NZSM students perform opera

6 August 2007

NZSM students perform opera

New Zealand School of Music is transporting opera-goers back to a time of pirates, slave traders and convicts with a performance of Johann Christoph Pepusch's ballad opera Polly.

Polly is a sequel to Pepusch's The Beggar's Opera, with a libretto by John Gay. The story is a comic romp which progresses the heroine Polly Peachum to the Caribbean in search of here renegade husband, the infamous Macheath (also known as Mack the Knife). With convicts, pimps, slave traders, Indians and cutthroat pirates, Polly outwits them all to find that true love is not as she expected.

Director Sara Brodie says that while the opera is great fun, "it's spiced with John Gay's jibes and observations which resonate poignantly in today's world."

The title role will be shared by third-year Bachelor of Music student Jessica Segal and postgraduate student in vocal performance Jessica Graham.

Elizabeth Hudson, Director of the New Zealand School of Music, says it's a thrill for the School to be staging the modern premiere of Polly. "Not only is it great fun to be putting on a production like this, but it also showcases so many of the things we are involved in at the School. The teamwork involved in getting a project like this to a professional level is a vital part of musical training, and one of the most important understanding students will take with them when they leave."

The season has performances on 14, 16 and 18 August at 7.30pm, with a matinee performance on Sunday 19 August at 3pm. All performances will take place in the Adam Concert Room, at the New Zealand School of Music on Victoria University's Kelburn Campus.

Tickets are $30 (adult) or $15 (concessions) and can be purchased from Ticketek.

ENDS

Since 2005, Victoria University and Massey University have been operating a joint New Zealand School of Music (NZSM), a centre of musical excellence. The NZSM website is www.nzsm.ac.nz.

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