130 years on, Puccini's La Bohème remains an enduring classic and beloved opera. At the heart it's a simple story of four friends and their lovers; passionate artists and thinkers whose daily struggles compound and their hardships become tragedies. New Zealand-Samoan baritone Benson Wilson has returned home to appear on stage as Schaunard; one of the quartet of friends.
Now based in London, Benson has been firmly establishing himself as a promising baritone in the opera world. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and won the prestigious Kathleen Ferrier Award before relocating over there. In 2016, he's won the Lexus Song Quest and more recently - the Dame Malvina Major Foundation Mina Foley Award. He's performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and has studied and performed multiple languages including Russian and German. It's not his first time in this role; he made his professional debut at Festival Opera in 2016, playing Schaunard. He speaks to Culture 101 about returning home to play a familiar character with NZ Opera.
La Bohème is at Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre until the 6th of June before performances in Wellington and Christchurch.
