Lynette Gunnion 
Kia ora koutou and nau mai haere mai once again to Stage Notes, as we continue to look forward to our very-fast-approaching 2025 season of La bohème. With our cast, crew and creative team now having vacated our Parnell studio and taken up their temporary residence in Auckland’s Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, we’re officially on … Read more
Rebecca Meltzer. Photo by Sally Jubb, additional design by NZ Opera Kia ora koutou and nau mai haere mai to another instalment of Stage Notes – taking you deeper behind the scenes of our 2025 season of Mansfield Park. With the long-awaited South Island premiere of this modern chamber opera classic now only one week away, … Read more
Jane Austen Kia ora koutou and nau mai haere mai to the very first instalment of Stage Notes for the 2025 season of New Zealand Opera. If you attended any of our operas throughout 2024, it’s highly likely that you’ll be familiar with Stage Notes – and if not, welcome! This is the series where … Read more
Aotearoa, New Zealand, Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland – New Zealand Opera is delighted to announce that Her Excellency, The Rt Hon Dame Cindy Kiro, GNZM, QSO, Governor-General of New Zealand has become the newest Patron for the company. Her Excellency joins an esteemed group of existing Patrons of New Zealand Opera, including The Rt Hon Dame … Read more
Our final production of the 2024 season, Verdi’s Rigoletto, opened on 19 September to a sold out Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre. Here’s a selection of the feedback from our season: “With this production director, designers, soloists, chorus and musicians have brought together a seamless tale of brilliantly rounded characters with vivid emotions and contemporary relevance.” … Read more
Elijah Moshinsky, in front of an image of his Ariadne auf Naxos for the Metropolitan Opera. Headshot courtesy of Opera Australia. Welcome back to Stage Notes, the series where we take you inside and behind the scenes of our fantastic mainstage opera productions, sharing fresh insight into the worlds built on our stages. For this … Read more
A new step in our accessibility journey. (Simplified Chinese follows English) Last week, we at New Zealand Opera were proud to announce that for the very first time, audiences will be able to access live, Simplified Chinese surtitles on their personal devices at all performances in our upcoming season of Rigoletto. Speaking to The Big … Read more
New Zealand Opera is delighted to announce the appointment of Alfred Fonoti-Fuimaono and Taylor Wallbank (Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Heretaunga) as the 2024 NZ Opera Freemasons Foundation Company Artists. Alfred and Taylor have been part of the wider NZ Opera whānau for some time now, with both appearing in the ensemble for our … Read more
As a company dedicated to crafting world-class opera performances for Aotearoa, we know that our audience is a culturally engaged, artistically-informed and generally very discerning one. But we also know that within our wide, varied artform, even those with a passion for opera may occasionally wish for more insight into what they may see on … Read more
New Zealand Opera is delighted to announce the appointment of Matthew Kereama (Ngāti Manomano) as the 2024 NZ Opera Friedlander Foundation Associate Artist.