Photo: Supplied
Austin Haynes is an opera singer who can reach one of the rarest and highest vocal ranges. The countertenor has been selected as a semi-finalist for Aotearoa New Zealand's premier opera singing competition, the 2024 Lexus Song Quest.
Austin's passion for music extends far beyond his own voice. He's been living in the United Kingdom, studying a Masters in medieval and renaissance literature at Oxford. He's a published poet who writes both in English and te reo, and is passionate about the revival of the Māori language.
And he's back in New Zealand to continue his research on the history of translation between English and Māori across song, poetry, and literature - including an ongoing project to translate all of Shakespeare's 152 sonnets.