A big step in quest for an opera career for Kawiti

Kawiti Waetford, from Whangarei, is one of six finalists chosen to compete in New Zealand's top opera singing contest, the Lexus Song Quest. To have made the finals is another milestone on his path towards a career in opera. The rising opera star talks with the Northern Advocate about getting to this stage

You have worked hard on your studies and are beginning to reap the rewards. Where are you at now?

I'm studying towards a bachelor of music with honours at the University of Otago under my singing teacher, Isabel Cunningham, and vocal coach Professor Terence Dennis. I'm in my third year with my honours year still to go.

How much prep went into the Lexus semifinals, and what did the competition entail so far?

Preparation for the competition never begins, nor ends - it's a constant practice every day of all the basics of the bel canto singing technique. The only difference is what repertoire you are singing at that time.

The semifinal round in the Lexus was an awesome experience as it was a 90-minute recording session with Radio New Zealand, with only myself and Professor Dennis, who accompanied all the semifinalists, in the room. It was a new experience for me, anyway.

Out of the six finalists, three of us come from Dunedin and, better still, we are all in the same voice programme here at Otago - all very good mates. Grace Park and I learn from Isabel Cunningham, and Alexander Wilson (an Auckland boy) learns from Judy Bellingham, and all of us learn from Terence.

I'm so glad to have friends to do the last leg of the competition with, and it is stiff competition. Each singer is amazingly talented and each adds their own specialty to the mix.

We had to submit and prepare six different songs for the competition, including two operatic arias. The pieces I sang included songs by Rossini, Mendelssohn, Gounod, Schubert and more.

Each of the finalists sings three pieces from the six that they submitted; two arias, to be sung with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and a German lied accompanied by Terence Dennis on piano.

How different do you think that experience will be to the finals on August 30?

Because there was only recording to do for the semifinals, rather than a live performance, I wasn't nervous so much as acutely aware of how focused I needed to be in getting everything perfect. Unlike in a live performance, the recording mic is unforgiving and picks up even the slightest mistake. I'm excited and look forward to showing the audience and judge the work I've done to date up on that stage.

However, at the end of the day, what matters is not so much the competitive side of the competition (which is exciting, too) but rather the consistent application of the proper vocal technique throughout each performance and in rehearsals. That is the most important thing to me. Consolidating an effective singing technique so I can sing beautifully and correctly for the rest of my life.

Has Dame Kiri been in touch?

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and her foundation have contributed a lot to the Lexus Song Quest and her support of me has been invaluable. She always tells me to do my best, and to work hard - and to breathe.

Do you keep in touch with the other Northlanders studying in Dunedin?

Northland is extremely well represented here at the Otago voice department, with fellow third-year student soprano Maia Vegar winning the Otago Daily Times Aria last year, along with another Whangarei soprano, second-year Sophie Sparrow, with whom I sang a lot in Whangarei.

We are good friends and hang out together all the time.

We were all leads in Opera Otago's recent production of the Marriage of Figaro: Maia as Countess Rosina, Sophie as Barbarina and me as Figaro.

Before Otago, and reaching the finals of New Zealand's toughest and most esteemed contest, there was ... ?

I would like to acknowledge the enormous contribution the community of Whangarei made to my early development as a young singer. I thank Joan Kennaway for the love, teaching and support she instilled in me and the family of Opera North. I also acknowledge the financial support of the Ngarimu VC and Maori Battalion Scholarship Fund board.

To my whanau and friends who travel near and far to support me, I thank you. He mihi nui tenei ki a koutou katoa, aroha nui.

From a line-up of 12 of New Zealand's hottest young opera singing talent, six have been chosen to compete in the 2012 Lexus Song Quest Grand Final in Wellington next month. They are soprano Grace Park, 21, tenor Amitai Pati, 22, baritone Kawiti Waetford, 21, soprano Bryony Williams, 22,, tenor Alexander Wilson, 21 and, for the first time in the contest's 56-year history, a counter tenor, Stephen Diaz, 24.

They will perform with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of distinguished operatic conductor Oliver von Dohnanyi, for the Quest's international judge, renowned tenor Dennis O'Neill.

All the semifinalists were 26 years old and under, and there was a particularly strong Maori and Pacific Island representation, New Zealand bass baritone and preliminary judge, Rodney Macann, said.

"The finalists are wonderfully talented young people. It was a challenging decision to make but we are happy with the line-up which sees four young men and two young women going through to the grand final. There is a beautiful multicultural mix in the group which makes them very representative of Aotearoa, New Zealand today. There is also a strong sense of community among this group and many were curious to discover whether their friends were also successful," he said.

"New Zealand continues to punch above its weight when it comes to the production of world-class opera singers. Hearing the latest crop of outstanding young singers in the Lexus Song Quest convinces me that the future is looking bright indeed."

The quest, New Zealand's oldest and most prestigious song contest, is a biennial event focused on the artistic development for New Zealand's most talented young classical singers. As well as professional acclaim, the winner and runners-up receive substantial cash, travel and study prizes designed to kick-start a career on the international stage.

"There is so much at stake for these young singers. All of them, with their very individual talents, are potential Lexus Song Quest winners. I am hugely looking forward to the final," Macann said.

O'Neill is the founder of the world-famous Wales International Academy of Voice. Ahead of the final, he will coach the singers on technique, language and musical expression, all of which will be scrutinised on the night.

The winner will receive a $10,000 cash prize, a $15,000 study grant and return international airfares - and become the 56th winner of the Lexus Song Quest (formerly the Mobil), joining the ranks of quest alumni including Dame Kiri Te Kanawa (1965), Dame Malvina Major (1963), Teddy Tahu Rhodes (1991) and Jonathan Lemalu (1998).