Sealord Aria Results

Submitted by NZ Opera News on August 20, 2006 - 18:00.

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.”