Our incoming 2027 tutor Julien Van Mellaerts has released something beautiful. 🎶 Dialogues pairs Schubert’s Schwanengesang with The Lake, a newly commissioned cycle by Errollyn Wallen, current Master of the King’s Music. Rather than placing the two composers in contrast, the album weaves them together into a single, intimate arc. Schubert and a living composer in genuine conversation across two centuries. This is what an artist does when they’re not on stage. They keep thinking, keep creating, keep asking questions. We cannot wait to have Julien in Whanganui in January. 🤍Listen to it here: https://open.spotify.com/album/3EugBnkx36JPkzCln1Xumu 📸 Delphian Records

The countertenor voice is having one of its most exciting moments in modern history. 🎶 For centuries, countertenors were everywhere. Baroque opera was built around them. Then they disappeared from mainstream stages for nearly two hundred years. Now they're back. Composers like George Benjamin and Thomas Adès have written significant leading roles for them in major new operas. Polish countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński performed at the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony and is filling the world's greatest concert halls. And recently, two young New Zealand countertenors made their mark. Samuel Mataele, just 19, walked onto the Michael Fowler Centre stage with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and won the 2026 Kiri Te Kanawa Song Quest. Our own alumnus Jack Doyle heads to the Royal College of Music in London next month. Two young voices. One extraordinary moment for an extraordinary voice type. We could not be more excited for what comes next. 🤍 #NZOS #NZOperaSchool #Alumni #OperaTraining #Countertenor

Simon O'Neill was one of the first singers to walk through our doors in Whanganui. Now he's the patron of our school and one of the most celebrated heldentenors on the planet 🤍 gracing the biggest stages. The Met. La Scala. Bayreuth. The Vienna State Opera. The Royal Opera House. And now, this August, home — singing Wagner in Wellington and Auckland with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. 🎟️ Get your tickets to this Wagner extravaganza https://www.nzso.co.nz/the-nzso/events-tickets/events/radiance #NZOS #NZOperaSchool #SimonOneill #Wagner #NZSO

The applications have been pouring in and we are so grateful. 🤍 If you haven't applied yet — these are the last hours. New Zealand Opera School 2027 brings some of the most sought-after vocal tutors in the world to Whanganui in January. Two weeks of intensive training, stagecraft, movement, and real performance opportunities in front of audiences. Everything it takes to become a fully formed operatic artist, right here in Aotearoa. Today is the day. 🎶 🔗 operaschool.org.nz/applications/application-form #NZOS #NZOperaSchool #NZOS2027 #OperaTraining #Whanganui

Singing is just the beginning. 🎶 New Zealand Opera School trains the whole artist — voice, yes, but also stage presence, movement, and everything it takes to walk onto an operatic stage with confidence and conviction. And then it puts you on that stage, in front of real audiences during Whanganui Opera Week, to put it all into practice. Two weeks. Twenty-one singers. January in Whanganui. Applications close 31 July at 5pm. 🔗 operaschool.org.nz/applications/application-form #NZOS #NZOperaSchool #OperaTraining #Whanganui

Applications for New Zealand Opera School 2027 close 31 July at 5pm. If you want a career in opera, THIS is the place to be 🎶 🔗 operaschool.org.nz/applications/application-form #NZOperaSchool #NZOS #NZOS2027 #OperaTraining #Whanganui

Mā te wā — until we meet again. 🤍 Alumni Blake Scanlen and Alanah Jones are both heading to the UK this September — and on Sunday 9 August at 4pm, they come together for one farewell concert at the beautiful St Matthew-in-the-City, joined by St Matthew's Voices. A stunning setting. Two voices you'll want to hear before they go. Come and send them off with a full heart! 🎟️ Scan the QR code on the poster #NZOperaSchool #NZOS #Alumni #OperaTraining

Next up in our series of alumni farewell concerts 🤍Jack Doyle - countertenor, Dame Malvina Major Foundation Scholarship recipient, and Song Quest semi-finalist is heading to the Royal College of Music in London this September. Before he goes, he's giving Auckland one last performance. A London Journey is an intimate fundraising recital at the Auckland Opera Studio on Sunday 2 August at 5:30pm, with Alison Dunlop on oboe, David Kelly on piano, and special guests. Show up for Jack. 🎶 Tickers at🔗 www.aucklandoperastudio.co.nz #NZOS #NZOperaSchool #Alumni #OperaTraining

The final days to apply for New Zealand Opera School 2027 are here. 🎶 Two weeks of intensive opera training in Whanganui — with internationally renowned tutors César Ulloa, Roxane Hislop and Julien Van Mellaerts joining us in January. Full focus, world-class coaching, and real performance opportunities during Whanganui Opera Week. Everything you need, right here in Aotearoa. Applications close 31 July at 5pm. 🔗 operaschool.org.nz/applications/application-form #NZOS #NZOperaSchool #NZOS2027 #OperaTraining #Whanganui

That costume. That stage. That music. 💕 Our alumna Sarah Hubbard, four years at NZOS and now based in Germany, performed Nannetta in Verdi's Falstaff at UNI.T das Theater der Universität der Künste Berlin, one of Europe's most prestigious arts universities. Nannetta is one of Verdi's most luminous soprano roles: delicate, mischievous, and utterly beautiful. And Sarah looks every bit the part. So proud of you, Sarah. 🤍🤍 #NZOS #NZOperaSchool #Alumni #OperaTraining #Verdi

So many of our alumni are preparing to leave Aotearoa this year to pursue their studies overseas — and right now, the most meaningful thing our community can do is show up. First off is soprano Alanah Jones, performing Between Shores at Symphonia Hall, Auckland on Saturday 1 August at 5pm — a farewell concert fundraising for her UK studies, alongside countertenor Jack Doyle, Maurice Jones on accordion, and David Kelly on piano. You've watched these singers grow. This is how you help them fly. 🎶 GA $55 · Students $25 🎟️ Scan the QR code on the poster for tickets #NZOS #NZOperaSchool #Alumni #OperaTraining

Nerves and all. 🤍 Holly has been sharing the honest reality of a life in opera on our LinkedIn and this week it's the part that doesn't get talked about enough. "My best 'yes' moments have always been on the other side of discomfort." Showing up even when it's scary. Doing it again and again until the fear becomes part of the fuel. That's not just what opera training builds, it's what a career in this art form demands every single day. And those moments of courage? They lead somewhere. This September, Holly heads to the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester where she'll study under the wonderful Mary Plazas, who joined us as an international tutor at NZOS 2026 just earlier this year. Follow Holly's full journey on our LinkedIn page! #NZOS #NZOperaSchool #OperaJourney