Hawke's Bay tenor lands spot in prestigious Royal Opera
Despite knowing the news for a while, Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono is still pinching himself. "I’m just still in shock trying to make sense of it all. It's all coming to life now, it's all becoming reality.”
Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono is one of a handful of 600 applicants to be accepted into The Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Artist Programme.
He’s been keeping the news under his hat for a while, he told RNZ’s Midday Report.
“I've actually known the news for a while, from a few months ago till now.
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“I’ve just been doing my best to keep it a secret until it was officially announced,” Fonoti-Fuimaono says.
Fonoti-Fuimaono, a graduate of Project Prima Volta and Te Pae Kōkako – The Aotearoa New Zealand Opera Studio (TANZOS) - has been described as having a “glowing, rich tenor voice and a compelling, dignified stage presence".
Fonoti-Fuimaono is the first New Zealander to ever be offered an audition for the Royal Opera programme without having studied outside of New Zealand.
Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono
Lexus Song Quest in association with the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation
The achievements come thick and fast for Fonoti-Fuimaono, 26, who is also joining the prestigious Merola Opera Program in San Francisco this year before his move to London.
The Merola was founded in 1957 and is regarded as the foremost opera training programmes in the world.
Project Prima Volta changed his life, he says.
“Ten years ago, I auditioned for Project Prima Volta, really not having any kind of idea at the time of what was going to happen.
"I'm really, really glad I went there and auditioned. I've been able to reap a lot of great life rewards and meet lifetime friends. It's been such a great journey since.”
Last year, Fonoti-Fuimaono performed in Auckland Opera Studio’s Verdi Meets Puccini gala concert and sang the role of Gerontius in The Dream of Gerontius with Auckland Choral. That year he also performed a tenor solo in Mozart’s Requiem.
