Jonathan Lemalu

Since receiving a Dame Sister Mary Leo Scholarship in 1997 and winning the New Zealand Mobil Song Contest in 1998, bass-baritone Jonathan Lemalu has established an illustrious international operatic career performing in the UK, America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. 

Noted for his stage presence, interpretive ability, and his powerful and captivating voice, Jonathan has since garnered multiple awards including a Grammy Award in 2010 for Best Operatic Recording for an album on which he was featured.  

About Lemalu, Gramophone Magazine, the world’s leading authority on classical music wrote “Lemalu, a New Zealand born Samoan, is a major talent.  His voice defies easy categorisation, combining the depth and authority of a bass with the flexibility and vocal colouring of a baritone”. 

Based in Covent Garden, London, and while the doors of the famous opera house are closed, Jonathan has returned temporarily to New Zealand and promises to impress with his mix of operatic arias and lighter classical crossover that will feature when he joins Geoff in May.