Double 2022 Grammy Nomination for New Zealander Simon O'Neill

News: 26 November 2021

External media release.

New Zealand tenor Simon O'Neill has received a double Grammy nomination for 2022 Grammy Awards - Best Choral Performance and Best Engineered Album, Classical.

Proudly hailing from Ashburton, Simon O'Neill is the most internationally recognised New Zealand opera singer since Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Sir Donald McIntyre.

Described in international press as "…the best heroic tenor to emerge over the last decade" and "…THE Wagnerian tenor of his generation".

Image of New Zealand tenor Simon O'Neill.

Simon's recent double Grammy nomination recognises his contribution as solo tenor, in the extremely demanding role of Doctor Marianus, in Mahler's Symphony No.8 under the baton of megastar conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

This Deutsche Grammophon release was recorded live at Walt Disney Concert Hall in May and June of 2019, to mark the end of the LA Phil's centennial season.

"It was a huge thrill to make my debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the incredible Walt Disney Concert Hall conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. This Mahler Symphony is massive and I was so honoured to be part of the amazing soundscape that was captured by Deutsche Grammophon.

My 10-year-old daughter Violet is so excited that she might accompany me to LA to sit beside Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber or Ariana Grande at the award night! …dreams are great aren't they!" - Simon O'Neill, Tenor.

Mahler's Symphony No.8 has been known since its debut in 1910 by the nickname "Symphony of a Thousand"- because of the overwhelming number of performers it calls for - in this Grammy nominated recording, Maestro Dudamel has assembled 346 Choristers and an LA Phil of massive proportions behind Simon and the seven other vocal soloists.

These new Grammy nominations bring Simon's own career total to three, having been previously nominated for a 2006 Grammy in the 'Producer of the Year' category for his recording of Chausson Le Roi Arthus with fellow New Zealand Wagnerian bass baritone, Sir Donald McIntyre.

Simon enjoys a vibrant career that sees him travelling for 9 - 10 months a year, performing in the greatest opera houses and concert venues around the world. But Simon's home base and heart remains in Auckland, New Zealand, with his wife Carmel and their three children.

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