ELGAR The Dream of Gerontius
Auckland Town Hall, New Zealand
Step into the ethereal realm of Sir Edward Elgar’s masterpiece, The Dream of Gerontius, and experience an extraordinary musical voyage that transcends time and space.
This landmark choral work, conceived by one of Britain’s greatest composers, takes the listener on a profound musical experience as it tells the story of a dying man, Gerontius, whose soul departs his body and embarks on a spiritual journey, guided and watched over by his guardian angel. Throughout the piece, Gerontius encounters angels, demons, and ultimately faces divine judgement. The work explores age-old themes of death, redemption, and the afterlife.
The title roles of Gerontius and The Soul will be sung by one of New Zealand’s most exciting tenors Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono – recent winner of the IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition, joint winner of the inaugural Nicholas Tarling Aria Competition and winner of the 2023 Sydney Eisteddfod John Lamble Foundation Opera Scholarship. He will be joined by outstanding soloists – the New Zealand-born contralto Kristin Darragh and brilliant young Samoan baritone Alfred Fonoti-Fuimaono (recent finalist in the Joan Sutherland Richard Bonyage Bel Canto Award (2023), Auckland Opera Studio Scholarship Award (2023), Lockwood NZ Aria (2023), Nicholas Tarling Aria competition (2023), the Waikato Aria Competition and the Southern Aria competition.
Immerse yourself in the majestic orchestration and lush harmonies of Elgar’s monumental oratorio, widely considered a pinnacle of the choral and orchestral repertory.
The Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir is thrilled to be joining Auckland Choral for this epic performance, along with the Pipers Sinfonia Orchestra and the University of Auckland Chamber Choir, forming a massed choir of over 200 voices. An historic occasion, this will mark the first time that Australia’s oldest symphonic choir, the RMPC (founded in 1853) will perform outside of Australia, fittingly alongside New Zealand’s oldest and most distinguished symphonic chorus, founded in 1855.
Emeritus Professor at The University of Auckland’s School of Music Uwe Grodd will direct this great masterpiece in Auckland’s magnificent Town Hall.
Sunday 23 June, 5.00pm
Auckland Town Hall
Book at ticketmaster.co.nz
Auckland Choral
Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir
Auckland Chamber Choir
Pipers Sinfonia
Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono Gerontius tenor
Kristin Darragh The Angel mezzo-soprano
Alfred Fonoti-Fuimaono The Priest bass
Andrew Wailes, Uwe Grodd, chorus preparation
Uwe Grodd conductor
