Christchurch audiences last heard New Zealand operatic bass Jonathan Lemalu at The Piano in 2024, in his highly successful collaboration with pianist Bradley Wood, entitled “Kings and Clowns”. That evening followed Jonathan’s extraordinary career performance highlights so far with music, anecdotes, and images, playing 90+ operatic roles in numerous styles, costumes, languages, and productions around the world.

With fast-approaching 2026 marking thirty years since his professional opera debut (Colline La Boheme, Wellington City Opera, 1996), and his 50th birthday, this award-winning artist returns to present “Seasons”, an intimate reflection into his journey from Dunedin chorister to law school graduate, award winning London student to high profile performer, educator, mentor and father. Joined by the internationally recognised New Zealand-born pianist Kathryn Mosley, they will together present another selection of the wonderful, wild and wacky repertoire written for an operatic bass (including songs written specifically for him by British-American composer Richard Rodney Bennet and New Zealand’s own Craig Utting) from servants to sorcerers, lords and lawyers, kings and killers (Jonathan arrives fresh from a UK season playing an antagonistic hitman in Handel’s Giustino at the Royal Ballet and Opera in London’s Covent Garden). Jonathan freely admits that in his freelance vocal arts career, there is rarely a dull moment – he has just been asked to sing in a London production of Todd & Gottlieb’s opera Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland - playing a caterpillar….

With his unique blend of personality, humour, deep voice and equally deep gratitude, Jonathan leads us through the seasons of his journey so far, in what promises to be another highly entertaining evening not to be missed.