Michael has been part of the NZOS faculty for years and his reason for coming back says it all... #NZOS #NZOperaSchool #OperaTraining #Whanganui

Did you know that Friends of the Opera School get first access to Whanganui Opera Week 2027 tickets and that window is open right now? 🎶 General Public tickets follow on 1 October. Not yet a Friend? There's never been a better time. 🤍 🔗 operaschool.org.nz/friends-of-the-opera-school #NZOS #NZOperaSchool #WhanganuiOperaWeek #Whanganui

Every September, something amazing happens. 🤍 We watch one group of singers leave Aotearoa for the world and we feel nothing but pride. And then we turn around, and we start thinking about January. About who is coming next. About the new voices we haven't heard yet. This is why we do what we do. The singers who train with us carry something of this place with them wherever they go. And every year, a new group arrives, nervous, talented, ready and the whole thing begins again. Soon we will introduce you to the Class of 2027. Until then, safe travels to those heading out. We'll be watching every step. 🌍 #NZOS #NZOperaSchool #OperaTraining #NZOS2027

Our patron Simon O'Neill, one of the world's most celebrated heldentenors, is in Sydney this weekend as a judge for the prestigious JSRB Bel Canto Award and Sydney International Song Prize, hosted by the Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge Foundation. 🎶 Generous with his time, his knowledge and his passion for this art form - that is the kind of artist Simon has always been. The Preliminary Final took place today and the Grand Final is tomorrow, Sunday 6 September at 2pm, Independent Theatre, North Sydney. A special toi toi toi to our alumnus Jordan Fonoti-Fuimaono who is among the finalists. 🤍 #NZOS #NZOperaSchool #SimonOneill

In January they were with us studying and performing in Whanganui. This September, this is where they are headed. 🌍 🇮🇹 Sarah Mileham - Young Artist Programme, Fondazione Mascarade Opera, Florence 🇬🇧 Jack Doyle - Masters in Performance, Royal College of Music, London 🇬🇧 Faamanu Fonoti-Fuimaono - Masters in Performance, Royal College of Music, London 🇫🇮 Cameron Monteath - Masters in Composition, Sibelius Academy, Helsinki 🇬🇧 Blake Scanlen - Masters in Solo Voice Ensemble Singing, University of York We could not be more thrilled for every single one of them. 🤍 #NZOS #NZOperaSchool #Alumni #OperaTraining #Whanganui

Congratulations to Faamanu Fonoti-Fuimaono, winner of the Dunedin Senior Vocal Competition, and to runner-up Cadence Chung — both NZOS alumni. 🎶 Always wonderful to see our patron Simon O'Neill adjudicating at competitions like this — what a privilege for all the singers who performed. To every singer who competed — bravo. Seeing our alumni shine at vocal competitions across the country fills us with so much joy. 🤍 #NZOS #NZOperaSchool #dunedin 📸: Thank you, Cadence, for the snap! Bravo Dunedin Performing Arts Competitions Society for giving young artists this wonderful opportunity!

Wonderful news from our 2025 alumna Charlotte McDonald. 🤍 She just took first place in the Norah Howell Recital Class at the Hamilton Competitions. 🏆 That trophy says it all. So thrilled for you, Charlotte. 🤍 🌟#NZOS #NZOperaSchool #Alumni

We were proud to support this application and even prouder to see it succeed. 🤍 The New Zealand Piano Tuners and Technicians Guild has just secured Tertiary Education Commission funding for the New Zealand Certificate in Piano Tuning and Technology. A watershed moment for an incredibly important craft. Opera depends on well-tuned, well-maintained instruments. Behind every performance, every rehearsal, every masterclass, every Whanganui Opera Week, there is a piano technician whose work makes it all possible. This qualification ensures that expertise is trained, recognised and preserved in Aotearoa for generations to come. Congratulations to the NZPTTG and LetsGoMusic on this remarkable achievement. 🎹 🔗 letsgomusic.ac.nz #LetsGoMusic #PianoTuning #Aotearoa

Every year, alongside our two weeks of intensive training, Whanganui comes alive with opera during Whanganui Opera Week - performances open to the public, right here in the heart of our beautiful town. 🎶 A rare chance to hear tomorrow's operatic stars up close. Friends of NZOS get first access to tickets from 1 September. General Public tickets on sale from 1 October. Not yet a Friend of NZOS? Now might be the time. 😏https://operaschool.org.nz/support/friends-of-the-opera-school/ #NZOS #NZOperaSchool #OperaTraining #Whanganui

Tomairangi Henare just made the final of the Sydney Eisteddfod Opera Scholarship and we are absolutely over the moon! 🎉 Five singers. One of the most coveted opera scholarships in Australia. An exceptional semifinal at Opera Australia's Fairfax Studio that got him here. And now the Final at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music on Saturday 29 August. He started the last three years with us in Whanganui. Look at him now. Go get it, Tomairangi! 🤍 🎟️ sydneyeisteddfod.com.au #NZOS #NZOperaSchool #Alumni

Donald and Ian made the trip to Wellington for Manon last week and what a cast to witness! NZOS alumni everywhere you looked. 🤍 A post-show catch-up with outstanding baritones Phillip Rhodes and Kieran Rayner. Two of ours, doing what they do best, in a sold-out season that had the whole country travelling to Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Moments like these🤍 #NZOS #NZOperaSchool #Alumni #manon

We had the loveliest catch-up with our alumna Cecily Shaw recently and what a season she's had. 🤍 Back from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, and this year a Song Quest finalist performance that had everyone talking. Cecily was magnificent throughout the competition and we couldn't be prouder! You have the chance to listen to Cecily live in not one but two concerts, one of them alongside Song Quest winner himself, countertenor Samuel Mataele. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝟏 — 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐒𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐞 St Peter's Cathedral, Hamilton With Francis Cowan on piano and Margaret Thompson on organ 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝟐 — 𝐍𝐙 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞 𝐋𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭 Tuesday 18 August · 1pm Symphonia Music Centre, Auckland With Samuel Mataele and pianist Rachel Fuller Reserve via [email protected] #NZOS #NZOperaSchool #Alumni #OperaTraining