A Christmas Concert with Lynelle Kenned, William Berger & Stefan Lombard

Darlings of many of the arts festivals in this country, Lynelle Kenned (soprano) and William Berger (baritone) perform a selection of their favourite arias and songs, accompanied on the piano by musical director maestro Stefan Lombard.

Lynelle Kenned, a graduate of the UCT Opera School under the distinguished mentorship of Prof. Virginia Davids, is a dynamic and versatile Multidisciplinary Performing Artist, TV Presenter, Corporate MC, Actress and Media Personality.

Her career is distinguished by an array of prestigious accolades, including the recent 2025 Fiësta for Best Musically Driven Theatre Production, the 2024 and 2022 Woordtrofee for Best Classical Music Presentation (Vocal), a 2023 and 2017 Fiësta Award, the Kunste Onbeperk YOUNG VOICE Award in 2019, a Naledi Award in 2018, and a Fleur du Cap Award in 2016.

Lynelle’s stage repertoire is equally impressive, with standout roles such as Maria in West Side Story and The Sound of Music, Mattie Allen in Orpheus in Africa, Musetta in La Bohème, Julie in Showboat, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, and Grace in the world premiere of Calling Me Home.

As a soprano soloist, she has graced the classical stage with performances in Carmina Burana, Shepherd on the Rock, The Messiah, The SA Messiah, the Easter Oratorio, St. Matthew Passion, Jauchzet Gott in Allen Landen, Brahms’ Requiem, Faure’s Requiem, Les Nuits d’été, Frauenliebe und Leben, Handel’s Gloria, and Vivaldi’s Gloria.

Notable milestones include her performances with the Cape Town Baroque Orchestra at the Montreal Baroque Festival (2024), the inaugural Cape Town Pride Proms concert, the celebrated FNB/RMB Starlight Classics, and recent corporate performances in Florence, the Namib Desert, Cappadocia and the Masai Mara.

South African baritone William Berger was a member of the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir and the inaugural recipient of the Deon van der Walt UNISA/SAMRO bursary at age 17, before commencing his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Since winning the Lucerne Festival Prize at the Ernst Haefliger Competition in Switzerland, William has distinguished himself as a performing artist on the international stage and made both his Royal Opera House London and Kennedy Center, Washington D.C. debuts in 2019.

Opera appearances include Marcello in La Bohème for Opera Vlaanderen, Opéra Rouen Normandie and Cape Town Opera, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte for the Liceu Barcelona, Oreste in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride for the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos Lisbon, Escamillo in Carmen for Cape Town Opera and the Luzerner Theater, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte for Opéra de Toulon and the title role of Imeneo for the Göttingen International Handel Festival, for which he was nominated Opernwelt Opera Singer of the Year in 2017.

In recital he has appeared at the Wigmore Hall in London on numerous occasions and more recently at the Konzerthaus Berlin, Beethoven-Halle Bonn, Gasteig Munich & Laeiszhalle Hamburg on a recital tour of Germany with pianist Julius Drake. His discography includes two solo albums “Insomnia: A Nocturnal Voyage in Song” (one of The Guardian’s Top Ten Classical CDs of the Year 2012) and “Hommage à Trois” featuring arias by Mozart, Haydn and Cimarosa with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Nicholas McGegan.

William Berger was awarded the honour “Associate of the Royal Academy of Music” in 2009 and a Fleur du Cap Theatre Award in 2024 for his performance as Max Detweiler in The Sound of Music. He appeared as soloist with the CPO in the world premiere of Grant McLachlan’s new song cycle for baritone and orchestra, “The Silence of the Day” in September at Cape Town City Hall and as the title role in Cape Town Opera’s new production of The Barber of Seville, performed at the Spier Amphitheatre as part of the Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees in October.