South African coloratura soprano Mimi Coertse, famed for performing the Queen of the Night more than 500 times, has died at 93. She passed away peacefully in her Pretoria home on 27 April 2026. Coertse was a Vienna State Opera star and a key figure in South African musical heritage.
Mimi Coertse, born Maria Sophia Coertse on 12 June 1932 in Durban, died shortly before 9pm on Monday, 27 April, from natural causes while sleeping at her Pretoria home. Known as "Onse Mimi" in South Africa, she rose from local stages to international acclaim, debuting in Johannesburg's City Hall with Handel's Messiah in the early 1950s before moving to Europe in 1954.
In Vienna, she joined the State Opera's permanent ensemble as its youngest member, earning the title Kammersängerin in the mid-1960s. Coertse excelled in roles like the Queen of the Night in Mozart's The Magic Flute, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, and Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, performing with conductors including Herbert von Karajan and Karl Böhm. Professor Jeremy Silver described her voice as "crystalline in its upper register, with an amazing facility for fast coloratura," noting her musical elegance.
Returning to South Africa in the 1970s, she married businessman Werner Ackerman and focused on mentorship, founding the Mimi Coertse Bursary and Debut with Mimi concerts to support young singers of all races. Despite a racially motivated attack on her home, she continued advocating for inclusivity and was honoured by the ANC. Pianist Martin Lane praised her as an "astute promoter of South African opera singers representative of all races."
Coertse received honorary doctorates from the University of Pretoria and Unisa, and in 2020 became a living legend in the South African Legends Museum. Her legacy includes recordings, film appearances, and a commitment to opera and lieder.
