Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Opera, Sol3Mio and Kauwiti

I fell in love with Opera when I went to see "This is Cinerama". I must have been about 10 years old. One section of the film showed La Scala Opera theatre in Milan and the Grand March from Aida.
While I have discovered some of that film on Youtube, I cannot find the Grand March section.
I attended many performances of the Australian Opera at the Sydney Opera House. Far too many to list. The most wonderful were with Joan Sutherland. I can remember Norma, Lakme, La Fllle du Regiment, Les Huguenots, Lucia di Lammermoor, Tales of Hoffman and the Merry Widow.
I have seen Aida several times, the most recent here in Dunedin on Film from the Met.
I have never attended a performance at La Scala.
I have attended a number of Operas at the Vienna Opera. Der Rosenkavalier in 2008 and Werther and La Boheme last year. I have tentative plans to see more there in 2015. I have also seen a few productions at the Vienna Volksoper. Barber of Seville in 2000, Land of Smiles in 2008 and Der Wildschutz last year. In 2008, I saw a production of The Magic Flute in Berlin and way back in 1974 I saw Die Valkerie at Covent Garden.  I stood for that performance, the Sydney Opera House had only just opened and I had only previously seen a few operas at the old Elizabethan in Newtown.

Unfortunately the only way to see opera in Dunedin is on Film from the Met. However we do get to hear some young opera singers with symphony concerts. Jonathan Lemalu was born in Dunedin and Anna Leese studied here. They are both making international names for themselves.
I attended a farewell concert for Kawiti Waetford, a young baritone now studying in Wales.
I have a ticket to hear Kiri Te Kanawa on her farewell concert tour here in June. I heard her sing with José Carreras at the Last Night of the Proms in Hyde Park, London in 2010.



Last Saturday night, I saw a thrilling performance by Sol3 Mio here at the Regent Theatre. I have seen these 3 remarkable young men on various news items and bought their CD before Christmas. Pene and Amitai are brothers and Moses is their cousin. They have all studied in Wales. They have just finished 15 sold out concerts throughout New Zealand and have added 3 more this week in the 3 largest cities using bigger venues.
Here they are singing "I am Samoa" the unofficial national anthem of Samoa. 



Their story is on NZ Story. I am not sure this will be viewable outside NZ.

Last night on a news program there was an item about a 16 year old Maori boy from Northland, Kauwiti Selwyn, and his meeting with Sol3 Mio. Perhaps there is another great opera singer of the future.

Meanwhile at the concert on Saturday, we learnt that this year Moses will be singing in France, Amitai at Salzburg and Pene at the San Francisco Opera.  I have found that he is singing the role of Gascon in La Traviata the night I will be there. I have purchased a ticket.



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