22 May 2012

The woman in breeches

27/07/2011 9:33:00 a.m.

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Mezzo soprano Bianca Andrew.

Mezzo soprano Bianca Andrew.

MEZZO soprano Bianca Andrew loves wearing the trousers.
Andrew is Oberon, King of the Fairies, in the New Zealand School of Music’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s a “trouser” or “breeches” role, which in opera refers to any male character sung and acted by a female singer.”
“Mezzo sopranos have a heavier, darker tone than sopranos and a higher range than than contraltos,” the 21 year old explains. “Most often the character is an adolescent or a very young man.”
Andrew has worn the pants before. She played Cherubino in the Wellington production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro last year.
“Trouser roles are very liberating and great fun to sing and perform. The really cool thing about a mezzo soprano playing Oberon is that it makes the character more mysterious and dangerous. The audience sees a flash of masculinity and then a flash of female sensuality.”
Born in Wellington, Andrew grew up in Eastbourne. She’s currently studying for a postgraduate diploma in music at the New Zealand School of Music and has already won a string of scholarships and awards including the Dame Malvina Major Foundation High Achiever’s Award and the Moyra Todd Memorial Scholarship.
But her move into opera and singing was an accidental one. Her love of singing developed after she auditioned for a part in a school musical, and she fell in love with classical music after shopping at The Warehouse.
“I wanted to buy some music CDs and the classical ones were really cheap. I bought Madame Butterfly and a whole new world opened up to me. I really fell into opera and I’ve never looked back.”
Andrew has been described as one of New Zealand’s most exciting young opera singers and she aspires to a career as a professional opera singer. She has plans to move to Europe for further study but at the moment she’s finding plenty of opportunities at home. At the same time as rehearsing for Midsummer she’s performing in two other roles, in the New Zealand Opera Company chorus and in a production for Wellington’s Baroque Voices.
“Wellington is a real hub for creative events and I’ve got plenty going on,” Andrew says.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Benjamin Britten, Memorial Theatre, Victoria University, August 3-9.
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Cover Story

Best of Wellington 2011

Briefs

  • A question of nutrition

    Controversial Washington-based nutritionist Sally Fallon-Morell is to speak in Wellington on March 29.
    Fallon-Morell is the co-founder of the American food lobby group the Weston A. Price Foundation and the author of Nourishing Traditions. She advocates for the consumption of nutritionally dense foods such as lacto-fermented vegetables, stocks and broths, and whole raw dairy products.
    Fallon-Morell will speak at St Patrick’s College Hall on March 29.

  • Relay for cancer

    Organisers say Sunday’s Relay for Life is full to capacity with hundreds of Wellingtonians registered for the event.
    A total of 88 teams, made up of 10 to 500 members, plan to take part with a further 25 teams on the waiting list.
    The 24 hour relay, the Cancer Society’s biggest fundraising event of the year, takes place at Frank Kitts Park from 4pm on March 31.

  • Osteoarthritis awareness

    Arthritis New Zealand has launched a nationwide campaign raise awareness about osteoarthritis. 
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    The campaign features television commercials and an interactive website.


  • Wild walk

    Take part in the Big Walk at Zealandia on March 31.
    Walkers can choose a two, five or 10 kilometre walk catering to all fitness levels.
    Money raised will go to the Foundation for Youth Development.

  • School pool

    The opening of the new Khandallah School pool this week means hundreds of children will be able to continue their swimming lessons.
    The pool was the first to receive a grant from Wellington City Council’s Schools Pools Partnership Fund, a fund set up in 2010 to help schools improve their pool facilities.
    Grants from the fund have also been made for pools at Wellington East Girls’ College, Barhampore School and Tawa School.

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    Motorcyclists are invited to get on their bikes and collect Easter eggs for families support from the Wellington City Mission.
    The charity run on April 1 is organised by motorcycle lobby group BONZ.
    Eggs can be donated at Red Baron Motorcylces in Alicetown. The registration fee for bikers is $10, plus the cost of Easter eggs.

  • Crafty

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  • Ze upgrade

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    The job will take four weeks.

  • Newlands Moves

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  • Baring Head

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  • Festival treats

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    For a perfect first theatrical experience White tells the story of friends Cotton and Winkle who live in a world where there is no colour and everything is startlingly white. That is until a brightly coloured egg tumbles out of the sky and changes their world for ever.
    White plays at Capital E from March 7-11.
    The tale of Peter and the World also promises to be a magical night for all ages. Sergei Prokofiev’s classic children’s tale is told through film and live music from the NZ Symphony Orchestra at the Michael Fowler Centre on March 9.
    March 11 is Young Writers and Readers Day and readings from children’s writers and illustrators Lynley Dodd and Gavin Bishop.

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