Audiences have become accustomed to the seemingly inevitable triumph of Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's annual Opera in Concert.
Verdi's Otello, presented in collaboration with NZ Opera, was no exception, attracting a full house.
Simon O'Neill's stage performances in the title role overseas have received accolades and in this performance he announced himself from the circle with a glorious heldenroar.
Throughout the evening, vocal vigour could not be faulted, yet the subtlest emotions were revealed in the tenor's powerful Dio mi potevi and his final scene with the doomed Desdemona - heard, rather than seen, alas, from the disadvantaged left side of the circle.
Maria Luigia Borsi was an exquisitely nuanced heroine, her soaring Willow Song buoyed on lustrous APO strings.
