Review: New Zealand Opera School cafe concerts

New Zealand Opera School students performed cafe concerts on Wednesday. Photo / Steve Caudwell

REVIEW

By Lin Ferguson

Whanganui central cafes Momiji and the Brick House were the centre of two musical concerts by New Zealand Opera School students on Wednesday.

Both venues were booked out with diners enjoying their meals while being serenaded by burgeoning young opera singers at the top of their game.

Instead of the usual buzz of conversation, these diners were immersed in the music presented in three brackets, allowing for serving and eating during the breaks.

At Momiji, the ever-accomplished pianist David Kelly provided the singers with a secure and lyrical accompaniment.

Young Emma Jones, a soprano from Invercargill, has a glorious voice and sang ‘Since The Day’ and it’s easy to predict she will impress overseas.

Momiji rang with applause for this young singer.

The ever-loved ‘O Mio Caro Bambino’ was sung with love and feeling by soprano Jasmine Jessen and had this audience smiling with recognition and pleasure.

At the Brick House, an entirely different venue was brought into a special musical space with beautiful pianist Francis Cowan.

A young tenor Teddy Finney-Waters delighted this audience with his clear, ringing voice emphasised by his vibrant personality and natural acting ability.

His Tosti was fluid and lyrical and the audience loved him.

Beautiful was Dunedin soprano Rosie Auchinvole singing ‘If I loved You’ from the musical Carousel. She was smooth, lyrical and very composed.

These two concerts showcased the measure of these students.

These are the superb classical voices we have in New Zealand and they arrive every year at the Opera School.

We are known for our great sporting prowess but in New Zealand, we have it in spades musically as well.

I mean we now have our own Samoan tenor from South Auckland Pene Pati who made his astonishing debut at The Metropolitan Opera in New York as the lead last week in Rigoletto.

There’s more to come for these students from the New Zealand Opera School... that’s a promise.