Gérard Korsten (popularly known as Gé) (6 December 1927 - 29 September 1999) was a South African operatenor and actor who had a great influence on Afrikaans culture.
Gé Korsten
Gé Korsten in his debut role as Canio in Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci.
September 29, 1999(1999-09-29) (aged 71) Wilderness,South Africa
Born in Schiedam, as the youngest of eight children, Korsten and his family emigrated to South Africa when he was nine years old. He married Elna Burger and had five children, among them renowned conductor and violinistGérard Korsten.
Initially he worked as an electrician, but from the age of 20, started singing in choirs. However, he received his first formal vocal training in 1952, when he was well into his 20s, studying under Adelheid Armhold at the South African College of Music.
In 1955 he moved to Pretoria, where he was one of the founder members of the Pretoria opera company. In 1956, he debuted as Canio in Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci.
Korsten won a bursary to study in Vienna in 1962, where he received tuition under Judith Hellwig. During this period he had the opportunity to perform in Vienna and Munich, but he never sang professionally outside South Africa, mainly due to family considerations. It was only in 1970 that Korsten sold his business to devote himself to full-time singing. In the course of his operatic career, Korsten appeared on stage more than 3,000 times, playing 23 roles in most of the major operas.
In 1965, Korsten started his career in light music, with his album Gé Korsten Sing Uit Die Hart (English: Gé Korsten Sings From The Heart), and soon became a best-selling recording artist, with a career spanning 40 years. Nine of his 58 albums achieved gold status. Most of his recorded work is light Afrikaans music, including the song "Liefling" (English: Sweetheart). His popularity as a singer also led to lead roles in films such as Hoor My Lied (English: Hear My Song), Lied In My Hart (English: Song In My Heart) and A New Life, all of which included singing scenes. He received six Sarie awards and, in 1979, an ARTES award for his TV program Gé Sing (English: Gé Sings).
In his later life, Korsten was well known for his role as family patriarch Walt Vorster in the long-running South African soap operaEgoli: Place of Gold.
In 1985, he was appointed the managing director of the Cape Performing Arts Board (CAPAB) in Cape Town, a post which he held until 1989.
Deathedit
In 1999, he committed suicide with a self inflicted gunshot to his right temple, with the motive possibly being that he suffered from cancer. [1]
Referencesedit
^Mphuthing, Poppie (17 April 2008). . Sunday Times (South Africa). Archived from the original on 9 January 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
External linksedit
. saoperasingers.homestead.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2006.
Report on Korsten's death
Facebook Fan Page
December 24, 2023
korsten, this, 2009, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, this, 2009, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, 2009, lea. This May 2009 needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this May 2009 Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Ge Korsten news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message Gerard Korsten popularly known as Ge 6 December 1927 29 September 1999 was a South African opera tenor and actor who had a great influence on Afrikaans culture Ge KorstenGe Korsten in his debut role as Canio in Ruggero Leoncavallo s Pagliacci Background informationBirth nameGerard KorstenBorn 1927 12 06 December 6 1927Schiedam NetherlandsDiedSeptember 29 1999 1999 09 29 aged 71 Wilderness South Africa Born in Schiedam as the youngest of eight children Korsten and his family emigrated to South Africa when he was nine years old He married Elna Burger and had five children among them renowned conductor and violinist Gerard Korsten Contents 1 Career 2 Death 3 References 4 External linksCareer editInitially he worked as an electrician but from the age of 20 started singing in choirs However he received his first formal vocal training in 1952 when he was well into his 20s studying under Adelheid Armhold at the South African College of Music In 1955 he moved to Pretoria where he was one of the founder members of the Pretoria opera company In 1956 he debuted as Canio in Ruggero Leoncavallo s Pagliacci Korsten won a bursary to study in Vienna in 1962 where he received tuition under Judith Hellwig During this period he had the opportunity to perform in Vienna and Munich but he never sang professionally outside South Africa mainly due to family considerations It was only in 1970 that Korsten sold his business to devote himself to full time singing In the course of his operatic career Korsten appeared on stage more than 3 000 times playing 23 roles in most of the major operas In 1965 Korsten started his career in light music with his album Ge Korsten Sing Uit Die Hart English Ge Korsten Sings From The Heart and soon became a best selling recording artist with a career spanning 40 years Nine of his 58 albums achieved gold status Most of his recorded work is light Afrikaans music including the song Liefling English Sweetheart His popularity as a singer also led to lead roles in films such as Hoor My Lied English Hear My Song Lied In My Hart English Song In My Heart and A New Life all of which included singing scenes He received six Sarie awards and in 1979 an ARTES award for his TV program Ge Sing English Ge Sings In his later life Korsten was well known for his role as family patriarch Walt Vorster in the long running South African soap opera Egoli Place of Gold In 1985 he was appointed the managing director of the Cape Performing Arts Board CAPAB in Cape Town a post which he held until 1989 Death editIn 1999 he committed suicide with a self inflicted gunshot to his right temple with the motive possibly being that he suffered from cancer 1 References edit Mphuthing Poppie 17 April 2008 The Times profiles the Lifetime Achievement nominees Ge Korsten Sunday Times South Africa Archived from the original on 9 January 2009 Retrieved 8 May 2009 External links edit South African Opera Singers saoperasingers homestead com Archived from the original on 6 February 2006 Report on Korsten s death Facebook Fan Page Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ge Korsten amp oldid 1191501191, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
