When South African Vuvu Mpufo was a teenager in Port Elizabeth, she saw La Traviata on DVD for the first time and it made her fall in love with opera. She stayed up late into the night, watching it over and over again. Vuvu even mimicked the way the singers moved their mouths, wanting to get the words and notes right.

At first, her family didn’t approve of her opera obsession and her friends even mocked her for it. But Vuvu was determined and started studying opera at university, eventually changing their minds.However, a year before graduating, her mother died and it was then that opera came to her aid. Rather than counselling sessions, she turned to the art as it soothed her soul.

Vuvu is now performing at one of the world’s most prestigious opera houses, Glyndebourne in the English countryside. She says that every time she takes to the stage, she thinks of her mother.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen

Producer: Deiniol Buxton