MBABANE – Local baritone Lwazi Dlamini secured third place at the seventh Unisa International Voice Competition, which concluded on Saturday, January 31 2026.
Dlamini, who competed in the Classical category, progressed through every stage of the rigorous international event held at the ZK Matthews Great Hall in Pretoria. For his third-place finish, he was awarded a cash prize of E79 999.
The final round took place on Saturday evening, where Dlamini was one of only three finalists selected from an initial global pool of elite vocalists. He performed a demanding repertoire alongside the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Gerard Korsten.
Competing for the top spot against two other world-class finalists, Molly Dzangare and Khayakazi Madla, Dlamini’s performance included technical masterpieces such as:
- Avant de quitter ces lieux by Gounod
- Why do the nations by Händel
- It is enough by Mendelsohn
- Largo al factotum by Rossini
- Ah per sempre by Bellini
- Gianni Schicchi’s aria by Puccini
His journey to the finals was marked by his advancement through the first and second quarter-final rounds, followed by a successful semi-final on Wednesday, January 28.
Excited about the win, Dlamini mentioned that reaching the final round of the competition was an achievement on its own.“So instead of competing, I felt it was best I enjoy myself on the stage after such a long journey of mental and physical preparation,” he said.
The kingdom was well-represented throughout the competition, which ran from January 20 to 31. Another local opera talent, Themba Mdlalose, also participated in the event. Mdlalose demonstrated high vocal standards by advancing through the preliminary stages to reach the semi-finals, placing him among the top six classical vocalists in the competition before the final cut to the top three. Mlungisi Dlamini, the Public Relations Officer of the Eswatini National Choral Music Association, highlighted that the association is proud to have emaSwati representing the country well in music.
“It makes us happy to witness our choristers shining, the fact that they were competing against the world, looking at that Lwazi Dlamini is from Siteki and Themba Mdlalose is from eNkhaneni, they both grew their talent in schools and local choirs. We are happy about the determination of the opera singers.
We are happy to see emawati learning music abroad and coming back with grand price as an association, it is high time we realise that people can make a living out of Choral music,” he said.
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Lwazi Dlamini performing with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra during the finals. (Courtesy pic)