First Public Performance by Amira Willighagen

 

First public performance of Amira Willighagen at barely 7 years old. The video was shot in Goffert Park in Nijmegen, The Netherlands on April 30, 2011. Amira is accompanied by her father Gerrit, a humble church organist. She is singing "O Mio Babbino Caro" from the opera Gianni Schicchi by Puccini. She taught herself to sing the song by watching YouTube videos of Maria Callas.

The scene below was shot five years later. Amira sings the same song at 12 years old, now before a crowd of 7000 people in the Moreletta Auditorium in Pretoria, South Africa. The crowd applauds for 25 seconds before she even sings a note. And the performance receives a standing ovation at the end.