Christian du Plessis
Christian du Plessis (born 2 July 1944) is a South African baritone, largely based in England, and particularly associated with the bel canto repertory.

Born in Vryheid, South Africa, he studied in Johannesburg with Teasdale Griffiths and Esme Webb, and made his stage debut there, with the Transvaal Opera, as Yamadori in "Madama Butterfly", in 1967. Further studies followed in London with Otokar Kraus, making his debut there in 1970, as Mathieu in "Andrea Chénier".

He became a member of the English National Opera, where he sang the standard baritone repertory: Valentin, Luna, Posa, Marcello, Cecil, also Germont in a recording of "La traviata", etc.

In the mid-1970s, he began concentrating in the bel canto repertory,
making a specialty of lesser-known works by Donizetti and Bellini, appearing in concert performances for the London Opera Society and stage productions by Opera Rara, notably the title role in "Torquato Tasso", Corrado in "Maria de Rudenz", Ernesto in "Il Pirata".

A warm-voiced and stylish singer, he can be heard on several Opera Rara recordings; "Ugo, conte di Parigi", "Gabriella di Vergy", "L'assedio di Calais" and "Maria Padilla". He is also featured in a major recording of the opera Rigoletto featuring Luciano Pavarotti and Dame Joan Sutherland.

He formally retired from the stage in 1988.
Q31687
baritone
Concept
Q212112
bel canto
Concept
Q1023254
Vryheid
LOC
Q258
South Africa
LOC
Q34647
Johannesburg
LOC
Q19005
Madama Butterfly
MEDIA
Q493656
Andrea Chénier
MEDIA
Q1342882
English National Opera
ORG
Q745951
Valentin
MEDIA
Q203470
Luna
MEDIA
Q179110
Posa
MEDIA
Q188621
Marcello
MEDIA
Q377685
Cecil
MEDIA
Q186162
La traviata
MEDIA
Q101698
Donizetti
PER
Q170209
Bellini
PER
Q2025864
Opera Rara
MEDIA
Q168962
Torquato Tasso
PER
Q729921
Maria de Rudenz
MEDIA
Q467292
Il Pirata
MEDIA
Q755439
Ugo, conte di Parigi
MEDIA
Q914134
Gabriella di Vergy
MEDIA
Q846737
L'assedio di Calais
MEDIA
Q756150
Maria Padilla
MEDIA
Q189234
Rigoletto
MEDIA
Q37615
Luciano Pavarotti
PER
Q207269
Dame Joan Sutherland
PER
Q3675723
Christian du Plessis
PER
1944-07-02T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2 July 1944
DATE
1967-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1967
DATE
1970-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1970
DATE
1988-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1988
DATE
-1970^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-1970
NUMBER
voice type
date of birth
place of birth
country of citizenship
country
country
notable work
composer
composer