AND HERE IS ANOTHER NEW ZEALANDER TO WATCH OUT FOR ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE

The world knows Simon O'Neill is a young tenor to watch out for. When the New York Times commented that "the clarion-voiced tenor Simon O'Neill was a formidable Florestan", reviewing his Covent Garden performance, it joined the many other reviews in the New Zealander's CV that scramble for words to do justice to his talents in hard, cold adjectives.
Big talent. Big man. And O'Neill is aware of both. "I am going to see a dietitian. Can't die young," says the 36-year-old. His friends , American opera stars Deborah Voigt and Ben Heppner, are offering advice and support.

The above from critic William Dart writing in the NZ Herald today. Full story here....