Jonathan Fa'afetai Lemalu (born 1976) is a New Zealand bass baritone

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

singer. Born to

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

n parents who had emigrated to New Zealand, he was educated in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

. His first singing teacher was Honor McKellar, who began teaching him while he attended

Otago Boys' High School Otago Boys' High School (OBHS) is a secondary school in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is one of New Zealand's oldest boys' secondary schools. Originally known as Dunedin High School, it was founded on 3 August 1863 and moved to its present site in 18 ...

. He studied both Law and Music at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws in 1999. Lemalu studied at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

(RCM), where he won the college's gold medal award in 2002. He won the prestigious London-based

Kathleen Ferrier Award The Kathleen Ferrier Award is a prestigious contest for opera singers held each April in London, England. The first competition was held in 1956. According to the ''Telegraph'', the competition has a record of "spotting winners". Originally con ...

(previously won by Malvina Major in 1966) that same year. He was a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist from 2002 to 2004. He was the 2004 winner of the

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...

's award for Young Artist of the Year. At the

52nd Annual Grammy Awards The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares P ...

Lemalu was a co-recipient of the

Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording The Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording has been awarded since 1961. The award was originally titled Best Classical Opera Production. The current title has been used since 1962. Prior to 1961 the awards for operatic and choral performances wer ...

for his work on Benjamin Britten's ''Billy Budd''. He returned to New Zealand to perform in the 2012

New Zealand Festival of the Arts Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts is a multi-arts biennial festival based in Wellington New Zealand that started in 1986. Previous names are the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts, New Zealand International Arts Festival, New ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. He took the part of Te Kumete in the opera ''

Hōhepa The opera ''Hōhepa'', composed by Jenny McLeod, premiered at the Opera House in Wellington in March 2012, in a production by NBR New Zealand Opera. It starred Phillip Rhodes, Deborah Wai Kapohe, Jonathan Lemalu, and Rawiri Paratene. It r ...

'' by

Jenny McLeod Jennifer Helen McLeod (12 November 1941 – 28 November 2022) was a New Zealand composer and professor of music at Victoria University of Wellington. She composed several major works for big groups including ''Under the Sun'' for four orchestr ...

which told the story of political prisoner Hōhepa Te Umuroa. In 2013 he was awarded the Senior Pacific Artist Award at the Creative New Zealand Arts Pasifka Awards. Lemalu was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Music (FRCM) in 2022 in recognition of his services to music and to the College. Lemalu's wife is a Croatian family therapist, Sandra Martinović. They live in London with their son Joshua and daughter Arabella. He is currently a professor of Vocal Studies at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

Honours and awards

* 1997 Dame Sister Mary Leo Scholarship. * 1998 New Zealand Mobil Song Quest. * 1999 Australia's McDonald's Operatic Aria Contest at the Sydney Opera House. * 2000 Inaugural Llangollen International Singer 2000 Competition. * RCM Graziella Sciutti Recital Prize. * RCM Keith Faulkner Oratorio Prize. * 2000 LASMO Staffa Singers Prize. * Bruce Millar/Gulliver Award for Young Opera Singers (Glasgow). * Overall winner of the Royal Over-Seas League Competition (and Royal Over-Seas League Singers Prize, and Overseas Award). * Richard Tauber Prize for Singers (

Wigmore Hall The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good building acoustics, acoustics. It specialis ...

). * Concert FM Broadcasting Artist of the Year (NZ). * 2000 recipient of the RCM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Rosebowl (presented by HRH Prince Charles) and NFMS Alfreda Hodgson Prize. * Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Scholar. * President Emerita Scholar, Leverhulme Trust Scholar, Tillet Trust Scholar and Singers Academy Scholar at the RCM. * BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist 2002-2004 *

soloist on ''Britten'': ''

Billy Budd ''Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)'', also known as ''Billy Budd, Foretopman'', is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, left unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics as a masterpiece when a hastily transcribed vers ...

'' at

2010 * 2022 – Appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have r ...

, for services to opera, in the 2022 Queen's Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours

References

External links

Official website

Cantores Choir: Website of the Dunedin choir for which Jonathan is an alumnus and is now patron
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemalu, Jonathan Fa'afetai 1976 births Alumni of the Royal College of Music People educated at Otago Boys' High School Living people 21st-century New Zealand male opera singers Operatic bass-baritones New Zealand bass-baritones Musicians from Dunedin University of Otago alumni New Zealand people of Samoan descent New Zealand expatriates in England Grammy Award winners BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists Pasifika opera singers Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit