Born in Robertson, South Africa, Holzapfel, son of a choirmaster and a singer, he studied music at the Stellenbosch University in South Africa and at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with Erik Werba.
[1] He sang mainly parts from the feature and character roles such as David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro, Valzacchi in Der Rosenkavalier.
Also lyrical roles such as Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Ferrando in Così fan tutte and Fenton in Verdi's Falstaff were part of his repertoire.
[2] He also performed as a lieder singer at the Salzburg Mozartwoche in 1976 and on a major tour of South America in 1983 (appearances in Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo).
In 1992, he received his doctorate with a thesis on the South African song composer Stephanus Le Roux Marais.