Baritone Will King took first prize at the Dame Malvina Major Foundation Wellington Aria on Sunday night. Second place was awarded to soprano Sophie Sparrow.

Originally from Auckland, Will is currently in his fourth year of Classical Voice at the New Zealand School of Music in Wellington. He was recently selected as a 2019 Emerging Artist with New Zealand Opera and was runner-up in the 2018 North Shore Aria Competition and third in the 2017 Dunedin Aria Competition. 

“Will King was the clear winner for me and I’m sure the whole audience after his singing of Possente Spirito from Monteverdi’s ‘L’Orfeo’. The singing of that musicianship, style and quality is rare in New Zealand and I and the audience were clearly blown away,” says competition adjudicator Richard Greager.

“He reinforced this classy performance in his second aria Hai Gia Vinta La Causa from Mozart’s ‘Le Nozze Di Figaro’ which was superbly sung and characterised. He once again showed a wonderful sense of Mozartian style that was quite different to the requirements of the Monteverdi. A worthy winner and a baritone clearly with the potential to make a fine career.”