Soprano Georgia Jamieson Emms after some years working and singing in Germany returned to New Zealand to start a family and launch her theatre company, Wanderlust.
"Wanderlust has been a dream on the back burner for me for a long time. I was so inspired by what I saw in Europe from smaller companies and theatre groups, artists creating their own platforms for their work, creating their own opportunities. I knew I had to do something like that if I was going to continuing performing."
She started the production company because she had been quietly producing and putting together performances for a long time and it made sense to put an official stamp on it. The word "wanderlust" is a nod to her years in Germany. It refers to a passion for travel, and in this case, travelling with music, whether it be musical theatre, cabaret or opera, recruiting old friends and colleagues and taking it around New Zealand.
So far Wanderlust has produced the runaway success that was the cabaret show Noel & Cole (the music of Noel Coward and Cole Porter), followed by the critically acclaimed Happily Ever After (Stephen Sondheim) and most recently, Georgia's one-woman Julie Andrews tribute show, These Are A Few Of My Favourite Sings. All of these shows toured outside major cities.
The time has come for an operatic production, and Cosi Fan Tutte was the obvious choice.
The journey towards taking Cosi on tour included a fabulous concert performance featuring highlights from the opera, narrated by Radio NZ's Kate Mead. The purpose of the concert was to give audiences a taste of what is to come from Wanderlust's "opera department" - fun, quirky, accessible opera, sung in English and featuring some of New Zealand's most talented singers, many of whom are making waves overseas as well as at home.
Cosi In Concert teamed Georgia's Fiordiligi with the Dorabella of former Emerging Artist and Lexus Finalist Bianca Andrew, now based in London; Cameron Barclay of the famed Ten Tenors sang Ferrando; Robert Tucker, a regular soloist with NZ Opera sang Guglielmo and NZ Opera stalwarts Imogen Thirlwall and Matthew Landreth sang Despina and Don Alfonso.
Cosi In Concert, the "taster", was described as "witty and delightful" by critics.
"This splendid, entertaining Wanderlust Opera enterprise is a serious attempt to find a way to bring opera to wider audiences. Jamieson Emms and her co-conspirators are to be congratulated on their courage and success." (Lindis Taylor, Middle-C.org.)
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