Winner hits the high notes

Soprano singer Isabella Moore.

Song quest win step on road to Covent Garden or the Met.

Auckland soprano Isabella Moore has followed in the footsteps of some famous Kiwis to win New Zealand's most prestigious singing contest - including her partner's.

Moore, 23, won the 2014 Lexus Song Quest on Saturday night. Her partner Amitai Pati - one-third of the hugely successful Sol3 Mio - won the contest in 2012.

Previous winners also include Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Dame Malvina Major, Jonathan Lemalu, Madeleine Pierard and Phillip Rhodes.

Sol3 Mio's debut album went platinum and bested Lorde by becoming the country's biggest-selling album of 2013.

Moore, a New Zealand-born Samoan, said Pati had been hugely supportive of her singing career.

"Aside from my parents he's my biggest fan."

Moore performed three pieces on Saturday night, including Spring Waters by Rachmaninov, accompanied by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

She said the fact that she had won had not yet fully sunk in, but she felt incredible on the night.

"It felt amazing - it's the Lexus Song Quest, so pretty much every young opera singer wants to win it."

In June, Moore finished studying at the Wales International Academy of Voice, achieving a master's in advanced vocal performance with distinction.

On returning to New Zealand this month, she took the $5000 first prize in the Dame Malvina Major Foundation Christchurch Aria, and has also recently won a Hamilton singing competition.

Moore is also a finalist in the Australian Singing Competition and she hopes her win on Saturday night will take her closer to her dream of performing at London's Covent Garden or the Met in New York.

She plans to return to Britain in November to apply for a place in the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme. Her Lexus prizes include $10,000, a scholarship of $15,000 and an international airfare.