Gidon Saks

Gidon Saks (born January 15, 1960) is an Israeli born South African bass-baritone. Saks grew up in South Africa. His father was a first generation South African of Lithuanian descent. His mother was Scottish of Ukrainian extraction. He had an aunt who was an accomplished opera singer in South Africa but he had no interest in singing at first. He had originally wished to become an actor, dropping out of school at the age of sixteen because "I hated it". He auditioned for drama school at the Little Theatre under the direction of Mavis Taylor but was told he had to be eighteen for admission and they suggested he study singing in the mean time. He began his musical studies under Angelo Gobatto, the director of the opera school at the South...