NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL
27 February - 21 March 2004
In this issue:
* WIN TICKETS TO DMITRY SITKOVETSKY & BORIS BERMAN
* HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US
* MEET THE FESTIVAL'S MINISTER OF SOUND
* OUT AND ABOUT - TOP ACTS IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD
* WRITERS AND READERS PROGRAMME OUT NEXT WEEK
* CLIVE JAMES GALORE
* GET FOLKED!
Nau mai haere mai and welcome
Today we celebrated our 10th birthday with a huge pohutukawa coloured kiwi cake. Mayor Kerry Prendergast blew out the
candles which was very appropriate as the Wellington City Council has supported the Festival through thick and thin
since it first began. Many of you will remember the first Festival and the many changes, to both the Festival and the
City, which have taken place since that time. Wellington is a whole lot more sexy and colourful now and the Festival is
four times as big, with audiences quadrupling since it first began. We celebrated this week so that staff could enjoy
the cake before the mad onslaught begins.
Our first international artist steps off the plane from Europe on Friday afternoon. Diva Rebecca Caine will perform the
lead role of Adina in the Telecom Opera, The Elixir of Love. Hot on her heels will be the Festival's Associate Director
and opera producer, our own beloved funny man, Joseph Seelig. It will be wonderful to have Joseph back in town. No doubt
there will be a few celebratory drinks on Sunday night. Also arriving at the weekend will be opera director Daniel
Slater and Riccardo Novaro who will play the love-sick Nemorino. No doubt the artists will be pleased to be in the sunny
southern hemisphere, rather than in Europe, which seems to be suffering a rage of snow storms. The Elixir of Love goes
into rehearsal on Tuesday while the Festival and Downstage co-production Geographical Cure starts on Monday. Director
Murray Lynch and the Verona team have all the songs written, script completed and they are ready to rock 'n' roll.
Elixir has been selling like hot cakes this last week.
Other hot tickets this week have been jazz maestro Abdullah Ibrahim who is very close to selling out and Ballet Nacional
de España. We spent some time watching videos of the Ballet for footage for the TV ad and we can say that this is a
fantastic company - gorgeous female dancers who at times are performing two independent rhythms at once with castanets
in their hands and their feet stamping. And the men - well they strut like peacocks and their feet dance in rhythms at a
speed that you just wouldn't believe.
There is a regular Festival spot every Sunday at 11.10am on ZB with Gary Ward where we play a little music by Festival
artists and talk about a show or two. Last week Carla played some of the luscious Goldberg Variations performed by
Dmitry Sitkovetsky. This week David will play some 'tunes' from Elixir and a Gilberto Gil track. He will also talk about
how we put the opera together, from creating the design to building the sets. So tune in to ZB on Sunday. Have a great
week and look out for more news next Wednesday in your weekly Festival News.
Carla van Zon, Artistic Director
David Inns, Chief Executive
PS Pray for good weather in Wellington this weekend (actually we need it from now until March 21) so our artists get a
good first impression.
AND MANY HAPPY RETURNS
Ten New Zealand International Arts Festivals in 20 years. Phew! Pass the bubbles and a piece of cake! Mayor Kerry
Prendergast came over to blow out the candles and TV3 popped in to capture the moment. Check out our birthday pics in
the Image Gallery.
MINISTER OF SOUND
Our "sound guy" is responsible for ensuring the right plugs go in the right holes for $2.5m of hi-tech equipment for
hundreds of shows in more than a dozen venues over 24 days and nights. With credentials that include The Clash, BB King
and Kiri Te Kanawa, Pete Lumley is the right man for the job.
YOU NEED TO STAY HOME MORE
We bring the Festival to you in 2004 with a range of free and ticketed events in the Hutt Valley, Kapiti, Porirua and
the Wairarapa. Flamenco guitar maestros Young & Rollins and Indian fusion funksters Mrigya are just two of the international acts you'll find playing right on your
doorstep.
YOU'VE READ THE BOOK - NOW READ THE PROGRAMME
The much-anticipated programme for New Zealand Post Writers and Readers Week is back from the printers and will be
available at selected outlets - and on our website - from Thursday 5 February.
Beat the rush and get the best deal with a Concession Pass, which offers a substantial discount and guarantees single
tickets for up to 15 events (excluding Special Events). You can select the 15 events of your choice and enjoy a
preferential booking period before public bookings open on 7 February.
CLIVE LIVE
If you thought you'd missed out on tickets to Clive James, think again. The New Zealand Post Writers and Readers
programme features three events with Clive James in addition to the (sold out) Brunch. Tickets for Writers International
are available right now. Clive also appears in two further events at the Embassy, including a session devoted
exclusively to his many brilliant careers. You'll find further details in the programme released on 5 February.
IT'S THE NEW TECHNO
Get on the worldwide folk revival bandwagon with 2003 Mercury Music Prize nominee Eliza Carthy, the 'versatile,
expressive and intimate' Mahinarangi Tocker and 2003 Perrier Award-nominated local heroes Flight of the Conchords.
IT'S OUR BIRTHDAY BUT YOU GET THE PRESENTS!
Marian Kljakovic was last week's lucky winner of After Mrs Rochester tickets after correctly naming Lexus as the
sponsor. This week we're giving away two A-reserve tickets to Dmitry Sitkovetsky and Boris Berman.
'[Sitkovetsky's] vital and assured playing is as astonishing as his consistent individuality of interpretation'
GUARDIAN, UK '[Berman's] technical resources appear to be virtually limitless' THE NEW YORK TIMES, USA
To go in the draw simply reply to this email with the answer to this question in the subject line: Who is the sponsor of
the Sitkovetsky and Berman opening concert?
You'll find the answer to this and other competitions on the Festival website http://www.nzfestival.telecom.co.nz
Conditions of entry: 1. Open to New Zealand residents except employees of New Zealand International Arts Festival and
its sponsors. 2. The competition closes 5pm on 2 February 2004 and the first correct entry drawn randomly will receive
the prize. The winner will be notified by email. 3. The judge's decision is final and no correspondence will be entered
into. 4. The prize is not transferable or redeemable for cash. 5. Entries become the property of the New Zealand
International Arts Festival and may be used for promotional purposes.
NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL
27 February - 21 March 2004