New Zealand International Arts Festival

Aivale Cole made her debut with the Western Australian Opera in the title role of Aida late last year. She is based in Perth, Western Australia where she graduated from the Australian Opera Studio with Honours and was Awarded the Dux Prize in 2005.  Aivale has also a Bachelor in Performance Art degree from NASDA in  Christchurch and a Diploma in Performance Art - Opera from the University of Auckland. She won the 2006 Lockwood Aria and has been a finalist in the Sydney McDonald's Aria and the Lexus Song Quest. Aivale has a wide range of operatic roles and she has also featured in a number of new works such as Classical Polynesia in the NZ International Arts Festival, Ifoga in the Christchurch Arts Festival. She recorded a solo piece with the NZSO for the soundtrack of Peter Jackson's film The Lord of the Rings-Fellowship of the Rings.  She is a versatile performer, having toured New Zealand with jazz singer Malcolm McNeill and working as an actress in theatre.

Judge for yourself as Aivale sings "Ebben ne andro lontana" from La Wally by Catalani. Simply click on the arrow-shaped play button to activate the player below and listen.

Wade is mid-way through a year of study at the National Opera Studio in London. After being placed second in the 2007 Lexus Song Quest, Wade performed the bass role in Stravinsky's Pulcinella for the Hessishes State Theatre in Wiesbaden, Germany. He returned to NZ to perform the role of Zuniga in Southern Opera's Carmen and he also won the New Zealand Aria Contest. Last year Wade performed the bass roles in Lyon Opera's production of a Kurt Weill double bill of The Lindbergh Flight and The Seven Deadly Sins, presented in the New Zealand International Arts Festival. He also performed the role of Ferrando in Southern Opera's production of Il Trovatore. Wade has completed his year as the PwC Dame Malvina Major Young Artist with the NBR New Zealand Opera, having been an Emerging Artist in 2003. Wade has a Diploma in Performing Arts in Voice from the Eastern Institute of Technology in Hawkes Bay, where he studied with Patrick Power and he is a graduate of the Australian Opera Studio in Perth.

Judge for yourself as Wade sings "Lord God of Abraham" from Elijah by Mendelssohn. Simply click on the arrow-shaped play button to activate the player below and listen.

Canadian born to Kiwi parents, Julia returned to New Zealand in 2003. She completed her studies at the University of Waikato in 2007, gaining a bachelor of Music in Performance Voice with First Class Honours. She is an alumnus of the Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarship Programme and was awarded the Hillary Medal in her graduating year. Julia was a PriceWatherhouse Coopers Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist in 2007/8 with the NBR New Zealand Opera, during which time she played the role of Barena in Jenufa.  Other operatic roles include Mahina in the premiere of NZ composer David Griffiths' opera The White Lady. Julia won the New Zealand Aria in Rotorua last year. Julia has been a student at the New Zealand Opera School in Wanganui for the past four years and this January continued her studies with Prof. Paul Farrington at the first NZ based course of the Estill Voice Training System.She is an active teacher at both St Peter's School in Cambridge and in her private studio.

Judge for yourself as Julia sings "Tu che di gel sei linta" from Turandot by Puccini. Simply click on the arrow-shaped play button to activate the player below and listen.

Kristen Darragh was a student at the Royal Academy of Music in London from 2004 to 2008. In that time she received a Post-Graduate Performance Diploma and she graduated from the Opera Course. She has performed a number of principal roles with the Royal Academy Opera, including Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Lucretia in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia and Zita in Gianni Schicchi.  Last year Kristen performed the role a Stewardess in the British Youth Opera production of Flight by Jonathan Dove; she was a finalist in the Royal Overseas League competition and she took part in the Solti Accademia di Bel Canto summer school where she worked with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Frederica von Stade. In 2004 Kristen was a PwC Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist with the NBR New Zealand Opera and she has returned to NZ this year to take up a year-long position of Young Artist with NZ Opera and will sing the role of Zulma in L'italiana in Algeri.

Judge for yourself as Kristen sings "Lucretia's Aria" from The Rape of Lucretia by Britten. Simply click on the arrow-shaped play button to activate the player below and listen.

After attaining a bachelors degree from the Unitec School of Performing Arts, Andrew made his operatic debut in the NBR New Zealand Opera's touring production of I Barbiere di Seviglia. In 2004 Andrew was a PwC Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist with the NZ Opera and the following year he went to the Australian Opera Studio in Perth. He graduated from the Studio with Honours and the Dux Award in 2007, having performed many operatic roles and in recital and cabaret. Andrew now lives in London and last year he performed a role in La Gioconda and covered a role in The Magic Flute for Opera Holland Park. In 2009 Andrew will appear as a soloist in Haydn's Creation with the Mirfield Choral Society. Andrew has come to opera from a theatre and dance background. His professional acting credits include productions for the Auckland Theatre Company and taking the title role in the feature film The Bogeyman for Pacific Renaissance Pictures.

Judge for yourself as Andrew sings "La Promessa" by Rossini. Simply click on the arrow-shaped play button to activate the player below and listen.

Polly completed a BMus in Performance Voice at Canterbury University last year. She has returned to university this year to continue her studies with Dame Malvina Major for an Honours year and then she plans to continue her vocal studies overseas. Polly is a chorus member of Southern Opera and she also sings as part of the Solid Energy Ensemble of Southern Opera, which gives concerts around the South Island. Last year she received an Arts Excellence Award from the Dame Malvina Major Foundation, she performed with Dame Malvina in a fundraising concert for the Marlborough Hospice Trust in Blenheim and she won a number of classes at the Christchurch Competitions. Polly has been a member of the New Zealand Youth Choir and the New Zealand Secondary Students Choir, touring internationally with both choirs.

Judge for yourself as Polly sings "Mein Herr Marquis" from Die Fledermaus by J Strauss. Simply click on the arrow-shaped play button to activate the player below and listen.

Since reaching the final of the Lexus Song Quest in 2007, Claire Barton has achieved a great deal of success. She graduated with a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Otago and was awarded the Ida G. White Memorial Prize in Music. She also has a BA (Hons, 1st class) in English and History. Claire is currently working as a Library Assistant at the University of Otago Health Sciences Library while she continues her vocal studies with Isabel Cunningham. Claire is a PwC Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist with the NBR New Zealand Opera. In their recent production of Jenufa, Claire performed the role of Tetka and sang as a member of the chorus. Also this year, Claire performed the role of Mad Margaret in the 'Really Authentic Gilbert & Sullivan Performance Trust's production of Ruddigore, was a soloist with the St Kilda Brass Band in Brass Night at the Proms, and in a Schubert Mass with the City of Dunedin Choir. She also sang the South African National Anthem at the All Blacks vs.South Africa test match at Carrisbrook.

After being placed third in the 2007 Lexus Song Quest, Emma moved to London and has recently made her UK debut as Susanna in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro for Ilford Arts in Bath. In the last year she has performed in several festivals in Italy and France and this month she has performed in a recital in St George's Church, London. Prior to 2007 Emma spent 2 years at the Australian Opera Studio in Perth studying with Anthea Moller and Gregory Yurisich. She has a Postgraduate Diploma in Voice and a BMus from Otago University. At the Australian Opera Studio Emma has performed nine operatic roles including Pamina (Magic Flute), Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos), Despina (Così fân tutti) and the title roles of Manon and Rodelinda. She also performed two recital programmes, was a soprano soloist in Mendelssohn's Elijah and performed two Cabaret programmes for ABC live radio broadcasts. Over the last few years Emma has won the North Shore Becroft Aria, the Otago Daily Times Aria and the Christchurch Dame Malvina Major Foundation Aria. She has also been a regular soloist with the Dunedin Sinfonia.

Barbara is currently in her third year of a BSc in Marine Biology at Victoria University and earlier this year she graduated with a BMus in Performance Voice from the New Zealand School of Music. This year she was the recipient of the Mona Ross Scholarship and last year the Mary McHardy Scholarship at the New Zealand School of Music. Barbara studies voice with Margaret Medlyn and she also has received training in piano and ballet. For the last year Barbara has been a PwC Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist with the NBR New Zealand Opera Company and earlier in the year she shared the role of the Sandman and the Dew Fairy in the company's touring season of Hansel and Gretel. She also understudied the roles of Barena and Jano in the recent season of Jenufa. Also this year Barbara has performed as soprano soloist with the Taupo Choral Society in Mozart's C Minor Mass and in Carmina Burana with the Southern Sinfonia.

Georgia completed a BMus (Hons, 1st class) at Victoria University in 2005. She currently continues her vocal studies with Margaret Medlyn and Bruce Greenfield and she works part time as a music teacher at Marsden School, teaching voice, piano and taking the choir. She also is music director of the Marsden School productions. 2008 has been a successful year for Georgia - she won the Napier Computer System Aria, the Nelson Sealord Aria, the Most Outstanding Competitor at the Wellington Competitions and she was runner-up in the Otago Daily Times Aria in Dunedin and the Ramon Opie Memorial Aria in Wellington. She also performed the role of Fiordiligi in the Opera Otago season of Cosi fân tutti during the Otago Festival. Georgia was a member of the New Zealand Youth Choir and participated in two overseas tours. She is currently a member of the chorus of the NBR New Zealand Opera and sings occasionally with the Sacred Heart Cathedral Choir and Note Bene, a chamber choir in Wellington. Georgia is moving to Europe in late January to pursue her vocal studies.

Matt has been a PwC Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist with the NBR NZ Opera during 2007 and 2008. Earlier this year he performed the role of the Custom's Sergeant and covered the role of Shaunard in the NZ Opera's production of La Bohème. He also performed the role of Don Alfonso in Così fân tutti, Opera Otago's production in the 2008 Otago Festival. In recent years Matt has performed a number of roles for Opera Otago and for Dunedin's 'Really Authentic Gilbert & Sullivan Performance Trust'. Matt was a finalist in the New Zealand Aria earlier this year and he was a semi-finalist in the 2005 Lexus Song Quest. Matt has appeared as a soloist with the Auckland Philharmonia, Auckland's Bach Musica, the Dunedin Youth Orchestra and he has a strong choral background having been a member of the New Zealand Youth Choir, the New Zealand Secondary Students'Choir and the Otago University Capping Sextet. Matt works in multimedia and graphic design and he is a keen sportsman, having run several half marathons.

Sarah-Ann Walker was a semi-finalist in the 2007 Lexus Song Quest. At that time she moved to Sydney and has been living there, studying voice with the acclaimed tenor Glenn Winslade. Prior to that Sarah-Ann studied with Dame Malvina Major at Canterbury University. In 2006-7 Sarah-Ann was a PwC Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist with the NBR NZ Opera and during that time she understudied the roles of Liu in Turandot and Marguerite in Faust. Sarah-Ann has appeared as a soloist singing Mozart with the Christchurch Symphony & the Christchurch City Choir and with the Southern Sinfonia & the Dunedin Civic Choir. She took the role of Mrs Sullivan in the University of Canterbury's production of The God Boy (an opera by Anthony Ritchie and Jeremy Commons) in 2006. Sarah-Ann has won the North Shore Becroft Aria, the Nelson Sealord Aria, the South Auckland Aria and she was a semi-finalist in the McDonalds Aria in Sydney. She has won the New Zealand Opera Society Award and the Dame Malvina Major Foundation Arts Excellence Award.