Midday
Audience member (and opera singer) Charles Castronovo stepped in and saved the day when the lead lost his voice mid-performance of La Boheme at the Royal Opera House. Castronovo’s wife Ekaterina Siurina was playing Mimi, so it added something real to the story.
Giacomo Puccini Photo: A Dupont, United States Library of Congress, Public Domain
1pm NZSO gets its geek on with Comic Con
Sci-fans, Trekkies, Alien enthusiasts and Gamers – this is for you! The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is bringing to life some of your favourites this week. Conductor Gordon Hamilton leads the NZSO in celebrating science fiction, fantasy, pop culture and graphic novels, with music from TV, films and games.
Star Trek Photo: Wikipedia
1.30 Lexus Song Quest: Meet the finalists
Today we meet: tenor Filipe Manu, 2016 Lexus Song Quest runner up, and soprano Eliza Boom the only woman through to the Grand Final this Saturday. Both singers speak with Clarissa Dunn about how their path into classical singing and their personal aspirations.
Finalists of the Lexus Song Quest 2018. L-R: Manase Latu, Joe Haddow, Joel Amosa, Eliza Boom, Filipe Manu. Photo: Clarissa Dunn
2pm
We continue our series on music inspired by star-crossed lovers. Today we feature the Chinese Legend of the Butterfly Lovers: Zhu Yingtai and Liang Shanbo. Violinist Takako Nishizaki performs Chen Gang’s concerto inspired by this story with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
NZSO 70th birthday final bows Photo: RNZ/Clarissa Dunn
