New Zealand Opera Company

New Zealand Opera Company

The New Zealand Opera Company's production of Carmen in 1969
Formation	1954 (1954)
Dissolved	1971
Type	Opera company
Location	Auckland, New Zealand
Leader	Donald Munro

The New Zealand Opera Company was New Zealand's first resident professional national company, formed by baritone Donald Munro in 1954.[1] Its first full-scale work was Mozart's Marriage of Figaro in 1958, which toured 47 towns.[1] From 1963 funding from the QE II Arts Council allowed national tours with a full orchestra, including a production of Porgy and Bess with a Māori cast including Īnia Te Wiata, and Ngaio Marsh's A Unicorn for Christmas with music by David Farquhar.[1] After Arts Council funding was withdrawn in 1971 the company folded.[1][2]

References

1. Taylor 2014.
2. Brusey 1973, p. 187.

Sources

• Brusey, Phyllis (1973). Ring Down the Curtain. Wellington: C. Rex Monigatti Publishing.
• Taylor, Lindis (22 October 2014). "Opera and musical theatre – New Zealand opera companies". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 28 May 2021.