JAMES IOELU, bass
New Zealand Bass-Baritone James Ioelu
completed an undergraduate degree in Music
and Psychology at the University of Auckland
before moving to New York in 2010 to complete a
Masters in Performance at the Manhattan School
of Music.
During his studies he performed principal roles in
a number of MSM productions; Mephistopheles
in Gounod’s Faust, Trinity Moses in Kurt Weil’s
The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, Louis
XVI in John Corigliano’s The Ghost of Versailles,
and the Knave in Manly Romero’s Dreaming of
Wonderland at the Brooklyn Arts Space.
Since completing formal training at Manhattan School of Music, James has split
his time between intense professional development - studying with renowned
singer and coach Madame Virginia Zeani - and performing a number of roles and
concerts in America, Europe, and New Zealand. Most recently, he has benefited
from the support of the Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation, including some
coveted time with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa herself. Highlights include the role of
Bruno in Michael Williams’ original work The Juniper Passion, which premiered
in Rome, understudying the bass soloist in Haydn’s The Creation with the NZSO,
and most recently performing the role of Raimondo in Donizetti’s Lucia de
Lammermoor produced by Auckland Opera Studio and accompanied by the
Auckland Chamber Orchestra. He has performed the role of Don Pasquale this
year with the Merola opera program in San Francisco and joined the National
Opera Studio in London in September of this year.
James has received a steady stream of awards ranging from New Zealand
Young Performer of the Year and Iosefa Enari Emerging Pacific Artist Award
to more recently placing in three of the top Aria competitions in the Southern
Hemisphere within the last year, winning the NZ Aria, as well as taking home the
runner-up prize in both the Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge Bel Canto
competition and the Sydney Eisteddfod Operatic Aria.
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