It's 30 years since Jonathan Lemalu last performed in front of a Queenstown audience, as an 18-year old entered in a local singing competition.
The internationally acclaimed opera singer was warmly welcomed at the Arrowtown Lifestyle Village last Friday night, where he was joined by friend and accompanist Prof. Terence Dennis for a concert featuring some of their favourite songs.
More than a hundred classical music enthusiasts made their way to the historic mining town, to hear the Grammy Award winner perform eight well known operatic arias, in An Evening with Jonathan Lemalu.
The Arrowtown Creative Arts Society (ACAS) persuaded him to make the drive across from Dunedin for the concert, squeezing the performance in during a short NZ tour.
"Because you really can see faces and you can see facial expressions and hopefully see enjoyment."
"Whereas in the bigger spaces, it could be 2,500 people and it's just darkness out there. So also I think it's an added spicy kind of joy, because a lot of them really do know me."
Lemalu said the arias he chose to perform during the evening spanned his career as a professional opera singer, which has included performing in front of (the now) King Charles the third.
"They [the arias] are almost like old friends in a way. Or maybe in a weird way, old clothing," he suggests.
"Because I put that character on, and sometimes you're in a different vibe, or you've got a different production... It could be set in space, it could be archaic and baroque."
A major drawcard of returning to Dunedin was getting to see his parents in Dunedin (including his father's 90th birthday), and Lemalu plans to spend as much time with them as he can before returning overseas.
His New Zealand visit includes concerts in Christchurch and Wellington, before catching a plane back to London later in the month.
- By Rhyva van Onselen, made with the support of NZ On Air
