THE NEW ZEALAND OPERA SOCIETY

Local soprano Paloma Bruce has been accepted by the prestigious Royal College of Music in London to start her postgraduate studies this eptember. Paloma has always dreamed of becoming an opera singer and she says "this is my chance to make my dream closer to reality". At he Royal College of Music, Paloma will have the opportunity to betrained by world-class teachers and coaches and to sing alongside some of the world's best young singers.

Paloma has had local success with winning the Wellington Aria in 2006, and was a PriceWaterhouseCoopers Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist with NBR NZ Opera in 2005. Currently resident in Auckland while studying with Frances Wilson at the Auckland Opera Studio, Paloma is planning to come home to Wellington to perform a fundraising concert, the details are to be confirmed).

Paloma's family is holding a screening of the movie "Orchestra Seats" at the Penthouse cinema on Wednesday 28th February to help raise funds for her tuition fees. she will sing a song beforehand.

To book a movie ticket Contact Paul.Bruce@greens.org.nz Tel 972 8699, or send $20 per seat to Paloma Bruce fundraiser, 272 Ohiro Road, Brooklyn.

To be on Paloma's maiiling list for future performances, email her directly at palomairisbruce@gmail.com.

NBR New Zealand Opera
St James Theatre, Wellington
Saturday 17 June. 

Review by Simon Tipping 

What an eyeful! This production is such a visual, fantastical feast that the eye threatens to overwhelm the ear at times. Gerald Scarfe’s sets and costumes are stunning. Colours and shapes riot and dazzle, and we are taken on a visual journey which encompasses Egypt, Mayan Central America, Japan and Polynesia, to name only the more obvious visual references in the opera. Scarfe’s fecund mind mixes all these influences up in one pot and pulls out whatever colourful and curious idea floats to the top.

Stephen Barlow Conductor
Margaret Medlyn Judith
Ferenc Cserhalmi Bluebeard

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
Auckland Town Hall
25 May

Review by Neil Jenkins 

Bartok’s only opera Bluebeard’s Castle, if it is to be performed well, is a musical challenge. Only his ballet The Miraculous Mandarin can be thought of, in some respects, as a musical sequel to the opera. It has an individuality that comes perhaps from Bartok’s study of Hungarian folk music with its modal scales. These seem to rub off on the opera’s harmony as well as on its melody. Bartok’s key symbolism is unique, and in Bluebeard for instance, he gives melody lines to the baritone, but the mezzo-soprano is often faced with singing aggressive music against the prevailing key. The baritone’s musical entries can be in G major and the soprano’s reply will be in the pentatonic scale of A flat – a difference of one semitone.

Stephen Barlow Conductor
Margaret Medlyn Judith
Ferenc Cserhalmi Bluebeard

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
Auckland Town Hall
25 May

Review by Garth Wilshere

This concert performance of Bartok’s masterwork, Bluebeard’s Castle was an imaginative initiative by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, in collaboration with the NBR NZ Opera and The Edge. I was very much looking forward to the performance but despite the laudable intentions of the organisers, and apart from the magnificent, involving performance of Margaret Medlyn, I was very disappointed with the whole presentation of what should be, a chillingly powerful piece. The major disappointment stemmed from the underwhelming vocal performance of the Hungarian bass Ferenc Cserhalmi whose projection and involvement in the music and drama was minimal. His stolid unmoving stage demeanour and lack of any interaction or even acknowledgement of Medlyn’s Judith, let alone the conductor, seriously diminished the drama, passion, emotion and power of the work.

Stravinsky’s operatic masterpiece The Rake’s Progress in the now over 30-years-old David Hockney production, which I was lucky enough to see when it debuted at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in the old house, gave the Melbourne Autumn Season of Opera Australia tremendous caché. The unique sets and costumes have held up magnificently; and if a production can assume the status of a museum piece, this one certainly should be preserved, for it was, and still is, a trend-setter.

Nelson School of Music, 19 August 2006

Tenor Stephen Chambers from Dunedin won the Sealord Aria competition at the Nelson School of Music on Saturday night - proving ‘third time lucky’ for the young Otago graduate.

Stephen has been competing on the opera circuit since his teens and was recently accepted to go to the Boston Conservatory to study for a Masters’ degree in opera. He says things went right for him in his third bid at Sealord Aria, having been to Nelson for the competition since it began three years ago. “I felt like I was in character in both of my arias,” he said. “I was in the right frame of mind.” Stephen sang ‘Le Reve’ by Massenet from the opera ‘Manon’ and ‘De’ miei bollenti spiriti’ from Verdi’s ‘La Traviata’.

Stephen won a cash prize of $3000. Because he is going to be in the US, the winner’s contact to perform at Sealord Night with the Stars in Nelson in February will go to runner up Brigitte Heuser, another Otago graduate who is now studying in Wellington for an honours degree in voice performance. Adjudicator Barry Mora, who is on the board of NBR New Zealand Opera, said the standard of the performers was very good: “This country keeps on producing singers of a high standard who can go on to further study overseas and do very well.”

Porgy and Bess, George and Ira Gershwin’s operatic masterpiece returns to New Zealand direct from New York. Garth Wilshere recounts some of the work's colourful history.

George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess is the great “American Opera”, sometimes referred to as a ”Folk” opera in an to attempt to distinguish it from “Grand” opera, but it stands as a strong and immensely powerful musical and dramatic statement and has maintained it’s huge popularity through the years since it was written in the 1930’s.

The world premiere in Boston’s Colonial Theatre on 30 September 1935 was followed by performances in New York’s Alvin Theatre from 10 October that same year. It ran for 124 performances, but had a mixed critical response.

George Gershwin always had total faith in his work and he was proved absolutely correct: Porgy and Bess can now take its place alongside other works in the “Great” operatic repertoire.

"For several years I've had the idea of writing an opera based on a takeaway establishment. Having been a regular Friday Fish and Chip customer I had some experience of the comings and goings of the 'regulars' and their very varied backgrounds and the occasional unexpected domestic dramas. Lynn John, whom I invited to write the libretto, thought 'The White Lady' a superb icon for this project and thus the Opera was born. It seems strangely fitting that with the possible demise of this famous institution on Shortland St. Auckland later this year a show should be written to immortalise it. Lynn wrote the libretto in October and November, 2005, and together with John Davies, who will direct the production, and Michael Knapp, the designer, we worked on the story December/January and I started composing the music more or less immediately as the pages of the libretto, scene by scene, were finished.

The drama unfolds with Mahina and Joshua, two University students, falling in love. Mahina is assaulted by a local pimp (The Weasel) and violence results. Joshua and Mahina are implicated in the murder of The Weasel but through a complicated outworking of investigation the real culprit is found. Nonetheless there is plenty of humour provided by two local Massage Parlour workers, and the proprietors of The White Lady, Paddy and Betty, provide a very warm and human face to the story. The Chorus sing some rousing accolades in praise of the White Lady's burgers and further entertainment is provided by some local street colour, all authentically drawn from the real environment."

Students from the Music Department and Theatre Studies make up the cast and the Music Department Chamber Orchestra will be conducted by James Tennant. John Murray, who was so magnificent as Fred in the Opera '3 Franks' in 2006 will take the role of the Weasel. Reece Pennington, a former student of The Music Department who was outstanding as Marius in last years superb local production of 'Les Miserables' will sing the role of Joshua. Other cast members are Julia Hill (Mahina), Ian Campbell (Vasa), Beverley Pullon (Betty), Marion Taylor (Svetlana) and Angela Bjerga (Charlotte). David Griffiths, the composer will take the role of Paddy and Lynn John, the librettist will take the role of the Detective.

The Opera opens Wednesday 8pm September 6th at the WEL Academy of Performing Arts and runs until September the 8th. There will also be a Matinee on the Friday at 1pm.

The NZ National Singing School in Napier ( operating at the EIT campus in Taradale ) offered positions for Trainee Repetiteurs at the 2005 school and Catherine Norton and David Kelly were appointed to these positions. Both are now Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artists and perhaps without the experience of playing at the School, they would not have been appointed to this scheme.

The Trustees of the School recognise the importance of encouraging our young musicians and so it has been decided to offer in addition to the Trainee Repetiteurs, two positions as Trainee Tutors for the 2007 school. These trainees will work under the guidance of Flora Edwards from Wellington and Judy Bellingham from Dunedin, the Director of the School. Each trainee will observe Masterclasses taken by a variety of tutors, will be expected to make notes and evaluations of each class and will towards the latter part of the Course be expected to tutor students under the observation of either Flora or Judy or another member of the tutorial staff. 

Two delightful short New Zealand operas made up a celebratory last season of Sirius opera. Mrs Windermere and The Genteel Pigeons, with libretti by Jeremy Commons, the genius behind Sirius Opera, and music by John Drummond, were a celebration for the audience too, many of whom have attended most of Sirius’s Wellington productions. They showed their approval this time by filling the house for five performances, and by their appreciation at the end of the evening.