04.04.2013
A Don Giovanni from the Other Side of the World
In the concert performances of the opera Don Giovanni on 16 and 17 April the title role will be sung by the New Zealand baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes. Over the last few seasons this charismatic singer with Maori roots has played Mozart’s character on every continent. Teddy Tahu Rhodes has sung Don Giovanni at Opera Australia in Sydney, the Cincinnati Opera in the USA, and the Opéra National de Bordeaux in France.
“Something like Don Giovanni requires an intensity, which means from the very second you walk on that stage, you have to be there, you have to be in that moment”, the singer said in an interview. “I’m not saying that’s not the same with every role [but Don Giovanni is something special]. There’s a responsibility on you to carry this character through the performance. [The opera] is a wonderful mix of darkness and light. It’s definitely appealing in the sense that the music is heard right through our society still; even if we aren’t followers of opera, it’s music we hear played in all walks of life.”
Teddy Tahu Rhodes began his musical career in a choral setting. The talented young man had been showered with prestigious national awards before he had even reached the age of 20. He took the opportunity to continue his musical education at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He made his operatic debut with Opera Australia in 1998. He very quickly won international recognition after representing New Zealand in the 1999 Cardiff Singer of the World competition. Prestigious engagements followed in the USA (San Francisco, Houston, Dallas and Washington), and also in Europe (Munich, Leipzig, Hamburg, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the Welsh National Opera, and the Scottish Opera). His operatic roles include Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Marcello in La bohème, Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Papageno in The Magic Flute, Escamillo in Carmen, and Lescaut in Manon Lescaut. Teddy Tahu Rhodes appeared in the BBC musical film The Little Prince, and has also featured in DVD recordings of Metropolitan Opera productions — Peter Grimes (EMI) and Carmen (Deutsche Grammophon).
“Something like Don Giovanni requires an intensity, which means from the very second you walk on that stage, you have to be there, you have to be in that moment”, the singer said in an interview. “I’m not saying that’s not the same with every role [but Don Giovanni is something special]. There’s a responsibility on you to carry this character through the performance. [The opera] is a wonderful mix of darkness and light. It’s definitely appealing in the sense that the music is heard right through our society still; even if we aren’t followers of opera, it’s music we hear played in all walks of life.”
Teddy Tahu Rhodes began his musical career in a choral setting. The talented young man had been showered with prestigious national awards before he had even reached the age of 20. He took the opportunity to continue his musical education at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He made his operatic debut with Opera Australia in 1998. He very quickly won international recognition after representing New Zealand in the 1999 Cardiff Singer of the World competition. Prestigious engagements followed in the USA (San Francisco, Houston, Dallas and Washington), and also in Europe (Munich, Leipzig, Hamburg, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the Welsh National Opera, and the Scottish Opera). His operatic roles include Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Marcello in La bohème, Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Papageno in The Magic Flute, Escamillo in Carmen, and Lescaut in Manon Lescaut. Teddy Tahu Rhodes appeared in the BBC musical film The Little Prince, and has also featured in DVD recordings of Metropolitan Opera productions — Peter Grimes (EMI) and Carmen (Deutsche Grammophon).
