2024 Opera Festival 2 -5 May

Nelson Civic Choir presents :

Saturday May 4th  at 7pm at NCMA – Opera GALA CONCERT Tickets: $45/$35/$2 from NCMA

Sunday May 5th  at 3pm at NCMA – Opera GALA CONCERT Tickets: $45/$35/$2 from NCMA

Ravishingly beautiful orchestral music, exhilarating chorus music and a selection of arias and  duets that draw us into worlds we can only imagine and sometimes long to be a part of.
Music and Artistic Director – Jason Balla shares a lifetime of experiences on the international opera stage and brings to life some of the most well-known and beloved operatic favourites,  along with the combined forces of the Nelson Civic Choir and the Nelson Male Voice choir, an orchestra comprised of many of the best orchestral players in the Nelson/Tasman/Marlborough regions,  and a trio of accomplished opera singers from near and far and with a range of international experience on the operatic stage both nationally and abroad.

Thursday May 2nd  at 12:30pm at NCMA – Masterclass – Opera and Broadway
Tickets: $20 ($5 – NCMA Members).

Vocal coach and Music Director Jason Balla is joined by pianist Kyoko Takashima as well as singers Rosemary Galton, Olivia Starrenburg and Aaron Borcovsky performing and working on a range of songs and arias from opera to Broadway musicals. An informative insight into performance preparation demonstrating how singers prepare music for a performance or a staged opera production.

Friday May 3rd at 5pm at NCMA – Live Lounge – Opera/Jazz Fusion
Admission: FREE

A selection of well-known operatic tunes presented in a more jazzy and casual style illustrating the versatility of some of the world’s most beloved operatic tunes and featuring some of Nelson’s finest local jazz musicians. Blurring the lines between opera and jazz, singer/pianist Jason Balla is joined by soprano Carleen Ebbs and local Nelson musicians Raffaele Bandoli and Nick Van Dijk in a blend of music by Puccini, Mozart, Gershwin, Weill and others.