30 Jul 2018

Lexus Song Quest : the other winners

From Upbeat, 1:00 pm on 30 July 2018

The Lexus Song Quest 2018 came to a grand conclusion on Saturday night at the Auckland Town Hall .

The five finalists Joel Amosa, Eliza Boom, Joe Harrow, Manase Latu and Filipe Manu performed first with pianist Terence Dennis and then sang two opera arias with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted by Stephen Mould.

Before the winner was announced Dame Kiri te Kanawa presented her Foundation’s Scholarship for the Most Promising Singer to tenor Filipe Manu.

Filipe Manu (25) Tenor from Auckland

Filipe Manu (25) Tenor from Auckland Photo: Jeff McEwan

The 25 year old singer, who was  runner-up in the 2016 Lexus Song Quest, won $15,000. 

You can listen to his performance of “Povero Ernesto!” from Donizetti’s opera Don Pasquale

Then Dame Malvina Major took the stage to present this year’s Lexus runner-up prize to 24 year-old soprano Eliza Boom of Whangarei 

Eliza Boom (24) Soprano from Whangarei

Eliza Boom (24) Soprano from Whangarei Photo: Jeff McEwan

Dame Malvina’s Foundation supports the runner-up prize of $10,000 cash plus a study scholarship. She said she would like to have given 10,000 dollars to all the finalists

Listen to Eliza’s performance of Juliet’s aria from Gounod’s opera Romeo and Juliet that brought the house down on Saturday night.

The winner of the Lexus Song Quest first prize was 28 year-old Auckland bass-baritone Joel Amosa. His prize package including study scholarship, cash and travel is worth $50,000