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Some of New Zealand’s best young singers will be heading to Matakana later this month for Auckland Opera Studio’s annual gala picnic on the evening of Saturday, February 17.
The outdoor concert will be held at its traditional lakeside venue, on the gently sloping lawns of Simon and Robin Barclay’s property on the corner of Matakana Valley and Ward Roads.
Opera Studio co-founder Stephen Fitzgerald says this year’s programme is all about celebrating a new era – the here and the now – while not neglecting cherished classics.
“With covid on the wane and with more than one of us in recovery mode, be it health, business, fortune, or everyone just generally ‘getting it back together’, we think it’s time to sing a new song,” he says.
“We always like the programme to be a surprise, so we won’t do a big reveal. But as usual, we have some big operatic numbers with a few repeat old favourites.”
There will also be a large selection of musical theatre songs and show numbers from various Broadway productions.
The performers will be a mix of opera picnic veterans and virgins, with accomplished orchestral and operatic pianist Somi Kim leading proceedings once more. Singers include the ever-popular soprano Amelia Berry and bass-baritone Joel Amosa making their return to Matakana, together with newcomers Katherine Winitana and Rhiannon Cooper (both soprano), brothers Emmanuel and Alfred Fonoti Fuimaono (tenor and bass-baritone) and Cook Island tenor Ridge Ponini.
Fitzgerald says the new artists are all top calibre, having won a raft of awards, scholarships and competitions between them, not least Australasia’s top singing contest, the $50,000 2023 IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition, which was won by Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono in August.
“We’re extremely proud of our cast this year,” he said. “Not only are they a collection of brilliant young singers on the cusp of leaving us for bigger and brighter things, they are all super human beings who have chosen the precarious life of a singer, just because they all love to perform.
“We really think this could be one of our best concerts to date.”
Tickets cost $60 per person, although under-16s are free, and concertgoers should bring their own picnic, drinks, lawn chairs and rugs. The show runs from 5.30pm to approximately 8pm.
Info and bookings: https://www.aucklandoperastudio.co.nz/events
