Young opera stars deliver outdoor performance at Waipawa

The audience was seated facing the large veranda which doubled as a stage.

Recently, on a perfect Central Hawke’s Bay afternoon, two rising young stars of New Zealand opera sang a selection of their favourite classical arias and songs from the musical West Side Story, to a spellbound audience in Waipawa, Hawke’s Bay.

A garden concert is always a relaxed and special event and this one was one out of the box. It will benefit the careers of two extraordinary young people, Tayla Alexander, a lyrical soprano, and Ridge Ponini, a captivating tenor with depth and resonance beyond his years. Both are looking to further their studies and training abroad, in England, Italy and the United States.

Tayla Alexander and Ridge Ponini, graduates of the Auckland School of Music.

Their accompanist was “one of our own”, the superb and much-lauded pianist Fiona McCabe from Hastings.

This spring concert has been months in the planning. Facilitating the event were John and Gillian Peebles from Auckland, sponsors extraordinaire of emerging opera voices; Sharron and Doug Hales of Nola Café, both much lauded in Central Hawke’s Bay for devising and creating fun, community social events and delicious food.

Lyrical soprano Tayla Alexander.

The concert was held at the recently relocated and newly established home and garden of Johanna and Andrew King, ex-Wellingtonians with decades of experience hosting garden events and fundraising for charities.

Tenor Ridge Ponini.

The day, the weather, the occasion and the setting was perfect. The audience was seated facing the large veranda which doubled as a stage, there they sat back to enjoy a selection of three hundred years of opera, sung “au naturelle”, no microphones or sound enhancement.

What superb voices these young people possess, what truly impressive voice projection. This was an occasion to remember. Follow these two, they are stellar.