erformances on April 22 and 24. Tickets here There was a real sense of occasion at the opening of the newly-formed Wellington Opera company. Auckland-based NZ Opera seems strangely reluctant to produce full-scale operas, so there was an opportunity for a local venture to fill the gap and fulfil perceived wants. Opera is a notoriously complex and expensive medium, so to form a new company virtually from scratch is a tremendous achievement and a credit to the enterprise and drive of all involved, not least in securing significant funding. Covid has been a world-wide scourge to the performing arts, but this has worked to advantage in relatively safe New Zealand, allowing this new company to enlist the services of New Zealand singers previously plying their trade successfully in Europe or the USA and a finer cast could hardly be desired.