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In Auckland, heard in something close to the form Bizet actually conceived, The Pearl Fishers proves it has plenty of lustre of its own.

Director Anapela Polata’ivao handles her mixed forces of amateurs and professionals with seamless assurance, the crowds’ movements across the stage showing both clarity and intent. 

New Zealand Opera's new production impresses with its stunning set design and art direction, and its restrained emotional tone. 

Director Simon Phillips takes the opportunity to reshape the setting of Rossini's comic opera to modern-day New Zealand. 

Lindy Hume directs a refreshingly uncomplicated new staging for New Zealand Opera, supported by fine musical performances.

Lindy Hume directs a new production of Mozart's masterpiece which proves a constant delight.

The Queen of the Night appeared as a malevolent giant spider, complete with exoskeleton, threatening Tamino with her stabbing limbs and summoning hordes of smaller spiders to writhe over Pamina when the latter hesitated to commit to Sarastro's murder.

It was hard not to be drawn in by the romance and tragedy as presented by such a sincere, credible and vocally talented young cast and a conductor with such strong identification with the idiom.

Charming and hilarious by turn, this production fields a largely young and Kiwi cast.

New Zealand Opera continues to strongly advocate Czech works, resulting in a gripping Káťa Kabanová.

A superlative performance of Carmen that was certainly among the most thrilling performances New Zealand Opera has put on in recent memory.

The Bone Feeder was a thought-provoking deliberation on the history, culture and the nature of belonging.

Four Last Songs impresses with the radiant Christiane Libor, Mahler demands a little more tension and sense of propulsion than conductor Edo de Waart provided.

A solid Magic Flute from the performers but marred by the director's foibles. 

Fine singing from Simon O’Neill and Orla Boylan in New Zealand Opera's production of Tosca.

In Auckland, macbEth: the opera succeeds not only as a work of art, but also as a conduit for understanding of a frequently ignored and tragic conflict and an unforgettable reflection on the harsh realities of post-colonial Africa"

A mixed evening, more notable for the efforts of the cast than for Brodie's modern Don Giovanni concept.

The sole complete opera contribution to Wagner’s anniversary in Auckland this year came in the form of New Zealand Opera’s production of Der fliegende Holländer. This was the first staged performance of a Wagner opera in Auckland for over 20 years (though we’ve had a few in concert), and it is a pleasure to report that New Zealand Opera welcomed the master back with a fascinating performance.

Sometimes in a performance there is a moment when everything just comes together; when every element on stage is operating at such a high level that the performance transcends these elements and causes one to become so immersed in the proceedings that you forget you’re at a performance at all.

The Bartered Bride, premiered in 1866, is considered to be Smetana’s masterpiece in the operatic genre and is widely regarded as the national opera of the Czech Republic. Despite this, for their second and last production this year, New Zealand Opera elected to perform the opera in English translation rather than the original Czech, aiming to speak to their audiences in a more direct fashion.