![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/NZ_Opera_Parnell.jpg/220px-NZ_Opera_Parnell.jpg)
New Zealand Opera is New Zealand's only full-time professional opera company, and as such has a significant archive of information and photos relating to the history of opera in the country. Opera in New Zealand is woefully covered in Wikipedia and Commons! This project is a place to coordinate efforts to improve that.
Wikipedian in Residence 2021
editA Wikipedian in Residence, much like an artist in residence, is an experienced Wikipedia editor who works within an institution. The Wikipedian in Residence can improve the coverage and accuracy of Wikidata and Wikipedia articles related to the institution's area of interest, facilitate the donation of photos and other media to Wikimedia Commons, advocate for the use of open licenses, and organise the volunteer community to help in public events such as edit-a-thons. New Zealand Opera was the first opera company in the world to partner with a Wikipedian in Residence.
Mike Dickison (User:Giantflightlessbirds) was the Wikipedian in Residence for New Zealand Opera from January to August 2021, undertaking a collaborative project to improve the coverage of Māori and Pasifika in opera. This was a paid position, working 1–2 days a month, supported by a grant from the Stout Trust managed by Perpetual Guardian. Some work was done remotely, including during lockdown, and some during visits to Auckland and Wellington to work with physical archives. Also assisting were the four-month WikiProject Performing Arts Aotearoa New Zealand (Q106787482) run by Pakoire, and volunteers DrThneed and Jonathanischoice.
The residency focussed specifically on the role of Māori and Pasifika in opera, using the resources, photo archives, and publications of NZ Opera and its predecessors Auckland Opera, Wellington City Opera, and Southern Opera. During the residency it became clear that the coverage of opera in New Zealand by Wikimedia projects was so poor that a large amount of fundamental work was required, and there was scope for an expanded follow-up project.
Outcomes
editWikipedia created
edit- Wellington City Opera
- National Opera of New Zealand
- New Zealand Opera Company
- Opera in New Zealand (draft)
- Phillip Rhodes (baritone)
- Benson Wilson
- Hōhepa
- Madison Nonoa
- Natasha Wilson
- Ihitai 'Avei'a – Star Navigator
- Category:Pasifika opera singers
Wikipedia improved
editUnless noted, these had photos added from the NZ Opera collection.
- New Zealand Opera (substantially expanded and updated)
- The Magic Flute
- Faust (opera)
- The Turn of the Screw
- The Turn of the Screw (opera)
- The Human Voice
- La voix humaine
- Eight Songs for a Mad King
- Sara Brodie
- Elizabeth Whiting
- Costume design
- Scenic design
- Costume designer
- Célestine Hitiura Vaite (noted her opera involvement)
- Category:Māori opera singers
Wikidata created
edit- Donald Munro (Q106869351)
- New Zealand Opera Company (Q106869205)
- Geoffrey de Lautour (Q106869039)
- De La Tour Regional Opera Trust (Q106868994)
- Wellington City Opera (Q106835341)
- The National Opera of Wellington (Q106868423)
- Phillip Rhodes (Q107134093)
- The Magic Flute (New Zealand Opera, 2006) (Q107260925)
- Faust (New Zealand Opera 2006) (Q107261550)
- La cenerentola (New Zealand Opera, 2015) (Q107568848)
- Sarah Castle (Q107568908)
- Peter Walls (Q107585660)
- Thomas de Mallet Burgess (Q107585716)
- Emma Pearson (Q107585862)
- Amitai Pati (Q107585912)
- Semele (New Zealand Opera 2020) (Q107585584)
- Chelsea Dolman (Q107586343)
- Hōhepa (New Zealand Opera, 2012) (Q107569006)
- ASB Waterfront Theatre (Q107608321)
- Madeleine Pierard (Q107608409)
- The Turn of the Screw (New Zealand Opera, 2019) (Q107608291)
- Anson Austin (Q107638410)
- The Human Voice (New Zealand Opera 2020) (Q107640168)
- Fiona McAndrew (Q107640204)
- Amanda Atlas (Q107640224)
- Eight Songs for a Mad King (New Zealand Opera 2020) (Q107693701)
- Robert Tucker (Q107693734)
- Hōhepa (Q108115448)
- Madison Nonoa (Q106807791)
- The Magic Flute (New Zealand Opera 2016) (Q108177052)
- Emma Fraser (Q108177143)
- Samuel Dundas (Q108177155)
- Ruth Jenkins-Róbertsson (Q108177167)
- Wade Kernot (Q108177175)
- Elizabeth Whiting (Q108177186)
- César Ulloa (Q108267609)
- Natasha Wilson (Q108267551)
- Ihitai 'Avei'a – Star Navigator (Q108276534)
- Ihitai 'Avei'a – Star Navigator (New Zealand Opera 2021) (Q108276602)
- Norah Stevenson-Tuuga (Q108276656)
- H’zel Hetaraka (Q108276693)
Wikidata improved
edit- John Mansfield Thomson (Q55997880)
- Peter Downes (Q103331705)
- Jeremy Commons (Q6181252)
- The Turn of the Screw (Q464606)
- Holly Mathieson (Q21998639)
- Flora (Q55000849)
- Governess (Q55000836)
- Miles (Q55000842)
- Prologue (Q55000832)
- Miss Jessel (Q55000862)
- Peter Quint (Q55000858)
- Mrs. Grose (Q55000854)
- Eight Songs for a Mad King (Q5349018)
- Thomas de Mallet Burgess (Q107585716)
Wikimedia Commons categories created and photos uploaded
editThe Institution:New Zealand Opera page template was created for photos from its collections. The following categories were created; the number of uploaded photos are noted.
- Category:Opera in New Zealand
- Category:Opera houses in New Zealand
- Category:Opera companies in New Zealand
- Category:NZ Opera (1)
- Category:The Magic Flute (New Zealand Opera 2006) (5)
- Category:The Magic Flute (New Zealand Opera 2016) (52)
- Category:Faust (New Zealand Opera 2006) (18)
- Category:Hōhepa (New Zealand Opera 2012) (25)
- Category:Semele (New Zealand Opera 2020) (19)
- Category:The Human Voice (New Zealand Opera 2020) (12)
- Category:The Turn of the Screw (New Zealand Opera 2019) (49)
- Category:Eight Songs for a Mad King (New Zealand Opera 2020) (13)
- Category:Ihitai 'Avei'a – Star Navigator (New Zealand Opera 2021) (13)
- Holly Mathieson
- Patricia Wright
- Jared Holt
- Madeleine Pierard
- Fiona McAndrew
- Amanda Atlas
- Ruth Jenkins-Róbertsson
- Samuel Dundas
- Sara Brodie
- Madison Nonoa
- Bonaventure Allan-Moetaua
- John Verryt
- Elizabeth Whiting
- Paul Whelan
- Natasha Wilson
- Amitai Pati
The tool GLAMorgan can estimate the reach of photos uploaded to Commons, by totalling the number of unique page views for the articles on which they appear. In August 2021, for example, Category:New Zealand Opera photos were seen by 109,107 people (including 27,390 for photos in the article The Turn of the Screw and 18,723 in The Magic Flute). A total of 76 pages used NZ Opera photos, including Wikipedia articles in English, Russian, Arabic, Hungarian, and French.
Articles to work on
editSome of these were created or improved during the 2021 Wikipedian in Residence term; there is still plenty to do
Name | Dates | Wikidata | Quality | Commons | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wellington Opera | 2021– | Q107006781 | — | ||
New Zealand Opera | 2000– | Q7752980 | Start | Category:New Zealand Opera | improved |
Opera NZ | 1995–2000 | Q107005513 | |||
Auckland Opera | 1991–1995 | Q107005503 | |||
Auckland Metropolitan Opera | 1990–1991 | Q107005468 | |||
Mercury Opera | 1980s–1991 | — | |||
National Opera of Wellington | 1998–2000 | Q106868423 | Redirect | ||
Wellington City Opera | 1984–1998 | Q106835341 | C | created 17 May 2021 | |
De La Tour Opera | 1975–1984 | Q106868994 | |||
Canterbury Opera | 1985–2006 | Q107005600 | |||
Southern Opera | 2007–2012 | Q107005634 | |||
Toi Toi Opera | 2020– | Q108387097 | |||
National Opera of New Zealand | 1978–1982 | Q107005566 | Stub | — | Created 28 May 2021 |
Opera Otago | 1985– | — | |||
Dunedin Opera Company | 1956–1985 | — | |||
New Zealand Opera Company | 1954–1971 | Q106869205 | Stub | — | Created 28 May 2021 |
Perkel Opera | 1974–1989 | Q107005714 | |||
Class Act Opera | 1991– | — | |||
Academy Opera | 1980s– | — | |||
New Zealand Opera Society | — | ||||
New Zealand Opera Foundation | — | ||||
New Zealand Opera School | — | ||||
The Dame Malvina Major Foundation | 1991– | Q106865811 | Redirect |
Name | Wikidata | Quality | Commons | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Phillip Rhodes | Q107134093 | Start | — | Created 21 June 2021 |
Paul Whelan | Q107586138 | – | Paul Whelan | |
Pene Pati | Q107005513 | Redirect | File:Pene Pati cropped.jpg | |
Amitai Pati | Q107585912 | Redirect | Amitai Pati | the Pati brothers are only covered in the Sole Mio article and need their own) |
Thomas Atkins | — | — | — | |
Manase Latu | Q106807792 | — | — | |
Amina Edris | Q92437288 | — | — | |
Samson Setu | — | — | — | |
Filipe Manu | Not Q66135405! | — | — | Not the rugby player! Disentangle. |
Eliza Boom | — | — | — | |
Madison Nonoa | Q106807791 | Stub | Madison Nonoa | Created 21 August 2021 |
Benson Wilson | Q106807790 | Start | — | Created 15 July 2021 |
Natasha Wilson | Q108267551 | Start | Natasha Wilson | created 26 August 2021 |
Other singers that could do with additional photos and information include Īnia Te Wīata, Donald McIntyre, Kiri Te Kanawa, Malvina Major, Simon O'Neill, and Jonathan Lemalu. Some of the singers in Southern Voices like Noel Mangin (Q6152001) and Anson Austin (Q107638410) have no English Wikipedia article at all, and some like Rodney Macann aren't even in Wikidata.
Works
edit- Marama, and its star Merekotia Amohau
Commons categories and uploads
editNeeded: photos of performers, especially ensemble photos of emerging artists like this one, which are so useful for Wikidata and article infoboxes.
References
editWikidata items for works and editions, to help with Wikipedia citation, have been created as noted.
- Brusey, Phyllis. (1973). Ring Down the Curtain. Wellington: C. Rex Monigatti. Ring Down the Curtain (1973) 1st ed. (Q107010018) • History of the New Zealand Opera Company. *
- De Lautour, Geoffrey. (2000). The Singer I'll Love for the Song. Auckland: Flip Publishing. The Singer I'll Love for the Song (2000) 1st ed. (Q107305294) • Memoir including NZ Opera Company history.
- Harcourt, Peter. (2002). Fantasy & Folly: the lost world of New Zealand musicals 1880–1940. Wellington: Steele Roberts. • Coverage of Hinemoa and early opera companies.
- MacKay, Moses, Amatai Pati, and Pene Pati (with Donna Fleming). (2104). Sol3 Mio: our story. Auckland: Penguin.
- Simpson, A. (1990). Opera in New Zealand: Aspects of history and performance. Wellington, N.Z: Witham Press. Opera in New Zealand (1990) 1st ed. (Q106786488) • Good summaries of early companies, some composers and singers, NZ Opera Society *
- Simpson, Adrienne. (1992). Southern Voices: International Opera Singers of New Zealand. Auckland: Reed Southern Voices (1992) 1st ed. (Q107009853) • OK for biographies of Malvina Major, Kiri Te Kanawa, Inia Te Wiata etc. *
- Simpson, A. (1996). Opera's farthest frontier: A history of professional opera in New Zealand. Auckland: Reed. • Mostly 19th C and up to the 1970s, but good for the various regional and national companies. Opera's Farthest Frontier (1996) 1st ed. (Q107073846) *
- Simpson, A. (2000). Capital Opera: Wellington's Opera Company 1982–1999. Wellington: National Opera of Wellington. Capital Opera (2000) 1st. ed (Q106786396) • Covers the history of that company and the merger that formed NZ Opera. **
- Tarling, N. (2002). On and off: Opera in Auckland, 1970–2000. Palmerston North, N.Z: Dunmore Press. On and Off (Q107009777) • NZ Opera Company, National Opera of New Zealand, Auckland Opera, and Opera NZ. ** (reviewed here)
Diary
editJanuary 2021
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February 2021
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June 2021
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