Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono sings Puccini. Photo / Xander James
Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono sings Puccini. Photo / Xander James
Auckland Opera Studio’s Verdi Meets Puccini was the classy musical equivalent of a brag book, showcasing five of our finest young singers, all winners of prestigious national and international awards.
The Triumphal March and Temple Scene from Verdi’s Aida made a suitably grand launch. Conductor Uwe Grodd marshalled the ManukauSymphony Orchestra and two choirs — Auckland Choral and Pakuranga Choral — as a spectacular backdrop for Eliza Boom’s priestess, Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono’s Radames and Benson Wilson’s Ramfis.
Boom’s lustrous Casta Diva from Bellini’s Norma laid out bel canto beauties rarely heard in this country, the pleasure being doubled when Katie Trigg joined her in the opera’s brilliant and demanding Act 2 duet.
Trigg then revealed why she won this year’s Lexus Song Quest with the subtle emotional shadings and exquisitely moulded lines of the letter aria from Massenet’s Werther.
After the choirs had thrilled us with Verdi’s anthemic Va, pensiero, they provided a vibrant descant for another heart-stopper — Fonoti-Fuimaono’s Nessun Dorma, the tenor effortlessly revealing the form that won him the 2023 IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition.
After the interval, the final 40 minutes of Puccini’s Madam Butterfly were an ambitious undertaking, superbly achieved.
Felicity Tomkins as Cio-Cio San. Photo / Xander James
Puccini’s gorgeous music swept us, irrevocably, to this opera’s tragic denouement, fully illuminated by its five singers, with surtitles aiding the compelling narrative.
Felicity Tomkins, awarded the Sydney Eisteddfod Opera Scholarship just two months ago, mixed mana and magic as the doomed heroine. Her final death scene was shattering, especially after so many finely observed interactions with handmaiden Suzuki — another exemplary performance from Trigg.
The experienced hand of director John Davies showed through in the powerful staging of Cio-Cio San’s hara-kiri, the soprano’s bold gold robe standing out among the black-clad cast. One felt it too in the quality of the ensemble playing, and the memorable Fonoti-Fuimaono as a tormented Pinkerton.
Not all of the stars on the night were singing; Uwe Grodd asserted his stellar status with his baton, expertly navigating his musicians through volatile textures and tempi that so mysteriously, even out of an opera house, stir both heart and soul — as did an encore of Robert Wiremu’s Whakaaria Mai.
