Dame Malvina Major will be performing in Queenstown next
month as part of her South Island "heartland" tour, "My
Life in Song".
One of New Zealand's favourite opera singers, Dame
Malvina Major, will perform in Queenstown next month as part of
a series of concerts in the South Island looking back on her
45-year career and saying "thank you" to her fans.
Dame Malvina's "heartland" tour, "My Life in Song", will
reach the resort on April 10, where she will be joined on
stage by four friends.
"I've been looking for some time for an opportunity to sing
and entertain in venues in which I've never appeared, or not
for a considerable time.
"Now, with four special friends, I'm looking forward to
appearing in an intimate recital this April," Dame Malvina
(67) said.
She will be joined by Karl Perigo, Rachelle Pike, Vicki Lee
and accompanist Kirsten Simpson, who is returning from London
for the tour.
Perigo, a Feilding-born entertainer, is known as much for his
"distinctive socks" and personality as his singing voice.
Hailing from a musical family, Perigo played Enjolras in
Les Miserables as well as taking roles in West
Side Story and My Fair Lady.
He has also featured as a popular tenor for Last Night of
the Proms all over New Zealand.
He has teamed up with Lee to perform at various functions
throughout the North Island.
The pair recently released their first album, Music of
the Night.
Lee was once part of the duo String of Pearls and
has been entertaining New Zealand audiences for more than 25
years.
She also performed in Australia, Samoa and Las Vegas with the
late Sir Howard Morrison.
Lee sang the New Zealand national anthem at a televised New
Zealand vs Australia rugby league test in 1993 and has since
performed the New Zealand national anthem and opposing team
anthems at more than 20 televised sporting events.
Along with the album released with Perigo, Lee has just
released her first solo album Goin' Back.
Pike (25) is a mezzo soprano from Blenheim, who recently
completed her bachelor of music degree, gaining first-class
honours, majoring in performance voice at Canterbury
University, where she studied under Dame Malvina.
Pike was a 2006-07 PricewaterhouseCoopers Dame Malvina Major
Emerging Artist with NBR New Zealand Opera and the recipient
of the Circle 100 scholarship.
Last November, she came second in the New Zealand Aria
Competition and her recent engagements include Mercedes in
Carmen and Third Lady in The Magic Flute
with Southern Opera.
Dame Malvina's "My Life in Song" reflects her love of all
things musical.
The two-hour journey of well-known arias, popular songs and
entertaining anecdotes would include childhood memories and
performances at some of the world's most famous opera houses.
• The Queenstown concert will be held at the Memorial
Hall on April 10 from 7.30pm. Tickets cost $49 plus
service fees for the gallery and $59 plus service fees for
the main auditorium, available from the Queenstown Events
Centre or through TicketDirect.
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