An Operatic Tradition

Abstract

Adrienne Simpson's recent seminar at the Stout Centre on the Simonsen Opera Company gave striking evidence of the popularity of opera in 19th-century New Zealand, not only in cities but in the many small towns which the travelling companies included in their schedules. Today, opera is the cinderella of the arts, rebuilding in regional form after the fateful decision of the QEII to withdraw national funding from the New Zealand Opera Company and its successor, the New Zealand National Opera. In this interview, J.M. Thomson asks Adrienne Simpson why opera is such a potent force in a country where, in the view of today's policy makers, it is often considered irrelevant to cultural aspirations. In other words, how meaningful is opera to present-day New Zealand?