IN CONCERT

St Andrew’s 30 The Terrace 07 Oct, 6:30 PM DOOR SALES

St Patrick's Cathedral 16 Oct, 7:30 PM BY DONATION

Winner of the Leonard Ingrams Award and the Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge Bel Canto Award, New Zealand born Samoan soprano Marlena Devoe also won the Richard Bonynge Award and the Tait Memorial Trust Prize. She was a 2018 Alvarez Young Artist at Garsington Opera, where she made her debut as Alice Ford Falstaff. Marlena Devoe completed her MA in Advanced Vocal Studies with Distinction at the Wales International Academy of Voice, studying with Nuccia Focile and Dennis O’Neill. Prior to her studies in Cardiff, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Italian and German from the University of Auckland. In Masterclasses, she has worked with Rebecca Evans, Dame Della Jones, Dame Kiri te Kanawa, Nelly Miricioiu, Ann Murray DBE, Virginia Zeani, Richard Bonynge and David Gowland. Concert engagements have included performances alongside Dame Kiri te Kanawa, Andrea Bocelli, Jonathan Lemalu and Simon O’Neill. She attended the Georg Solti Accademia di Bel Canto, which led to an invitation to sing Adina L’elisir d’amore at the Verbier Festival conducted by Jésus Lopez-Cobos and directed by Sir Thomas Allen. Her operatic engagements have further included Mimì La bohème for Lyric Opera, Dublin, Lauretta Gianni Schicchi for Singapore Lyric Opera, Gilda Rigoletto for Opera Project and Violetta La traviata for Clonter Opera. Marlena is a recurring artist with the Auckland Opera Studio and has performed several roles with the company, including Lucia Lucia di Lammermoor, Amina La Sonnambula and Servilia La Clemenza di Tito. Current engagements include Mimì La bohème for New Zealand Opera and Messiah with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Auckland Choral.

Winner of the Maureen Forrester Prize and the German Lied Award at the 2018 Concours Musical International de Montréal, Winner of the 2017 Wigmore Hall / Kohn Foundation International Song Competition, the 2017 Kathleen Ferrier Awards, and the 2015 Maureen Lehane Vocal Arts Award, British / New Zealand baritone Julien Van Mellaerts studied at the University of Otago, before joining the International Opera School of the Royal College of Music. His studies have been supported by the 2016 Kiwi Music Scholarship, a 2016 Countess of Munster Award, the Hunn Trust and the ongoing support of the Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation. He graduated from the RCM in Summer 2017, having been a Fishmongers Company Scholar, supported by a Toeman Weinberger Award studying with Russell Smythe. On Graduation, he was awarded the Tagore Gold Medal. He is also a scholar and alumnus of the 2017 Verbier Festival Academy, the 2018 Heidelberger Frühling Lied Academy with Thomas Hampson, and the 2018 Bayreuth Festspiele Stipendium. Concert highlights have included the St John Passion and Messiah with the Orchestra of St John’s, Paul Carr’s Requiem for an Angel with the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and the world première of Lewis Murphy’s Land Unknown at New Zealand House, The Genius of Mozart with the Orion Orchestra and Carmina Burana at The Snape Maltings. Recital engagements have included performances with Christopher Glynn at the Ryedale Festival and with Nigel Foster at the London Song Festival. His broadcasts include In Tune (BBC Radio3), Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn (Rádio Clásica España) and Salome (Medici TV). Current engagements include: Schaunard with NZ Opera and a Chamber Music New Zealand tour with James Baillieu.