Waikato's opera school gets a boost with new fund

Wednesday, 28 January 2026

The 2025 crop of students at Te Pae Kōkako The Aotearoa New Zealand Opera Studio (TANZOS). From left are Faamanu Fonoti-Fuimaono, Niamh Bentley, Tomairangi Henare, Sarah Mileham and Edward Smith (TANZOS associate artist).

A new legacy fund is set to help Waikato’s world-class opera training programme keep hitting the high notes.

The school, based at the University of Waikato and set up in 2022, already has graduates finding international success, including one training at London’s Royal Opera House.

It will now be supported by the TANZOS Dame Malvina Major Legacy Fund, hosted by community foundation Momentum Waikato, a statement said.

Soprano Madeleine Pierard, who leads Te Pae Kōkako The Aotearoa New Zealand Opera Studio (TANZOS), says it’s a major step to ensure Dame Malvina’s dream can go on forever.

Tenor Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono is a graduate, now training at The Royal Opera at Covent Garden in London.

The fund bears Dame Malvina Major’s name and was launched on her birthday.

“After only three years, we're experiencing unprecedented international success for singers coming straight from New Zealand opera training, and a healthy international profile, which is wonderful but brings its own resourcing challenges.”

The fund was launched on Wednesday, Dame Malvina Major’s 83rd birthday, and aims to provide long-term financial security, a statement from Momentum Waikato said.

The school was born from Dame Malvina’s dream of creating a world-class opera training ground in Aotearoa.

“I feel that my life’s work has culminated in this programme,” she said.

Celebrating the launch of the fund are, from left, Momentum trustee Joan Forret, founding supporter Lady Judi Gallagher, TANZOS director Madeleine Pierard, and Momentum trustees Holly Snape and Stephen Town.

The new fund was kickstarted by a founding donation from The Sir William and Lady Judi Gallagher Foundation. Lady Judi, a longtime supporter of Dame Malvina’s vision, said the programme’s graduates are “world class” and “will take the opera world by storm”.

And it’s already happening. Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono, a 2023 TANZOS graduate, is now training at London’s Royal Opera House—the first Kiwi to get there without overseas study first.

“This is a dream come true,” said Fonoti-Fuimaono, who grew up in Flaxmere. “I plan to make the most of every moment.”

The fund will generate investment income as part of Momentum Waikato’s endowment portfolio, a statement said. That will be used to make grants to directly support TANZOS operations.

The school currently receives support, including for student scholarships, from the Dame Malvina Major Foundation, The Sir William and Lady Judi Gallagher Foundation, the Freemasons Foundation, The University of Waikato and individual philanthropists.

The new endowment fund is open to public donations and bequests. More information is available online.