Reginald Barry Mora (15 November 1940 – 11 October 2021) was a New Zealand classical

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

who had an active international career in concerts and

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

s from the mid-1970s through the 1990s. Retired from the stage, he was a member of the board at

The NBR New Zealand Opera New Zealand Opera is New Zealand's only full-time professional opera company, formed in 2000 from the merger of companies in Auckland and Wellington (and later Christchurch). New Zealand Opera is headquartered in Parnell, Auckland, stages severa ...

Early life

Mora grew up at Taikorea, near

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

and attended

Palmerston North Boys' High School Palmerston North Boys' High School is a traditional boys school located in Palmerston North, New Zealand. Location Palmerston North Boys' High School has a campus located on Featherston Street between Rangitikei and North Streets in the central ...

Career

Mora's career began with the New Zealand Broadcasting Service followed by a job in the management of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. He had been studying singing and performing as a concert soloist and in opera. In the early 1970s he moved to London to pursue his singing career. Mora studied singing in London with

Otakar Kraus Otakar Kraus OBE (10 December 1909 — 28 July 1980) was a Czech (later British), operatic baritone and teacher. He was born in Prague and studied there with Konrad Wallerstein and in Milan with Fernando Carpi. He himself was the teacher of a num ...

. He was a member of the Gelsenkirchen Opera House from 1976 until 1980 where he became principal baritone. He made his professional debut as Anckarström in

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's ''

Un ballo in maschera ''Un ballo in maschera'' ''(A Masked Ball)'' is an 1859 opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The text, by Antonio Somma, was based on Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's 1833 five act opera, '' Gustave III, ou Le bal masqué''. The ...

''. In 1980 he joined the

Frankfurt Opera House The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt. Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Shrek's ''Der ferne Klang'' in 1912, '' Fennimore und Gerda'' by Frede ...

where he had a highly successful career for the next seven years singing roles in Verdi operas among others. From 1987 he worked as a freelance artist internationally with the

Welsh National Opera Welsh National Opera (WNO) ( cy, Opera Cenedlaethol Cymru) is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales; it gave its first performances in 1946. It began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

and at opera houses in Vancouver, Japan and Barcelona. Mora also performed as a guest artist with

De Nederlandse Opera The Dutch National Opera (DNO; formerly De Nederlandse Opera, now De Nationale Opera in Dutch) is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, a m ...

, the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

La Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (french: Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, italic=no, ; nl, Koninklijke Muntschouwburg, italic=no; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National O ...

, the

Scottish Opera Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow, it is the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland. History Scottish Op ...

, and

Theater Aachen Theater Aachen is a theatre in Aachen, Germany. It is the principal venue in that city for operas, musical theatre and plays. It is the home of the Aachen Symphony Orchestra. The original project was by Johann Peter Cremer, later altered by Kar ...

among others. In 1990 Mora returned to live in New Zealand. He performed with opera companies in Canterbury, Wellington and Auckland. He performed roles with

New Zealand Opera New Zealand Opera is New Zealand's only full-time professional opera company, formed in 2000 from the merger of companies in Auckland and Wellington (and later Christchurch). New Zealand Opera is headquartered in Parnell, Auckland, stages severa ...

when he was well into his 70s: Sacristan in ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

,'' and Benoît and Alcindoro in ''

La Bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions ''quadri'', ''tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe G ...

''.

Personal life

Mora married Diane South and they had two children. Mora died on 11 October 2021, aged 80.

Sources

Mora at operissimo.com

References

1940 births 2021 deaths People from Palmerston North 20th-century New Zealand male opera singers Operatic baritones New Zealand baritones People educated at Palmerston North Boys' High School {{NewZealand-opera-singer-stub