Lockwood Aria

Submitted by Phantomb on November 9, 2005 - 07:45.

I was a little puzzled to see that the NZ Opera encouragement prize was not awarded at this year's Lockwood Aria.

Is there any reason for this? 

Encouragement Prize at the Lockwood Aria

First I should clarify the name of the society which the correspondent simply calls NZ Opera. That is liable to confusion with the name of the opera company, the NBR New Zealand Opera. The society (whose main function is the publication of New Zealand Opera News) is the New Zealand Opera Society, and it is totally independent of any opera company. It exists as a support body to opera activity throughout New Zealand.

For several years the society has offered Encouragement Prizes to various aria contests. Offhand I'm not sure whether they have been offered more than once to the Lockwood in Rotorua, but the intention has always been to spread them around, not to offer them to any one contest. Thus, this year, the award was offered to the Nelson Aria, as readers of New Zealand Opera News would have been aware from the report in the September 2005 issue.

Lindis Taylor
Editor, New Zealand Opera News

The New Zealand Opera

The New Zealand Opera Society Merit award has been awarded to the various Lockwood arias that I have attended (2000, 2003, 2004)and it's inclusion in the programme for this year's competition is the reason I enquired.