Inaugural Nicholas Tarling Aria Competition 2023

Over two evenings, 20 and 21 February 2023, thirteen finalists competed for a prize pool of $9,000 in the inaugural Nicholas Tarling Aria Competition, held in the BNZ Theatre at the Due Drop Events Centre, Manukau.

The $5,000 First Prize was shared by soprano Katherine Winitana and tenor Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono. Katherine, Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngaariki Kaiputahi, born in Flaxmere, Hawke’s Bay, impressed the adjudicators and audience with Puccini’s “Chi il bel sogno di Doretta” from La rondine, while Emmanuel performed Massenet’s “Pourquoi me réveiller”.

Maeve Herd was awarded the $3,000 Runner-up Prize following her performance of “Eccomi in lieta vesta… Oh! quante volte” from Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi.

Soprano Alexandra Francis and tenor Shiddharth Chand were joint recipients of the $1,000 Most Promising Singer Award. Alexandra performed Cleopatra’s “Piangerò la sorte mia” from Handel’s Giulio Cesare, while Shiddharth sang “Ah! mes amis” from Donizetti’s La fille du régiment.

The thirteen finalists were selected from more than 50 entries received for the inaugural Competition. Official Accompanist Rosemary Barnes accompanied the singers throughout the Finalists’ Concert, with Nicholas Reid as MC.

The BNZ Theatre, with its Steinway concert grand and intimate setting, provided the stage for the first Nicholas Tarling Aria Competition and the beginning of what has since become an annual event.

2023 Results

Joint First Prize: Katherine Winitana and Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono
Runner-up: Maeve Herd
Most Promising Singer Award: Alexandra Francis and Shiddharth Chand

Since the Competition

Since sharing First Prize at the inaugural Nicholas Tarling Aria Competition in 2023, Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono has established a growing international career. Later in 2023, the New Zealand-born Samoan tenor won both the Sydney Eisteddfod Opera Scholarship and the IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition, performing in the latter with the Opera Australia Orchestra. 

In 2025, Emmanuel joined the prestigious Jette Parker Artists Programme at the Royal Opera in London. During his first season at the Royal Opera, he appeared as Pang in Puccini’s Turandot, Borsa in Verdi’s Rigoletto, and the First Philistine in Saint-Saëns’s Samson et Dalila. He continues as a Jette Parker Artist for the 2026/27 season, with roles including Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, alongside appearances in Parsifal, Un ballo in maschera, The Magic Flute, and Il tabarro.