City sees baritone back on home turf

Journey Back In Time: Tim Beveridge and Tizane McEvoy transport audiences to the war-time romance, South Pacific. Photo/supplied

South Pacific is heading our way soon with the principal role of Emile performed by Bay of Plenty-born and bred Tim Beveridge.

The much-loved baritone has had a successful career in the music industry spanning more than 20 years. This has seen him landing plum roles including the lead in Phantom of the Opera in Sydney at the age of 29 and working with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra with a gold hit recording of Singer.

Although he has performed on some of Australasia's most famous stages, he is no stranger to the Baycourt backstage either. This is where he cut his teeth as an amateur performer in the early days. "Tauranga is an old haunt for me and although I was born in Rotorua, I am just as familiar with Tauranga's back stages and can remember one of my first gigs performing Me and My Girl with the Tauranga Operatic Society and other roles," he says.

Originally educated as a lawyer, Tim had no singing training before he decided he "wanted to have a crack" at operatic theatre.

"I remember seeing Phantom in London after I graduated from uni. I went backstage to talk to the lead singer, as Kiwis do, and after that, I decided to give it a go."

Tim returned home to Rotorua, auditioned for Evita, landed a role and started believing that he could actually sing. "It wasn't until I auditioned that I knew I could actually do it.

"I had no formal singing training at all. I just followed my instincts. It was just one of those moments when you decide whether you are a shrinking violet or say to yourself, 'what the hell, go for it, who cares if you make a fool of yourself'."

Turns out he has great instincts, as that first amateur role led to many others and eventually he started getting paid to perform. "I almost danced into the law firm where I was working when I made the decision to quit and become a full-time singer - although pursuing an artistic career was not a sound financial decision!"

Inside five years, Tim had the lead role in Phantom of the Opera in Sydney, and today he can pick and choose his roles to suit a busy family life that is now based in Auckland.

He says the choice to do South Pacific was an easy decision. "When the cast and production crew are this good, you know it's going to be great fun."

The fact that it is one of the world's most treasured musicals with classic songs such as I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair and Some Enchanted Evening makes this show a must-see.

Although the musical is based in the 1940s, Tim says the story's themes are timeless. "It's a love story, but within that there are themes of prejudice, mistrusting people from other cultures and how people deal with that. It is through these sorts of frictions that the love story develops, and it is as relevant today as any," he says.

the fine print
What: South Pacific
Where: Baycourt, Addison Theatre
When: Wednesday, September 30
Tickets: From $79.90