New Zealand tenor Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono has won the coveted Marianne Mathy Scholarship at the 2023 IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition (ASC).

The winner of ‘The Mathy’ not only receives the $30,000 scholarship to assist with a program of study, but a suite of other prizes and opportunities.

New Zealand tenor Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono is presented with the 2023 IFAC Handa Australian Singing Award. Photo supplied

Performing in a finals concert at The Concourse Concert Hall in Chatswood, Sydney on 31 August, 25-year-old Fonoti-Fuimaono battled it out with four other classical singers: soprano Michaela Cadwgan from New Zealand; mezzo-soprano Cassandra Doyle from NSW; mezzo-soprano Ellena Hicks from NSW; and soprano Yvette Keong from NSW.

Accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Fanshil, Fonoti-Fuimaono sang Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön from Mozart’s opera Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) and Ah! Lève toi, soleil! from Gluck’s Roméo et Juliette.

Born in Flaxmere, Hastings in New Zealand to a Samoan family, Fonoti-Fuimaono is currently studying for a Master’s degree in opera at the University of Waikato in Hamilton. He has performed with NZ Opera, Wellington Opera and Auckland Choral.

He was considered...