Sony Classical has inked a long-term agreement with Pretty Yende, the sensational young South African soprano whose career has risen to the top of the opera world with unparalleled speed within the past few years.

She has already been engaged by every major opera house in the world and after her debut recital in London, The Telegraph commented: ‘Possessed of diamanté tone and a megawatt smile… a soprano of real musical intelligence.’ The New York Times wrote: ‘Her voice has a luminous sheen combined with steely resolve… she delivered some of the most difficult coloratura passages with scintillating precision.’

In 2013 she stepped in at a month’s notice to sing in Rossini’s Le Comte Ory opposite Juan Diego Flórez at New York’s Metropolitan Opera to rapturous acclaim. Later that year she also replaced an indisposed Cecilia Bartoli at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien in the same opera.

Born in 1985 in the small town of Piet Retief, about two hundred miles from Johannesburg, Yende’s journey to become one of the world’s most sought-after singers is like a modern fairytale.

She was initially introduced to singing in a manner familiar to many South Africans – in her church choir. Then at the age of sixteen, she heard the Flower Duet from Lakmé on a British Airways television advertisement, and was so enraptured by its beauty that she determined to find out what it was. On learning that it was opera, she decided at that moment to abandon her plans to become an accountant, and train to become an opera singer instead.

She started her vocal studies at South African College of Music (SACM UCT) with Virginia Davids and developed her musical and stage experience with Angelo Gobato and Kemal Khan of the Colleges’ Opera school.

Yende’s extraordinary talent blossomed. In 2009 she became the first singer to win first prize in every category in the Belvedere Singing Competition in Vienna, which, in turn, led to an offer to join the prestigious young artists’ programme at La Scala in Milan.

In 2011, she won first prize in Plácido Domingo’s Operalia competition in Moscow, also winning the prizes of the Public and the Zarzuela prize, the first singer in history to win all three prizes.

Yende’s debut album on Sony Classical, scheduled for autumn 2016, will celebrate some of the milestones of her extraordinary musical journey. In addition to the much-loved Lakmé duet which first opened her heart to the world of opera, there will be arias from Le Comte Ory in which she shot to international attention at the Met.

She will also perform arias from other roles in which she continues to dazzle audiences and critics: Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), and Elvira (I puritani). She will perform the latter opera at Zurich opera in June 2016.

Yende has already appeared at opera houses in Berlin, New York, Los Angeles, Barcelona and Hamburg, and has frequently sung at La Scala. Forthcoming seasons will also see her appear at the Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, the Royal Opera House in London, and the Opéra National de Paris.

“Music has been an extraordinary tool that has taught me so much about life and has surely given me more than one incredible reason for every breath I take,” she says. “It has opened so many doors that I never knew existed growing up in my little township of Thandukukhanya in Piet Retief.

“Each and every step has been a wonder, a wonderful adventure that has made me look forward to tomorrow, and so I am very excited and utterly thrilled to embark on this journey with Sony Classical.

“I believe that the dream to share making music with the world will be even more accessible to a wider audience through the recordings we will be making over the next years. What a great privilege to have the opportunity to share wonderful musical experiences with the great team at Sony Classical and what an honor for me to be a part of their distinguished roster of musicians.”