TANZOS 2025 eNews, Issue #2: Including upcoming performances and successes

A Word from our Chair in Opera...

Happy Autumn Season!

I’ve just returned from a jasmine-scented spring in Rome, where I performed for the first time at Teatro dell’opera di Roma. Whilst there, I met with the NZ Ambassador to Rome, HE Jacqueline Frizzelle, who was very interested in our two TANZOS students who will be in residence in Italy later this year: Jasmine Jessen, who heads to Sicily later this month (you can read more about this further down), and Taylor Wallbank, who has a two-year scholarship at the idyllic Fondazione Mascarade Opera in Florence.

Ambassador Frizzelle also attended the opening night in Rome, where I made my debut singing seven performances of Strauss’ Vier Letzte Lieder. I’ll be repeating these performances later this year in London whilst also undertaking meetings with the Jette Parker Artist Programme at The Royal Ballet and Opera, Covent Garden.

TANZOS is a global ‘hub’ for the Jette Parker Artist Programme, meaning we are in partnership to develop and discover talent for the wider industry.

You can read more about this in the current issue of Classical Music UK (featuring our own Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono). To that end, Elaine Kidd (Head of the Jette Parker Programme) and Caroline Dowdle (Head of Opera at the Verbier Atelier Lyrique and Jette Parker Artist coach) will be coming to us directly from their London auditions in November to be part of a TANZOS showcase in Wellington on November 29, as well as a major event on November 27 that we will be announcing next month.

Upon my return to New Zealand last week, I attended an event at Toi Toi in Hastings, celebrating the impact of Project Prima Volta and The Dame Malvina Major Foundation on the community. Emmanuel’s success was highlighted as embodying that impact, with TANZOS forming a pivotal role later in his development. It was a remarkable and joyful evening and such a great example of meaningful collaboration. Along with other wonderful guests, our Head Vocal Teacher, Nikki Li Hartliep spoke about the importance of the preparation and challenges of the career from an international perspective, and how important this grassroots access is for our young singers.

Soon we’ll be farewelling our 2024-25 artists, who have just completed their core role study assessments. The growth that all of them have shown throughout this process has been nothing short of remarkable. We’ve seen some real strides in confidence, polish and drive, and as you’ll read further down, some exciting events are coming up for them. Before that though, they’ll be singing their farewells to us in a Winter Warmers concert on Sunday 29 June. Please join us to celebrate their progress and to sip on mulled wine whilst you’re being serenaded by these wonderful singers.

Noho ora mai,

Madeleine Pierard

TANZOS Director and Dame Malvina Major Chair in Opera

Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato | The University of Waikato

What we are up to...

Since our last eNews, our TANZOS Artists have been hard at work preparing for assessments and performances taking place soon. Our second-year artists are in the final stages of the programme and will soon be undergoing role study assessments, where they will present excerpts from potential future roles. This assessment is a core part of the TANZOS programme, giving the students experience in preparing full operatic roles as they would in a professional context. Their recent work at TANZOS with our head voice teacher and guest coaches has centred around language, interpretation, familiarisation and characterisation of these roles.

Our first-year cohort are looking forward to presenting their first solo recitals as TANZOS artists across June, July, and August. These recitals are open to the public, with details to be found below or on the events page of our website. While opera will play a key part in these events, the recitals are a chance for the artists to showcase their skills in a range of musical styles, including oratorio, art song, ensemble singing, and even musical theatre. We hope you can join us for some of these exciting events!

To help our students with their preparations, we have been lucky to be joined by a number of national and international guests over the past few months. Australia’s Donna Balson was our resident coach in May, while the students also had the opportunity to work with esteemed vocal coach, David Harper and national guest coach, Catherine Norton. Our ongoing Resilience Training Workshop series has seen us joined by British bass-baritone, Ben Knight, who has led workshops on developing portfolio careers, vocal pedagogy, and what resilience means as a singer.

Alongside their usual lessons as part of the TANZOS programme, three of our artists were invited to observe rehearsals of New Zealand Opera’s production of La bohème. As part of our ongoing relationship with NZO, the opportunity has given them a glimpse into the professional working environment of our national opera company and a chance to hear potential future roles performed in rehearsal.

In very recent news, TANZOS artists took a clean sweep of the Becroft Aria Competition as part of the North Shore Performing Arts Society’s Senior Vocal competition over King’s Birthday weekend. Of the eight finalists chosen by adjudicator, Joanna Foote, six were current TANZOS artists or alumni. TANZOS artists also took out all three podium spots on finals night, with Samuel McKeever and Sarah Mileham taking third and second respectively and Jordan Fonoti-Fuimaono being awarded first place!

We are looking forward now to July, where our first-year cohort will be travelling to Sydney for the third iteration of our TANZOS residency with Opera Australia. This two-week residency involves the artists joining the Opera Australia Young Artists for stagecraft and movement sessions, attending rehearsals and performances by the company, receiving coachings with members of the Opera Australia music staff, and being given the opportunity to audition for an international panel in the iconic Sydney Opera House.

As our 2024/2025 artists come to the end of their tenure with the programme, we have some exciting updates on what they will be getting up to in the coming months. Ridge Ponini and Samuel McKeever were both selected as semi-finalists for the prestigious Sydney Eisteddfod Opera Scholarship (formerly the Sun Aria) and travelled to Sydney for the event. Ridge was subsequently selected as one of the five finalists, and Samuel was selected as a reserve finalist. The final will take place in the West Recital Hall, Sydney on June 28 and we wish Ridge the best of luck for this!

Another one of our artists, Jasmine Jessen, will soon be jetting off to Sicily to join the 2025 Mediterranean Opera Studio and Festival (MOSF). Having successfully auditioned to perform the role of Adina in MOSF’s production of L’elisir d’amore, Jasmine will be spending five weeks in Sicily working with world-renowned coaches and conductors, performing with orchestras in full operatic productions, and immersing herself in the rich culture of Italy, the birthplace of opera. The General Director of MOSF is Jack LiVigni who some of you will remember from his time with TANZOS in 2023, including his wonderful public masterclass.

Upcoming Performances...

Winter Warmers with the TANZOS Artists

Sunday June 29, 6:30pm, Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts. Tickets are available here or at the door.

TANZOS Artist Recitals

Our first-year cohort will present their first solo recitals as TANZOS artists. All recitals will take place at 7pm in the Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts Concert Chamber – entry by koha.

Dunedin Symphony Orchestra presents Brahms & Mataatua: A Journey in Music

Tomairangi Henare sings as the baritone soloist in the première performance of Dame Gillian Whitehead’s The Journey of Mataatua Whare. Saturday June 28, 7:30pm, Dunedin Town Hall. Tickets and information here.

Wellington Opera present Verdi’s Un ballo in Maschera

Dame Malvina Major Chair in Opera and TANZOS Director Madeleine Pierard sings Amelia, and Sam McKeever sings Count Ribbing. August 6-10, Opera House, Wellington. Tickets and information here.

If you know of anyone who might be interested in hearing more about Te Pae Kōkako - The Aotearoa New Zealand Opera Studio, please ask them to contact tepaekokako@waikato.ac.nz to be added to our mailing list.