New Zealand Opera

Introducing the 20th Pettman DARE Fellow! As a longstanding partnership programme between New Zealand Opera and our colleagues at Opera North in Leeds, England, made possible by the generosity of Professor Barrie and Maureen Pettman, the Pettman DARE Fellowship has for more than a decade facilitated learning and high-level skillsharing between our two companies. Alongside Opera North, we're thrilled to this week announce the appointment of Zane Berghuis as the 20th Pettman DARE fellow. A graduate of The New Zealand School of Music – Te Kokī at Victoria University of Wellington, and a member of the 2024 NZ Opera Chorus, Zane is a multi-talented singer and musician with strong interests in both composition and performance, and a particular passion for finding ways to tell the stories of Aotearoa and te ao Māori through the medium of opera. In his time as Pettman DARE Fellow, Zane hopes to deepen his understanding of cultural leadership within opera and to discover more about the ways in which both of our companies work to engage with and respond to the communities we serve. We're thrilled to have Zane on board, and we wish him all the best – keep an eye out for more!

Celebrating one of our greats. Following the curtain call for our Saturday night performance of Rigoletto, we were delighted to have the opportunity to present Dame Kiri Te Kanawa with a small gift in recognition of her 80th birthday earlier this year and of her lifelong commitment to our artform, on the stage of her namesake theatre. The work of Dame Kiri and her fellow pioneers has been a major contributor in the establishment and growth of opera in Aotearoa over the past decades, and all of us at New Zealand Opera are enormously grateful for their many contributions.

"Nōu te reo, nōkū te reo. Te hononga ki o tātou tūpuna. Maimoatia e te iwi e!" – Maimoa Music New Zealand Opera joins the motu in celebrating Te Wiki o te reo Māori. We are proud to have collaborated alongside Te Pou Theatre for Tōiri earlier this week, as part of their Kōanga Festival – a unique opportunity to experience the elegance of classical music intertwined with the essence of te reo Māori. As we continue on our haerenga Māori as an organisation, we look forward to extending, deepening and reinforcing this vital kaupapa, far into the future. Ake ake ake – a forever language. Photos by Jinki Cambronero

A new step in our accessibility journey. (Simplified Chinese follows English) A couple of weeks ago, we at New Zealand Opera were proud to announce that for the very first time, audiences will be able to access live, Simplified Chinese surtitles on their personal devices at all performances in our upcoming season of Rigoletto. Speaking to The Big Idea, NZ Opera participation manager Frances Moore shared her excitement around this new development: "Having surtitles in your own language makes a huge difference to being able to follow and enjoy an opera ... It's a joyful privilege to connect with our communities, and to learn more about the different requirements which might make our audience feel welcome." To learn more about this initiative, read the article at the link in bio. https://lnkd.in/gn-X-w6K 语言无国界的歌剧艺术无障碍之旅在奥克兰正式开启…… 新西兰歌剧院自豪地宣布，在即将到来的经典歌剧《弄臣》演出季中，观众将首次能够在所有演出中通过手机获取实时同声翻译的简体中文字幕。 在接受《The Big Idea》采访时，新西兰歌剧院参与经理弗朗西斯·摩尔分享了她对这一新技术新旅程开启的兴奋之情：“观众在欣赏歌剧的同时，可以用自己的语言观看字幕，更好地理解和欣赏歌剧巅峰之作《弄臣》的美妙。这是我们能为华语观众服务和建立美好关系的荣幸，期待您的光临，并与您的家人、朋友一起度过一个享受歌剧盛宴的美好夜晚。” 想了解更多关于《弄臣》大型歌剧演出的信息，请点击文章链接。 https://lnkd.in/gn-X-w6K

Two warm welcomes and a fond farewell! Last week we were thrilled to formally welcome our 2024 NZ Opera Freemasons Foundation Company Artists Taylor Wallbank (Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Heretaunga) and Alfred Fonoti-Fuimaono to the company. Taylor and Alfred will be with NZ Opera for the rest of this year as we support them in their professional and artistic development, with both also appearing in our upcoming season of Rigoletto. At the same time, we took the opportunity to say thank you and haere rā to our 2024 NZ Opera Friedlander Foundation Associate Artist – and assistant director of our 2024 seasons of Mansfield Park and Le comte ory – Matthew Kereama. Matthew (Ngāti Manomano) was recently awarded a Fulbright New Zealand Scholarship, which he use to will pursue a Masters of Fine Arts specialising in Stage Directing at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, studying within the John Wells Directing Program. From all of us at New Zealand Opera, our deepest gratitude to Matthew for his enormous and varied contributions to the company in his time as the NZ Opera Friedlander Foundation Associate Artist, and over the last few years. And to Alfred and Taylor, welcome aboard! #opera #fulbright #nzopera #nzarts #theatre

"We just want those kids to know that opera exists; that it's an option." In a recent episode of the Don't Give Up podcast, Joanne Cole – Kaiwhakahaere Toi Whakamahere me te Whai Wahi, Director Artistic Planning and Participation at NZ Opera – shared a wonderful kōrero with host Danny McCrum. Covering Joanne's own path as a singer, educator and now artistic leader, the episode also delved into some of the many ways that NZ Opera devises works and programmes to share our artform with as many people as possible – our just-concluded Opera in Schools tour among them. To listen to the full podcast, head to dontgiveup.co.nz, or search for Don't Give Up on your preferred podcast platform. #nzopera #artseducation #podcast #artsparticipation #opera

Introducing our NZ Opera Freemasons Foundation Company Artists! New Zealand Opera is delighted to announce the appointment of Alfred Fonoti-Fuimaono and Taylor Wallbank (Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Heretaunga) as the 2024 NZ Opera Freemasons Foundation Company Artists. Alfred and Taylor have been part of the wider NZ Opera whānau for some time now, with both appearing in the ensemble for our 2023 season of (m)Orpheus and playing major roles in our just-concluded 2024 Opera in Schools season, and Taylor having also appeared as Edmund Bertram in our season of Mansfield Park earlier this year. As company artists, both will receive substantial mentorship and support towards achieving their goals within the industry, both domestically and internationally. This will include appearing in the upcoming NZ Opera season of Rigoletto, with the opportunity for role study and coaching with NZ Opera Tumu Whakarae General Director Brad Cohen and principal artists. We are thrilled to be able to share this news, and excited to welcome Alfred and Taylor into these exciting roles. Photos: Charles Brooks

And that's a wrap! While our season of Le comte Ory has been happening on mainstages across Aotearoa, our amazing Opera in Schools team have also been out and about, visiting kura across Te Ika-a-Māui and Te Waipounamu over the past few weeks. Friday afternoon saw our final performance in this year's season, and so for now we're putting the sets, costumes and wooden kumara chips back into storage and saying a fond ka kite to Donizetti's Elixir of Love: Aotearoa fish and chip shop edition. An enormous thank you to everyone who has worked to make this tour a possibility: our funding partners ONE Foundation, Heartland Bank and the Fehl Charitable Trust, the schools who've welcomed us into their halls, gyms and classrooms, and of course the wonderful cast, crew and creative team who've made it all happen! Opera in Schools 2024: The Elixir of Love Director: Jacqueline Coats Music Director: David Kelly Repetiteurs: David Kelly and Jonathan Dunlop Set Design: Jan Ubels Costume Design: Elizabeth Whiting Costume Support: Sophie Ham Assistant Director and Tour Manager: Andrew Gordon Cast: Alfred Fonoti-Fuimaono, Tomairangi Henare, Taylor Wallbank and Sarah Mileham A special shout out to Te Ohorere Williams.

Great to see our braille surtitles being covered by The Guardian this week! We're so proud of this innovation, and so excited about what it means not only for our performances, but for accessibility in live entertainment as a whole. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/gxWsu3CS

"Le comte Ory, brimming with the frothy melodies of Rossini and a witty take on Trans-Tasman rivalry, is a sparkling night out." - Theatreview Our season of Le comte Ory kicked off last week, with two extremely well-received shows at Tāmaki Makaurau's Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre. Now it's time to let the rest of the country in on the action, and we couldn't be more excited. We'll be in Wellington on June 13th and 15th, then down to Christchurch on the 27th and 29th. Tickets are still available, and we'd be thrilled to have you – and with group booking discounts available, it's the perfect night out for clients or your work social club too! Check out the trailer to get a taste, then get your tickets! https://lnkd.in/gv4TW_RZ