New Zealand: Wade Kernot

BBC Cardiff Singer of the World and Song Prize competitor

Wade Kernot studied at the Australian Opera Studio, Perth, and is currently at the National Opera Studio, London. His teachers include Gregory Yurisich, Anthea Moller and Patrick Power.

In 2004 he was the Dame Malvina Major Foundation Emerging Artist at NBR New Zealand Opera and won the Circle 100 scholarship. In 2005 Wade took up a position as a principal with Australian Opera Studio in Perth. Performances there included Truffaldino (Ariadne auf Naxos), Crespel, Luther, and Coppelius (Les contes d'Hoffmann), Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte), Unulfo (Rodelinda), Count des Grieux (Manon) and Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte).

In 2007 he sang in Stravinsky's Pulcinella for the Hessishes Staatstheatre in Wiesbaden, and Zuniga in Southern Opera's Carmen, won the NZ Aria, the Napier Aria and was runner up in the Lexus Song Quest. Wade was made Dame Malvina Major PriceWaterhouseCoopers Young Artist 2007-08 for NBR NZ Opera.

In 2008 he performed in The Seven Deadly Sins and The Lindberg Flight for Opéra de Lyon at the New Zealand International Festival, Colline (La bohème) at NZ Opera and Ferrando (Il trovatore) at Southern Opera. Later this year he performs in Macbeth in Edinburgh and Sprecher (Die Zauberflöte) for Southern Opera.

His hobbies include traditional bone carving, wood turning, classic car restoration and fishing.

BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2009: concert five repertoire

• Gremin's aria (Eugene Onegin) - Tchaikovsky
• Madamina, il catalogo è questo (Don Giovanni) - Mozart
• A te l'estremo addio ... Il lacerato spirito (Simon Boccanegra) - Verdi

BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Song Prize 2009: recital four repertoire

• The Vagabond (Songs of Travel No 1) - Vaughan Williams
• Verrat (Op 105 No 5) - Brahms
• Der Kuss (Op 128) - Beethoven
• Denn es gehet dem Menschen wie dem Vieh (Vier ernste Gesänge Op 121 No 1) - Brahms
• Hine e hine - Trad arr Carl Doy