Media Releases

Marriage triumphs, on and off stage

12/04/2010

In a case of Life imitating Art, real-life couple Wade Kernot and Emma Pearson take to the stage in the roles of the put-upon valet Figaro and his irresistible fiancée Susanna in The NBR New Zealand Opera's forthcoming production of The Marriage of Figaro.

New Zealander Wade Kernot and Australian Emma Pearson, who are currently based in Germany, are naturally delighted with the casting. "Not many singers are able to bring their support team onstage with them," says Wade. "Figaro is by far my biggest professional role to date, so having Emma alongside me is fantastic, plus it's for the home team which is an added bonus," he says.

The couple met when Emma was cast in The NBR New Zealand Opera's 2004 production of Carmen. Wade was a PwC Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist with the Company and was understudying Zuniga so was required at all rehearsals... three years later they married.

Wade comes from a musical, West Auckland family but he discovered opera at Waitakere College. "I had always performed in musicals and barbershop groups," he says, "but in 1997 *Opera New Zealand's Outreach Programme visited with a course offering me three days off school with my singing mates. I was always the big, loud kid up the back of the choir and thought that maybe I should give opera a go."

Wade's "Westie" background is something he will always be glad of. "I think the great thing about not having an élitist background is that when exposed to things like opera, sometimes, without the preconceived ideas, they can be seen in their simplest form. Opera is just simple storytelling. It needs good, practical skills. Too much intellectualising just gets in the way. People think opera is high-brow but opera singers are usually found backstage drinking a cup of tea from a polystyrene cup with a tea towel bib to save the costume."

Joining Wade and Emma is an excellent line-up of New Zealand and international opera singers including, in the role of the Countess, one of the biggest names in opera circles today - Italian soprano Nuccia Focile. Renowned for her interpretation of Mozart's heroines, Nuccia Focile is a consummate performer who regularly performs at the great opera houses of the world with a "who's who" of illustrious singers and conductors. And while her husband, acclaimed tenor Paul Charles Clarke, will not be joining her on stage for this production, they did meet and fall in love while singing Nannetta and Fenton in Verdi's Falstaff.

PHOTO CAPTION: Wade Kernot and Emma Pearson in Southern Opera's production of The Magic Flute in 2009

MEDIA RELEASE
Issued by The NBR New Zealand Opera - 12 April 2010

Media enquiries: Caroline Nelson, ParadisePR Ltd
E. caroline.nelson@paradise.net.nz
M. 021 244 1299

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Did you know?

Early opera resembled the atmosphere of a race course - chatting, food, laughter and loud comments were the norm.

During all our opera performances an English translation of the libretto is projected on screens above the stage, so you can easily follow the story.

If you are 25 years old or under you can purchase $25 tickets at the venue box office before any performance.

The world's longest opera is Wagner's The Ring Cycle, lasting over 14 hours plus intervals. That's 18 hours at the theatre.

The world's longest applause lasted for 1 hour and 20 minutes as a standing ovation. The opera: Otello starring Placido Domingo.

On average, an opera will last between 2 and 3 hours, with one interval in a two act show, and two in a three act show. Operettas and musicals tend to be shorter.

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