tenor
and actor
who had a great influence on Afrikaans
culture.
, on 14 November 1929, he was one of the five children of Hermanus Potgieter, a printer, and his wife Maria Naudé.
He was educated at the Laërskool (Primary School) Louw Geldenhuys and Helpmekaar High School
, Johannesburg, where he matriculated.
After leaving school he worked at Voortrekkerpers :af:Voortrekkerpers, a publishing firm, in Johannesburg until 1960 when he qualified as a printer.
, wanted to stage a performance of the cantata
Vasco da Gama in 1949; he chose Potgieter for the tenor
role. This was the beginning of his singing career.
Andre Brink and Anton Hartman, head of music at the South African Broadcasting Corporation
and the principal conductor of the SABC orchestra (and thus the most influential conductor in the country) gave Potgieter the opportunity of taking part in radio
broadcasts and in 1960 he sang with Mimi Coertse
and George Fourie in Verdi's opera, Rigoletto
. In the same year he was awarded the Mimi Coertse Scholarship for singing. Towards the end of 1960 he enrolled as a student at the Vienna Opera School and took part inter alia in a performance of Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride
.
On his return to South Africa in 1962, he went back to the printing industry as a proof-reader and machine compositor
. From 1966, he devoted himself to full-time singing.
He soon became known as a singer of light music
and a tenor
in opera
s. His popularity was confirmed by the several Sarie Awards he received for his records
. Sarie Awards are made by the South African Recording Industry.
His greatest operatic success was in the leading role in Peter Grimes, an opera
by Benjamin Britten
. He also sang aria
s from Don Giovanni
by Mozart, Cavalleria Rusticana
by Mascagni
, La Boheme
by Puccini and from the Afrikaans opera In die Droogte by John Joubert.
His repertoire also included extracts from the oratorio
s of Handel
and Mendelssohn
, Britten's War Requiem
, and the radiophonic opera Asterion by the Dutch composer
Henk Badings
based on the lyrics of NP van Wyk Louw http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/595021http://openlibrary.org/b/OL5999544M/Asterion.
His powerful physique and acting ability earned him film contracts. During 1969-70 he played the leading role in the film Lied in My Hart (Song in my Heart). In Forgotten Song of Summer only his acting was used. Various recordings of his singing are available commercially and the South African Broadcasting Corporation
made a number of transcription recordings.
, Orange Free State
, in 1952. The marriage was childless.
.
His sudden death was a great shock to his many fans. He had a friendly and charming disposition. His death left a void, particularly in the Afrikaans
music world. Shortly before he died a programme about him, entitled GP gesels was broadcast on the Afrikaans service of the SABC.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who had a great influence on Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
culture.
Early life
Born at Aasvoëlkop, a suburb of JohannesburgJohannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, on 14 November 1929, he was one of the five children of Hermanus Potgieter, a printer, and his wife Maria Naudé.
He was educated at the Laërskool (Primary School) Louw Geldenhuys and Helpmekaar High School
Helpmekaar Kollege
Helpmekaar Kollege is a private high school in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.- History :Helpmekaar was the first Afrikaans school in Johannesburg. The school was started by a group of Afrikaners who wanted their children to have an alternative to English schools. The school was...
, Johannesburg, where he matriculated.
After leaving school he worked at Voortrekkerpers :af:Voortrekkerpers, a publishing firm, in Johannesburg until 1960 when he qualified as a printer.
Singing career
From the age of sixteen he took singing lessons with Kosie Boshoff and, after his voice had broken, with Beatrice Lovegrove and Alberto Terassi. When PJ Lemmer, Inspector of Music in the Orange Free StateOrange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
, wanted to stage a performance of the cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
Vasco da Gama in 1949; he chose Potgieter for the tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
role. This was the beginning of his singing career.
Andre Brink and Anton Hartman, head of music at the South African Broadcasting Corporation
South African Broadcasting Corporation
The South African Broadcasting Corporation is the state-owned broadcaster in South Africa and provides 18 radio stations as well as 3 television broadcasts to the general public.-Early years:Radio broadcasting began in South Africa in 1923...
and the principal conductor of the SABC orchestra (and thus the most influential conductor in the country) gave Potgieter the opportunity of taking part in radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
broadcasts and in 1960 he sang with Mimi Coertse
Mimi Coertse
Mimi Coertse , is a South African soprano.-Early life:Coertse, born in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, matriculated at the Helpmekaar Girls High School in Johannesburg. She began vocal studies in South Africa in 1949. In July 1953 she married the broadcaster and composer Dawid Engela. She left South Africa...
and George Fourie in Verdi's opera, Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
. In the same year he was awarded the Mimi Coertse Scholarship for singing. Towards the end of 1960 he enrolled as a student at the Vienna Opera School and took part inter alia in a performance of Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride
Iphigénie en Tauride
Iphigénie en Tauride is an opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck in four acts. It was his fifth opera for the French stage. The libretto was written by Nicolas-François Guillard....
.
On his return to South Africa in 1962, he went back to the printing industry as a proof-reader and machine compositor
Typesetting
Typesetting is the composition of text by means of types.Typesetting requires the prior process of designing a font and storing it in some manner...
. From 1966, he devoted himself to full-time singing.
He soon became known as a singer of light music
Light music
Light music is a generic term applied to a mainly British musical style of "light" orchestral music, which originated in the 19th century and had its heyday during the early to mid part of the 20th century, although arguably it lasts to the present day....
and a tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
in opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s. His popularity was confirmed by the several Sarie Awards he received for his records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
. Sarie Awards are made by the South African Recording Industry.
His greatest operatic success was in the leading role in Peter Grimes, an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
by Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
. He also sang aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
s from Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
by Mozart, Cavalleria Rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...
by Mascagni
Pietro Mascagni
Pietro Antonio Stefano Mascagni was an Italian composer most noted for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece Cavalleria rusticana caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the Verismo movement in Italian dramatic music...
, La Boheme
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
by Puccini and from the Afrikaans opera In die Droogte by John Joubert.
His repertoire also included extracts from the oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
s of Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
and Mendelssohn
Mendelssohn
Mendelson is a Polish/German Jewish family name, meaning "son of Mendel", Mendel being a Yiddish diminutive of the Hebrew given name Menahem, meaning "consoling" or "one who consoles".Mendelssohn is the surname of a number of people:...
, Britten's War Requiem
War Requiem
The War Requiem, Op. 66 is a large-scale, non-liturgical setting of the Requiem Mass composed by Benjamin Britten mostly in 1961 and completed January 1962. Interspersed with the traditional Latin texts, in telling juxtaposition, are settings of Wilfred Owen poems...
, and the radiophonic opera Asterion by the Dutch composer
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
Henk Badings
Henk Badings
Henk Badings was a Dutch composer.Born in Bandung, Java, Dutch East Indies, as the son of Herman Louis Johan Badings, an officer in the Dutch East Indies army, Badings became an orphan at an early age...
based on the lyrics of NP van Wyk Louw http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/595021http://openlibrary.org/b/OL5999544M/Asterion.
His powerful physique and acting ability earned him film contracts. During 1969-70 he played the leading role in the film Lied in My Hart (Song in my Heart). In Forgotten Song of Summer only his acting was used. Various recordings of his singing are available commercially and the South African Broadcasting Corporation
South African Broadcasting Corporation
The South African Broadcasting Corporation is the state-owned broadcaster in South Africa and provides 18 radio stations as well as 3 television broadcasts to the general public.-Early years:Radio broadcasting began in South Africa in 1923...
made a number of transcription recordings.
Family life
He married Mona Dreyer of BoshofBoshof
Boshof is the administrative town in the goldfields region of the Free State province, South Africa. The town was formed in 1855 on the Vanwyksvlei farm. It was named after Jacobus Boshoff who became the 2nd President of the Orange Free State on the 27 August 1855.The local commando was involved in...
, Orange Free State
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
, in 1952. The marriage was childless.
Death
He died on 2 July 1977 in a motorcar accident at Tarlton, TransvaalTransvaal Province
Transvaal Province was a province of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1961, and of its successor, the Republic of South Africa, from 1961 until the end of apartheid in 1994 when a new constitution subdivided it.-History:...
.
His sudden death was a great shock to his many fans. He had a friendly and charming disposition. His death left a void, particularly in the Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
music world. Shortly before he died a programme about him, entitled GP gesels was broadcast on the Afrikaans service of the SABC.