Emerging opera singers and a rising national talent will take centre stage at a Tauranga Opera Forum Trust concert next month.

The concert will be held at 3pm on Sunday June 14, at St Peter’s in the City and feature a programme of operatic favourites performed by scholarship singers and guest soprano Niamh Bentley.

The event will be compered by George Bryant.

Three scholarship singers – sopranos Alafair Korohina-Wall and Sienna Olsen and tenor Jacob West – will perform during the first half of the programme.

Korohina-Wall is sponsored by Crown Range Winery, Olsen is sponsored by Tauranga Opera Forum Trust and West is sponsored by Wright Family Foundation.

Sienna Olsen will be performing at a Tauranga Opera Forum Trust concert on June 14. Photo / Supplied

Concert organiser John Hodgson said the concert reflects the trust’s ongoing commitment to supporting young singers and promoting opera in Tauranga.

“Tauranga Opera Forum is enthusiastic to support the enjoyment of opera in Tauranga with screened operas, concerts and scholarships for young singers,” Hodgson said.

“Inquire how you can support us by sponsoring a song at our next concert.”

The concert programme will include a range of classical and contemporary works.

Jacob West, who is rehearsing for the Tauranga Musical Theatre production of Wicked, will perform La Donna e Mobile from Rigoletto, The Choirmaster’s Burial by Benjamin Britten and One Last Prayer by Jake Banfield.

Jacob West will be performing at a Tauranga Opera Forum Trust concert on June 14. Photo / Supplied

Sienna Olsen will sing Barbarina’s aria from The Marriage of Figaro, If Music Be the Food of Love by Henry Purcell and Domine Deus by Antonio Vivaldi.

Alafair Korohina-Wall will perform Per la gloria d’adorarvi from Griselda, Love Walked In from The Goldwyn Follies and Con amores, la mi madre by Juan Anchieta.

Following intermission, guest soloist Niamh Bentley will perform. Bentley, a 25-year-old soprano from Hawke’s Bay, is studying at The Aotearoa New Zealand Opera Studio.

“Her journey into opera and classical singing began in 2016 when she joined the opera youth initiative Project Prima Volta, which sparked her passion for the art form,” Hodgson said.

The Tauranga Opera Forum Trust began in 2013 with opera screenings held at the Tauranga Club and expanded into scholarships, concerts and fundraising initiatives supporting young performers.

The organisation has helped several young singers pursue further musical study and performance opportunities.

Hodgson said the trust hoped to continue growing opera appreciation in Tauranga despite recent challenges securing screening licences for its regular opera screenings.

“We are looking to continue our support for opera in Tauranga especially with our scholarship concerts and will soon launch our ‘Sponsor a Song’ programme,” he said.

The “Operatic Favourites” concert is at 3pm, June 14, at St Peter’s in the City, 130 Spring St.