An all-new take on a Rossini classic, New Zealand Opera’s 2024 season of Le comte Ory is set to surprise and delight audiences across Aotearoa this winter.
Originally a comedy set in medieval France, this brand-new production of Le comte Ory, led by internationally acclaimed director Simon Phillips (North by Northwest, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, The Elixir of Love) and scenographer Tracy Grant Lord (Così fan Tutte, (m)Orpheus, The Unruly Tourists), has been given a present-day facelift. Set in Aotearoa New Zealand, there will be plenty of local humour and references in this contemporary staging.
Phillips says: “This production felt like a brilliant opportunity to make a new version of this bonkers, madcap, rom-com of an opera – unapologetic, irreverent and funny, just as Rossini intended it to be.”
Leading the outstanding local and international cast, award-winning New Zealand-Tongan lyric tenor Manase Latu (Hamlet, Don Giovanni, Idomeneo) makes his role debut as the scheming Count Ory. One of Australasia’s most in-demand sopranos Emma Pearson (Così fan tutte, Semele, Lucia di Lammermoor) will dazzle as Countess Adèle, complete with coloratura vocal fireworks, joined by mezzo-soprano favourite Hanna Hipp (Così fan tutte, Ariadne auf Naxos, A Handmaid’s Tale) from the UK, in the quick-witted role of Isoler the page.
With a wider cast that includes Wade Kernot, Andrea Creighton and rising-star Tayla Alexander, not to mention the very-long-awaited return of Sol3 Mio star Moses Mackay to the New Zealand Opera stage, NZ Opera’s fresh and slightly naughty take on Le comte Ory is an unmissable interpretation of one of Rossini’s funniest and most beautifully sung comedies.
New Zealand Opera’s Le comte Ory by Rossini plays in Auckland 30 May and 1 June at Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, followed by seasons in Wellington and Christchurch. For tickets and details visit nzopera.com
