Page 412 - Guildhall Coverage Book 2020-21
P. 412
6 May 2021
Lemalu back in home base
By Rebecca Fox
Jonathan Lemalu performs as Queequeg in Jake Heggie’s operatic adaptation of Melville’s
Moby Dick in San Francisco. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED
London-based opera singer Jonathan Lemalu has returned to Dunedin to see
family, enjoy some normality after the restrictions of Covid-19 lockdowns in
the United Kingdom and also to perform again, he tells Rebecca Fox.
Jonathan Lemalu can feel the adrenaline levels increasing, the flutters in his
stomach, all indicating he is about to perform again.
It is months since he stepped on a major stage to perform and it has only been made
possible by his return to New Zealand.
"I’m feeling the excitement that I remember from quite a long time ago. My body and
my mind are back in their happy place," Lemalu says sitting on an Octagon park
bench in the sun.
It is not without some concerns though. Like an athlete, opera singers need to be in
top condition which comes with regular performances.
"It’s a little bit daunting in the preparation."
