Rotorua's Elizabeth wows Australian audiences

Rotorua's Elizabeth Marvelly has been playing to full houses on the Australian leg of her tour with Britain's Paul Potts.

A stand-out hit with the Australian audiences has been the song Tarakihi, which was also a favourite of Kiwi concert goers during Marvelly's New Zealand tour with Potts.

The tour in Australia has included performing at the famous Sydney Opera House.

Reporting from Australia while in transit between Melbourne and Perth this week, the 18-year-old popera star's father, Rotorua hotelier Brett Marvelly said Tarakihi had "brought the house down" in every venue so far.

In Melbourne, people queued out the door for Marvelly's autograph and copies of her self-titled album on sale at the venue were sold out.

Marvelly's rising star has kept her busy of late with performances prior to her tour with Potts on TV1's top rating show Dancing With the Stars, at the Hong Kong premiere of Nicole Kidman's latest movie The Golden Compass, alongside Dame Malvina Major and at the 3 Divas concert in Tauranga. She also recently gave a one-night performance at her parents' Rotorua hotel, The Prince's Gate. Heading home this weekend, Marvelly will be live in concert in Rotorua on Mother's Day, May 11, at the Rotorua Convention Centre, where she will give two performances.

Marvelly released her gold-selling debut self-titled album in December, has been signed by EMI Classics London and is included, singing Love Can Build a Bridge, on a new compilation album which also features Kiwi opera great Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Sarah Brightman, Sir Paul McCartney, Nigel Kennedy and the late Luciano Pavarotti.