Soprano Felicity Tomkins: sharing the joy of opera
Soprano Felicity Tomkins smiles and laughs often. “Well,” she says, “my name means ‘happiness’, and there’s so much joy in singing. I love the feeling of singing, the feeling in my body. I also love the relationship with the audience we have as singers. I laugh about my name, though, because a lot of the time, in the operatic roles I sing, I’m ‘infelice’, that is, ‘unhappy’.”
Tomkins is back in New Zealand this month, from her London base, and preparing to make her debut in a role that begins with a famously broken-hearted aria. As the Countess Almaviva in the upcoming New Zealand Opera Wellington season of Mozart’s popular The Marriage of Figaro, she doesn’t appear on stage until Act 2. But then all eyes will be upon her for the gorgeous aria “Porgi amor”, in which she’ll pour out her grief about the infidelities of her fickle husband, the Count, sung by another London-based New Zealander, baritone Julien van Mellaerts.
Fortunately, because this is a “comic” opera, the Countess and her maid Susanna (New Zealand soprano Sophie Sparrow, also making her role and company debut) turn the tables on the philanderer and, with many exquisitely playful plot-twists, everyone’s moods will improve markedly by the final curtain.
This acclaimed production of The Marriage of Figaro by the creative duo of director Lindy Hume and designer Tracy Grant Lord was scheduled for a New Zealand tour in 2021 and thrilled audiences in Auckland and Christchurch. Sadly, the Wellington season was COVID-cancelled at the very last moment - you can read about what happened in When the curtain suddenly falls – so Wellington has waited five years for this three-performance replacement season.
I find Tomkins for a chat during rehearsals in Auckland for the upcoming Wellington season. As well as Figaro, she’s preparing for the annual Auckland Opera Studio Gala at the end of June, another opportunity for New Zealanders to admire her beautiful voice and theatrical talents before she returns to the northern hemisphere.
Tomkins attracted local attention in 2022 when she came back during her post-graduate studies in Cincinnati to compete in the Lexus Song Quest and was placed as runner-up, her virtuosic and comedic performance of ‘Nun eilt herbei’ from Nicolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor a stand-out for audience and judges. In 2023 she won the Lockwood New Zealand Aria and a year later the “mischievous glee” of Nicolai’s aria was again part of her success when she won the Melbourne Opera Herald Sun Aria Competition in 2024, the same year she won the Sydney Eisteddfod Opera Scholarship.
Dame Malvina Major, who has supported Tomkins since her days at Waikato University, was herself the first New Zealander to win the coveted Sun Aria award, back in the 1960’s, and she was the first phone call Tomkins made on the night of her own win. “You won’t believe what just happened!” she said to Dame Malvina. “Actually,” she tells me, “after both those Australian competitions, I couldn’t believe it myself.”
She has good relationships with the Australian operatic scene and a key influence has been Australian heldentenor Stuart Skelton, her teacher in Cincinnati, where she attended the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) in 2021 and 2022. “He was fantastic about opening everything out and seeing what else is possible,” she says. Her time in America was also important for her development as an artist, allowing her to find the independence to make her own artistic decisions.
“I went to Cincinnati because I thought America would suit my personality,” says Tomkins. “One of the first coachings I had there, they said ‘well, how do you want to do this?’. It was like putting the steering wheel back into my hands. I could take ownership of my own artistry, be proud of who I am and what I do - a mix of my Kiwi mentality and the US approach.”
Soprano Felicity Tomkins performing in the opera The Knock by Aleksandra Vrebalov for Cincinnati Opera
“…taking ownership of her own artistry.”
Photo supplied
The gregarious Tomkins also loves working with other singers and creative team workers and she’s relishing the rehearsal process for Figaro. “As an opera singer you work a lot on your own,” she explains. “And then you get into a room with others and it’s like, ‘oh, people!’. It’s the best feeling, because everyone’s on that endorphin high - you can play and experiment with a group.”
Tomkins captured the audience at the last Auckland Opera Studio Opera Gala with her moving performance as the heroine Cio-Cio-San in an excerpt from Puccini’s tragic opera Madama Butterfly. She’s very positive about the concept of the concert-style Gala to introduce operatic repertoire to audiences. “You can do bite-sized bits as tasters, and then, in the second half, a much juicier chunk of a work.”
Felicity Tomkins as the tragic heroine Cio-Cio-San in the Auckland Opera Studio 2024 Opera Gala
“…a lot of the time, in the soprano roles I sing, I am ‘infelice’, that is, ‘unhappy.’”
Photo supplied
In this year’s Gala, at the end of June, in that “juicer chunk” she’ll sing the title role of another Puccini opera, Manon Lescaut, in a semi-staged performance of the tragic 4th Act, including the famous aria “Sola, perduta, abbandonata” (Alone, lost, abandoned). And in the first half, after the beautiful solo violin “Méditation” from Massenet’s Thaïs, played by Amalia Hall, Tomkins will sing the famous ‘Mirror Aria’, “Dis-moi que je suis belle” (Tell me that I am beautiful).
Shortly after she returns to the UK, after these New Zealand engagements, Tomkins will join the London-based National Opera Studio (NOS) for their Young Artists Programme. For nine months she’ll be part of a cohort of 12 singers and 4 repetiteurs, chosen to participate in the training programme from over 500 applicants.
Tomkins is enthusiastic about the opportunity, particularly as NOS works in collaboration with the six full-time UK opera companies, English National Opera, Glyndebourne, Opera North, the Royal Ballet and Opera, Scottish Opera and Welsh National Opera. New Zealand-trained Cook Islands tenor Ridge Ponini, who is also singing in this year’s Opera Gala, will also join the 2026 NOS Young Artists Programme.
“NOS caters for a range of ages and where you are in your career,” says Tomkins. “Every singer’s trajectory is different, and this feels like a good place for me to be at this stage. It will be like a northern hemisphere home, from which I can make other connections. That feels great – new friends, working with different people and figuring out how to manage the longevity of my career.”
Felicity Tomkins
singing Rachmaninov’s Dreams (Op. 38) with pianist Terence Dennis in the Lexus Song Quest in 2022
Photo supplied
In the NOS programme she’ll be assisted by a living stipend, but she acknowledges there are financial challenges for a young opera star, and she’s still fundraising to make sure she can cover her costs in the expensive city of London. But this talented soprano is smilingly confident about her chosen career. “When you’re on stage and with your colleagues, there’s nothing quite like opera, sharing that music and those stories with an audience. Every night is different, because you get a different energy and feedback from a different audience. You can’t replicate that feeling!”
New Zealand Opera The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte, with James Judd (conductor), Lindy Hume (director), Tracy Grant Lord (set and costume design) Julien van Mellaerts (Count Almaviva), Felicity Tomkins (Countess Almaviva), James Clayton (Figaro), Sophie Sparrow (Susanna), Cecilia Zhang (Cherubino) with the Freemasons Foundation NZ Opera Chorus and Orchestra Wellington. Wellington June 17, 19 & 21, 2026. Bookings here
Auckland Opera Studio 2026 Opera Gala in association with the Manukau Symphony Orchestra, with Uwe Grodd (conductor) John Davies (director), Frances Wilson (artistic director), Felicity Tompkins (soprano), Breony Bearman (soprano), Ridge Ponini (tenor), Alfred Fonoti-Fuimaono (baritone), Amalia Hall (violin), with Auckland Choral. Auckland June 28, 2026. Bookings here