Te Pae Kōkako - The Aotearoa New Zealand Opera Studio

02/06/2026

📣APPLY NOW for TANZOS in 2027!

Applications are now open for TANZOS 2027!!

👉Visit tanzos.org/apply to apply and for more information.
📅APPLICATIONS CLOSE: Monday 20 July
📅LIVE AUDITIONS: 16-20 August

Join the remarkable journey of our singers with unprecedented opportunities and an intensive 18-month programme to help prepare you for the world stage.

ABOUT TANZOS:
Te Pae Kōkako – The Aotearoa New Zealand Opera Studio (TANZOS) is Aotearoa New Zealand’s national opera studio, developing distinctive, world-class artists.
It is an intensive 18-month postgraduate programme based at the Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts at The University of Waikato.
Designed for emerging professional singers, TANZOS bridges the gap between tertiary study and international careers.

In a supportive and inclusive environment, singers bring their artistry into intensive, holistic career-focused training. With a maximum of six singers accepted per year and donor-funded scholarships, the programme offers exceptional individual support and assistance with pathways to the international opera industry.

Through partnerships with leading organisations—including The Royal Ballet and Opera (London), Opera Australia, and New Zealand organisations—singers gain access to world-class coaching, residencies, and global networks.

01/06/2026

It's that time of year again!

📣 WINTER WARMERS - A Matariki Feast of Opera to Warm the Soul
📅 Friday 26 June, 6:30pm at the Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts and Gallery
🎫 Book now via www.tanzos.org/events - You can't beat live performance...
OR
🎧Watch the livestream via www.tanzos.org/livestream

We can't wait for our annual 'Winter Warmers' recital to farewell our illustrious second years, .bentley , , .ff_bari and .

We'll also be showcasing the amazing growth after only a few months of our first years, , , , Emma Jones and

With the wonderful pianist and coach, Catherine Norton

Join us for a wonderful evening of incredible music and exciting young voices of the future.

31/05/2026

This remarkable woman has had a profound impact on TANZOS and we are so privileged to have her as Chair of our Advisory Board. Congratulations Dame Susan Hassall!!

We are incredibly proud that our Chancellor, Susan Hassall, has been named a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit today for services to education.

Dame Susan has dedicated her life to education and leadership and has positively impacted generations of learners over an almost 50-year career.

Dame Susan is a passionate advocate for education and is deeply committed to the University. While one of the most public roles for the Chancellor is celebrating the momentous occasion of graduation with our students and recognising all they have achieved, much of the work that Dame Susan undertakes for the University is generally unseen.

Dame Susan also supports the work of Hospice Waikato, the New Zealand Teaching Council, Momentum Waikato and the University Foundation, and volunteers a significant amount of her own time to ensuring the success of TANZOS.
Congratulations Dame Susan on this incredible honour, and thank you for all that you have done, and continue to do, for the University and our students.

30/05/2026

We are so excited to be welcoming American tenor, Bryan Hymel to our shores to work our artists at .

AND....
You get to watch! 🤩

👉 Our TANZOS masterclass will be live-streamed on Wednesday 10 June, 3pm (NZT)
💻 Watch at www.tanzos.org/livestream

Tenor Bryan Hymel is Associate Professor of Voice at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and an internationally acclaimed operatic tenor. A Metropolitan Opera Beverly Sills Artist Award recipient and Olivier Award winner, he has appeared at many of the world’s leading opera houses, including the Met, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, La Scala, Opéra National de Paris, and the Vienna State Opera. An exclusive Warner Classics artist, his debut album Héroïque reached No. 3 on the Billboard Classical chart and earned multiple international awards.

13/05/2026

🗣⭐⭐It’s BARITONE WEEK.. well, baritone and bass-baritone..

This week, we’ve been lucky enough to have Faafetai Jonathan Lemalu and with us at and tonight some of our artists will join two singers from the Conservatorium of Music and for a masterclass at

Aren’t we lucky?

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13/05/2026

A few more rehearsal photos from last weekend with soloists Katherine Winitana, Tomairangi Henare and Samuel McKeever and the University of Waikato Voice Programme Ensemble and of course Stephen De Pledge and Maestro Peter Walls!

📸Richard Lummus

Can't wait to bring so much New Zealand talent onto one stage! Don't miss it!

Mataatua & Beethoven - Opera in Concert & Piano Concerto (Rotorua)
Mataatua & Beethoven - Opera in Concert & Piano Concerto (Tauranga)
Mataatua & Beethoven - Opera in Concert & Piano Concerto (Hamilton)

12/05/2026

We cannot wait for Mataatua & Beethoven - Opera in Concert & Piano Concerto (Hamilton) this weekend in Rotorua, Tauranga and Hamilton!

We are especially excited to see current TANZOS artist Tomairangi Henare, and alumni Katherine Winitana and Samuel McKeever featuring as soloists in Dame Gillian Whitehead’s The Journey to Mataatua Whare. It is so special for us to see our artists lending their artistry to this music and story from Aotearoa New Zealand 🎶🇳🇿

27/01/2026

📣🥳🌹💐Happy Birthday Dame Malvina!

We are celebrating the birthday of Dame Malvina Major today by announcing a new public-facing endowment fund at Momentum Waikato Community Foundation - The TANZOS Dame Malvina Major Legacy Fund, to ensure her legacy continues with TANZOS well in to the future.

Born in Hamilton, the Waikato region has a special significance for Dame Malvina and we feel privileged to be carrying out her vision.

This has been made possible thanks to a founding donation from The Sir William and Ladi Judi Gallagher Foundation.

05/01/2026

We're so happy for ⭐ ⭐ (TANZOS artist in 2023), who is taking up a position at The Wilhelmsen Opera Studio at Den Norske Opera & Ballett in Oslo, Norway in the upcoming season.

Cecilia, you have worked so hard and so brilliantly and we are all excited for you!

Congratulations to you and your village, especially including ,