Jonathan Fa'afetai Lemalu (born 1976) is a New Zealand bass baritone opera singer. Born to Samoan parents who had emigrated to New Zealand, he was educated in Dunedin. His first singing teacher was Honor McKellar, who began teaching him while he attended Otago Boys' High School. He studied both Law and Music at the University of Otago, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws in 1999. Lemalu studied at the Royal College of Music (RCM), where he won the college's gold medal award in 2002. He won the prestigious London-based

Kathleen Ferrier Award The Kathleen Ferrier Award is a prestigious contest for Opera singers held each April in London, England. The first competition was held in 1956. According to the '' Telegraph'', the competition has a record of "spotting winners". Originally c ...

(previously won by Malvina Major in 1966) that same year. He was a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist from 2002 to 2004. He was the 2004 winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society's award for Young Artist of the Year. At the

52nd Annual Grammy Awards The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares Pe ...

Lemalu was a co-recipient of the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for his work on Benjamin Britten's ''Billy Budd''. He returned to New Zealand to perform in the 2012 New Zealand Festival of the Arts in Wellington. He took the part of Te Kumete in the opera '' Hōhepa'' by Jenny McLeod which told the story of political prisoner Hōhepa Te Umuroa. In 2013 he was awarded the Senior Pacific Artist Award at the Creative New Zealand Arts Pasifka Awards. Lemalu was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Music (FRCM)in 2022 in recognition of his services to music and to the College. Lemalu's wife is a Croatian family therapist, Sandra Martinović. They live in London with their son Joshua and daughter Arabella. He is currently a professor of Vocal Studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Honours and awards

* 1997 Dame Sister Mary Leo Scholarship. * 1998 New Zealand

Mobil Song Quest The Lexus Song Quest (formerly known as the Mobil Song Quest) is a biennial opera singing competition, held in New Zealand since 1956. The competition is managed and presented by Tāwhiri, which also runs the New Zealand Festival of the Arts. Win ...

. * 1999 Australia's McDonald's Operatic Aria Contest at the Sydney Opera House. * 2000 Inaugural Llangollen International Singer 2000 Competition. * RCM Graziella Sciutti Recital Prize. * RCM Keith Faulkner Oratorio Prize. * 2000 LASMO Staffa Singers Prize. * Bruce Millar/Gulliver Award for Young Opera Singers (Glasgow). * Overall winner of the Royal Over-Seas League Competition (and Royal Over-Seas League Singers Prize, and Overseas Award). * Richard Tauber Prize for Singers ( Wigmore Hall). * Concert FM Broadcasting Artist of the Year (NZ). * 2000 recipient of the RCM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Rosebowl (presented by HRH Prince Charles) and NFMS Alfreda Hodgson Prize. * Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Scholar. * President Emerita Scholar, Leverhulme Trust Scholar, Tillet Trust Scholar and Singers Academy Scholar at the RCM. * BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist 2002-2004 * Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording soloist on ''Britten'': ''

Billy Budd ''Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)'' is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, left unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics as a masterpiece when a hastily transcribed version was finally published in 1924, it quick ...

'' at

2010 * 2022 – Appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to opera, in the 2022 Queen's Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours

References

External links

Official website

Cantores Choir: Website of the Dunedin choir for which Jonathan is an alumnus and is now patron
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemalu, Jonathan Fa'afetai 1976 births Alumni of the Royal College of Music People educated at Otago Boys' High School Living people 21st-century New Zealand male opera singers Operatic bass-baritones New Zealand bass-baritones Musicians from Dunedin University of Otago alumni New Zealand people of Samoan descent New Zealand expatriates in England Grammy Award winners BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists Pasifika opera singers Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit