163-596: New Zealand Opera is New Zealand 's only full-time professional opera company, formed in 2000 from the merger of companies in Auckland and Wellington (and later Christchurch ). New Zealand Opera is headquartered in Parnell , Auckland, stages several productions a year, runs educational programmes, and supports early-career opera singers with the Dame Malvina Major Foundation . The company
326-483: A billiard table for about 300. The Mozarts sent their son Karl Thomas to an expensive boarding school and kept servants. During this period Mozart saved little of his income. On 14 December 1784, Mozart became a Freemason , admitted to the lodge Zur Wohltätigkeit ("Beneficence"). Freemasonry played an essential role in the remainder of Mozart's life: he attended meetings, a number of his friends were Masons, and on various occasions, he composed Masonic music, e.g.
489-527: A grand tour of Europe and then three trips to Italy . At 17, he was a musician at the Salzburg court but grew restless and travelled in search of a better position. Mozart's search for employment led to positions in Paris , Mannheim , Munich , and again in Salzburg, during which he wrote his five violin concertos, Sinfonia Concertante , and Concerto for Flute and Harp , as well as sacred pieces and masses ,
652-557: A minority government can be formed if support from other parties during confidence and supply votes is assured. The governor-general appoints ministers under advice from the prime minister, who is by convention the parliamentary leader of the governing party or coalition. Cabinet , formed by ministers and led by the prime minister, is the highest policy-making body in government and responsible for deciding significant government actions. Members of Cabinet make major decisions collectively and are therefore collectively responsible for
815-471: A protectionist and highly regulated economy to a liberalised free-trade economy. Unemployment peaked just above 10% in 1991 and 1992, following the 1987 share market crash , but eventually fell to 3.7% in 2007 (ranking third from twenty-seven comparable OECD nations). However, the global financial crisis that followed had a major effect on New Zealand, with the GDP shrinking for five consecutive quarters,
978-416: A breakthrough work. Despite these artistic successes, Mozart grew increasingly discontented with Salzburg and redoubled his efforts to find a position elsewhere. One reason was his low salary, 150 florins a year; Mozart longed to compose operas, and Salzburg provided only rare occasions for these. The situation worsened in 1775 when the court theatre was closed, especially since the other theatre in Salzburg
1141-533: A critically-noted performance as the Governess and Jared Holt was a "terrifying and seductive" Peter Quint. The production (sung in English) unusually did not use surtitles , and reviewers disagreed on how intelligible the sung dialogue was. A departure from the canonical opera repertoire the company usually performed, it had full houses in both Auckland and Wellington. In 2020, NZ Opera embarked on what it called
1304-400: A delighted audience, which was given the opportunity of witnessing the transformation and perfection of a major musical genre". With substantial returns from his concerts and elsewhere, Mozart and his wife adopted a more luxurious lifestyle. They moved to an expensive apartment, with a yearly rent of 460 florins. Mozart bought a fine fortepiano from Anton Walter for about 900 florins, and
1467-466: A few minor operas. Between April and December 1775, Mozart developed an enthusiasm for violin concertos, producing a series of five (the only ones he ever wrote), which steadily increased in their musical sophistication. The last three— K. 216 , K. 218 , K. 219 —are now staples of the repertoire. In 1776, he turned his efforts to piano concertos , culminating in the E ♭ concerto K. 271 of early 1777, considered by critics to be
1630-506: A high level of innovation . Poverty in New Zealand is characterised by growing income inequality; wealth in New Zealand is highly concentrated , with the top 1% of the population owning 16% of the country's wealth, and the richest 5% owning 38%, leaving a stark contrast where half the population, including state beneficiaries and pensioners, receive less than $ 24,000. Moreover, child poverty in New Zealand has been identified by
1793-596: A kick in the arse", administered by the archbishop's steward, Count Arco. Mozart decided to settle in Vienna as a freelance performer and composer. The quarrel with Colloredo was more difficult for Mozart because his father sided against him. Hoping fervently that he would obediently follow Colloredo back to Salzburg, Mozart's father exchanged intense letters with his son, urging him to be reconciled with their employer. Mozart passionately defended his intention to pursue an independent career in Vienna. The debate ended when Mozart
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#17327722771591956-516: A modern CEO instead of George III . Half the audience was seated in the boardroom with Tucker, the other half observed from outside with headphones; audiences then changed places. Handel 's Semele was staged in Auckland's Holy Trinity Cathedral , with soprano Emma Pearson as Semele and Amitai Pati , in his NZ Opera debut, as Jove . Sarah Castle and Paul Whelan , New Zealand singers normally based overseas who had returned home in response to
2119-481: A native of Augsburg , then an Imperial Free City in the Holy Roman Empire, was a minor composer and an experienced teacher. In 1743, he was appointed as the fourth violinist in the musical establishment of Count Leopold Anton von Firmian , the ruling Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg . Four years later, he married Anna Maria in Salzburg. Leopold became the orchestra's deputy Kapellmeister in 1763. During
2282-513: A notable performance of the Grandmother Kostelnicka by New Zealand soprano Margaret Medlyn . Australian director Patrick Nolan staged Tchaikovsky 's Eugene Onegin in 2009, with Anna Leese as Tatyana and Russian tenor Roman Shulackoff as Lensky. It was production designer Genevieve Blanchett's first opera set. Eugene Onegin was described as the "most polished, most evenly cast production" yet from NZ Opera, and Anna Leese
2445-429: A parlor game). Mozart also faced a very difficult task getting permission for the marriage from his father, Leopold . The marriage took place in an atmosphere of crisis. Daniel Heartz suggests that eventually Constanze moved in with Mozart, which would have placed her in disgrace by the mores of the time. Mozart wrote to Leopold on 31 July 1782, "All the good and well-intentioned advice you have sent fails to address
2608-785: A party must win at least one electorate or 5% of the total party vote before it is eligible for a seat. Elections since the 1930s have been dominated by two political parties , National and Labour . More parties have been represented in Parliament since the introduction of MMP. New Zealand's judiciary , headed by the chief justice , includes the Supreme Court , Court of Appeal , the High Court , and subordinate courts. Judges and judicial officers are appointed non-politically and under strict rules regarding tenure to help maintain judicial independence . This theoretically allows
2771-570: A performer and a rapidly maturing composer. Wolfgang met Josef Mysliveček and Giovanni Battista Martini in Bologna and was accepted as a member of the famous Accademia Filarmonica . There exists a myth, according to which, while in Rome, he heard Gregorio Allegri 's Miserere twice in performance in the Sistine Chapel . Allegedly, he subsequently wrote it out from memory, thus producing
2934-505: A production by Sir Peter Hall . Australian tenor Adrian Strooper sang Tamino, Richard Burkhard was Papageno, and Tiffany Speight sang Pamina. Phillip Rhodes sang Monostatos. The production design by cartoonist Gerald Scarfe included fantastical animals such as a hybrid crocodile-penguin. Also that year was a production of Gounod 's Faust , directed by Mike Ashman. The principals were Mikhail Svetlov (Méphistophélès), Anne Sophie Dupreis (Marguerite) and Jaewoo Kim (Faust). In 2008
3097-400: A series of conflicts between the colonial government and Māori tribes resulted in the alienation and confiscation of large amounts of Māori land. New Zealand became a dominion in 1907; it gained full statutory independence in 1947, retaining the monarch as head of state . Today, the majority of New Zealand's population of 5.25 million is of European descent ; the indigenous Māori are
3260-573: A similar trend to dairy, the number of vineyards doubling over the same period, overtaking wool exports for the first time in 2007. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period . Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition resulted in more than 800 works representing virtually every Western classical genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of
3423-591: A soloist, presenting three or four new piano concertos in each season. Since space in the theatres was scarce, he booked unconventional venues: a large room in the Trattnerhof apartment building, and the ballroom of the Mehlgrube restaurant. The concerts were very popular, and his concertos premiered there are still firm fixtures in the repertoire. Solomon writes that during this period, Mozart created "a harmonious connection between an eager composer-performer and
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#17327722771593586-511: A source of anxiety in 1790, finally began to improve. Although the evidence is inconclusive, it appears that wealthy patrons in Hungary and Amsterdam pledged annuities to Mozart in return for the occasional composition. He is thought to have benefited from the sale of dance music written in his role as Imperial chamber composer. Mozart no longer borrowed large sums from Puchberg and began to pay off his debts. He experienced great satisfaction in
3749-532: A steady post under aristocratic patronage. Emperor Joseph II appointed him as his "chamber composer", a post that had fallen vacant the previous month on the death of Gluck . It was a part-time appointment, paying just 800 florins per year, and required Mozart only to compose dances for the annual balls in the Redoutensaal (see Mozart and dance ). This modest income became important to Mozart when hard times arrived. Court records show that Joseph aimed to keep
3912-594: A strategy of 'revisioning opera' in New Zealand. It began by staging Francis Poulenc 's 1958 one-woman opera The Human Voice in six different hotel rooms around New Zealand to an audience of around 20 each time. Fiona McAndrew alternated the roles with Amanda Atlas . A second solo production was Peter Maxwell Davies ' Eight Songs for a Mad King , in the Ellen Melville Centre in Auckland, Wellington's RNZB Dance Centre, and Christchurch's Tūranga central library, starring baritone Robert Tucker as
4075-442: A suburb, as he wrote in his letter to Michael von Puchberg , Mozart had not reduced his expenses but merely increased the housing space at his disposal. Mozart began to borrow money, most often from his friend and fellow mason Puchberg; "a pitiful sequence of letters pleading for loans" survives. Maynard Solomon and others have suggested that Mozart was suffering from depression, and it seems his musical output slowed. Major works of
4238-529: A tenor who usually performs German repertoire, gave what critic Peter Mechan described as "a performance that I think will be talked about here for years to come." For the 2019 Auckland Arts Festival the company staged The Barber of Seville , and put on productions of Don Giovanni and Benjamin Britten 's The Turn of the Screw , directed by newly-arrived Thomas de Mallet Burgess. In the latter Anna Leese gaved
4401-529: A time of high productivity—and by some accounts, one of personal recovery. He composed a great deal, including some of his most admired works: the opera The Magic Flute ; the final piano concerto ( K. 595 in B ♭ ); the Clarinet Concerto K. 622; the last in his series of string quintets ( K. 614 in E ♭ ); the motet Ave verum corpus K. 618; and the unfinished Requiem K. 626. Mozart's financial situation,
4564-639: A trade which provided the basis for strong economic growth in New Zealand. High demand for agricultural products from the United Kingdom and the United States helped New Zealanders achieve higher living standards than both Australia and Western Europe in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1973, New Zealand's export market was reduced when the United Kingdom joined the European Economic Community and other compounding factors, such as
4727-482: A very successful singer, but she was no longer interested in him. Mozart finally returned to Salzburg on 15 January 1779 and took up his new appointment, but his discontent with Salzburg remained undiminished. Among the better-known works which Mozart wrote on the Paris journey are the A minor piano sonata , K. 310/300d, the "Paris" Symphony (No. 31), which were performed in Paris on 12 and 18 June 1778; and
4890-490: A yearly average of more than 2,000 hours of sunshine. The southern and southwestern parts of the South Island have a cooler and cloudier climate, with around 1,400–1,600 hours; the northern and northeastern parts of the South Island are the sunniest areas of the country and receive about 2,400–2,500 hours. The general snow season is early June until early October, though cold snaps can occur outside this season. Snowfall
5053-617: Is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy , although its constitution is not codified . Charles III is the King of New Zealand and thus the head of state . The king is represented by the governor-general , whom he appoints on the advice of the prime minister . The governor-general can exercise the Crown 's prerogative powers , such as reviewing cases of injustice and making appointments of ministers , ambassadors, and other key public officials, and in rare situations,
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5216-743: Is a member of the United Nations , the Commonwealth of Nations and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and participates in the Five Power Defence Arrangements . Today, New Zealand enjoys particularly close relations with the United States and is one of its major non-NATO allies , as well as with Australia , with a " Trans-Tasman " identity between citizens of
5379-480: Is also consistent with a much debated questionable third line of oral evidence, traditional genealogies ( whakapapa ) which point to around 1350 as a probable arrival date for many of the founding canoes ( waka ) from which many Māori trace their descent. Some Māori later migrated to the Chatham Islands where they developed their distinct Moriori culture. A later 1835 invasion by Māori resulted in
5542-626: Is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean . It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island ( Te Ika-a-Māui ) and the South Island ( Te Waipounamu )—and over 700 smaller islands . It is the sixth-largest island country by area and lies east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia , Fiji , and Tonga . The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including
5705-582: Is classified as a non-self-governing territory , but is administered by a council of three elders (one from each Tokelauan atoll ). The Ross Dependency is New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica , where it operates the Scott Base research facility. New Zealand nationality law treats all parts of the realm equally, so most people born in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, and
5868-869: Is common in the eastern and southern parts of the South Island and mountain areas across the country. New Zealand's geographic isolation for 80 million years and island biogeography has influenced evolution of the country's species of animals , fungi and plants . Physical isolation has caused biological isolation, resulting in a dynamic evolutionary ecology with examples of distinctive plants and animals as well as populations of widespread species. The flora and fauna of New Zealand were originally thought to have originated from New Zealand's fragmentation off from Gondwana, however more recent evidence postulates species resulted from dispersal. About 82% of New Zealand's indigenous vascular plants are endemic , covering 1,944 species across 65 genera . The number of fungi recorded from New Zealand, including lichen-forming species,
6031-466: Is equivalent to 15% of the population of New Zealand. New Zealand has a strong presence among the Pacific Island countries, and enjoys strong diplomatic relations with Samoa , Fiji , and Tonga , and among smaller nations. A large proportion of New Zealand's aid goes to these countries, and many Pacific people migrate to New Zealand for employment. The increase of this since the 1960s led to
6194-459: Is exercised by the Government , led by the prime minister , currently Christopher Luxon . Charles III is the country's king and is represented by the governor-general , Cindy Kiro . In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes. The Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau (a dependent territory );
6357-440: Is heavily dependent on international trade, particularly in agricultural products. Exports account for 24% of its output, making New Zealand vulnerable to international commodity prices and global economic slowdowns . Food products made up 55% of the value of all the country's exports in 2014; wood was the second largest earner (7%). New Zealand's main trading partners, as at June 2018 , are China ( NZ$ 27.8b), Australia ($ 26.2b),
6520-553: Is made up of two main islands and more than 700 smaller islands . The two main islands (the North Island , or Te Ika-a-Māui , and the South Island , or Te Waipounamu ) are separated by Cook Strait , 22 kilometres (14 mi) wide at its narrowest point. Besides the North and South Islands, the five largest inhabited islands are Stewart Island (across the Foveaux Strait ), Chatham Island , Great Barrier Island (in
6683-436: Is not known, nor is the proportion of those fungi which are endemic, but one estimate suggests there are about 2,300 species of lichen-forming fungi in New Zealand and 40% of these are endemic. The two main types of forest are those dominated by broadleaf trees with emergent podocarps , or by southern beech in cooler climates. The remaining vegetation types consist of grasslands, the majority of which are tussock . Before
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6846-448: Is only a ruse of Madame Weber to get her daughter back. If not, I know no better remedy than to marry Constanze tomorrow morning or if possible today." The couple were finally married on 4 August 1782 in St. Stephen's Cathedral , the day before his father's consenting letter arrived in the mail. In the marriage contract, Constanze "assigns to her bridegroom five hundred gulden which ...
7009-440: Is some scholarly debate about whether Mozart was four or five years old when he created his first musical compositions, though there is little doubt that Mozart composed his first three pieces of music within a few weeks of each other: K. 1a, 1b, and 1c. In his early years, Wolfgang's father was his only teacher. Along with music, he taught his children languages and academic subjects. Biographer Solomon notes that, while Leopold
7172-458: Is that, whether or not some settlers arrived before 1314, the main settlement period was in the subsequent decades, possibly involving a coordinated mass migration. It is also the broad consensus of historians that the Polynesian settlement of New Zealand was planned and deliberate. Over the centuries that followed, the settlers developed a distinct culture now known as Māori. This scenario
7335-519: Is to regulate "the natural environment with particular emphasis on resource management ", while territorial authorities are responsible for sewage, water, local roads, building consents, and other local matters. Five of the territorial councils are unitary authorities and also act as regional councils. The territorial authorities consist of 13 city councils, 53 district councils, and the Chatham Islands Council. While officially
7498-464: The "Haydn" Quartets and a number of symphonies . Throughout his Vienna years, Mozart composed over a dozen piano concertos , many considered some of his greatest achievements. In the final years of his life, Mozart wrote many of his best-known works, including his last three symphonies, culminating in the Jupiter Symphony , the serenade Eine kleine Nachtmusik , his Clarinet Concerto ,
7661-635: The 1973 oil and 1979 energy crises, led to a severe economic depression . Living standards in New Zealand fell behind those of Australia and Western Europe, and by 1982 New Zealand had the lowest per-capita income of all the developed nations surveyed by the World Bank . In the mid-1980s New Zealand deregulated its agricultural sector by phasing out subsidies over a three-year period. Since 1984, successive governments engaged in major macroeconomic restructuring (known first as Rogernomics and then Ruthanasia ), rapidly transforming New Zealand from
7824-872: The ANZAC tradition it shares with Australia. In addition to Vietnam and the two world wars, New Zealand fought in the Second Boer War , the Korean War , the Malayan Emergency , the Gulf War , and the Afghanistan War . It has contributed forces to several regional and global peacekeeping missions, such as those in Cyprus , Somalia , Bosnia and Herzegovina , the Sinai , Angola , Cambodia ,
7987-653: The COVID-19 pandemic , sang Juno and Cadmus respectively. The company's 2021 season opened with Ihitai 'Avei'a - Star Navigator , a new work by Tim Finn with monologues from Tahitian novelist Célestine Hitiura Vaite . The first opera to be performed in Tahitian, Māori, and English, it tells the story of Tupaia (sung by Amitai Pati) and James Cook (sung by Paul Whelan) on the Endeavour 's 1769 voyage. All three performances sold out, and Natasha Wilson as Purea
8150-602: The Concerto for Flute and Harp in C major, K. 299/297c. In January 1781, Mozart's opera Idomeneo premiered with "considerable success" in Munich. The following March, Mozart was summoned to Vienna, where his employer, Archbishop Colloredo, was attending the celebrations for the accession of Joseph II to the Austrian throne. For Colloredo, this was simply a matter of wanting his musical servant to be at hand (Mozart indeed
8313-624: The Cook Islands and Niue (self-governing states in free association with New Zealand); and the Ross Dependency , which is New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica . The first European visitor to New Zealand, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman , named the islands Staten Land , believing they were part of the Staten Landt that Jacob Le Maire had sighted off the southern end of South America. Hendrik Brouwer proved that
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#17327722771598476-685: The European Union ($ 22.9b), the United States ($ 17.6b), and Japan ($ 8.4b). On 7 April 2008, New Zealand and China signed the New Zealand–China Free Trade Agreement , the first such agreement China has signed with a developed country. In July 2023, New Zealand and the European Union entered into the EU–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement , which eliminated tariffs on several goods traded between
8639-725: The Gondwanan supercontinent. About 25 million years ago, a shift in plate tectonic movements began to contort and crumple the region. This is now most evident in the Southern Alps, formed by compression of the crust beside the Alpine Fault . Elsewhere, the plate boundary involves the subduction of one plate under the other, producing the Puysegur Trench to the south, the Hikurangi Trough east of
8802-621: The Great Depression . The depression led to the election of the first Labour Government and the establishment of a comprehensive welfare state and a protectionist economy. New Zealand experienced increasing prosperity following the Second World War, and Māori began to leave their traditional rural life and move to the cities in search of work. A Māori protest movement developed, which criticised Eurocentrism and worked for greater recognition of Māori culture and of
8965-628: The Hauraki Gulf ), D'Urville Island (in the Marlborough Sounds ) and Waiheke Island (about 22 km (14 mi) from central Auckland). New Zealand is long and narrow—over 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) along its north-north-east axis with a maximum width of 400 kilometres (250 mi) —with about 15,000 km (9,300 mi) of coastline and a total land area of 268,000 square kilometres (103,500 sq mi). Because of its far-flung outlying islands and long coastline,
9128-581: The Iran–Iraq border, Bougainville , East Timor , and the Solomon Islands . New Zealand has an advanced market economy , ranked 13th in the 2021 Human Development Index , and fourth in the 2022 Index of Economic Freedom . It is a high-income economy with a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of US$ 36,254. The currency is the New Zealand dollar , informally known as
9291-584: The Legislative Council , until this was abolished in 1950. The supremacy of parliament over the Crown and other government institutions was established in England by the Bill of Rights 1689 and has been ratified as law in New Zealand. The House of Representatives is democratically elected, and a government is formed from the party or coalition with the majority of seats. If no majority is formed,
9454-503: The Maurerische Trauermusik . Despite the great success of Die Entführung aus dem Serail , Mozart did little operatic writing for the next four years, producing only two unfinished works and the one-act Der Schauspieldirektor . He focused instead on his career as a piano soloist and writer of concertos. Around the end of 1785, Mozart moved away from keyboard writing and began his famous operatic collaboration with
9617-622: The Omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in New Zealand. In May 2022 The Strangest of Angels premiered in Christchurch: a chamber opera based on Janet Frame 's time in Seacliff Mental Hospital . Frame was sung by Jayne Tankersley , and Anna Leese played her nurse; the opera was a collaboration between Leese, composer Kenneth Young and librettist Georgia Jamieson Emms . New Zealand New Zealand
9780-611: The Pacific Community and the Pacific Islands Forum . It enjoys particularly close relations with the United States and is one of its major non-NATO allies ; the United Kingdom; Samoa , Fiji , and Tonga ; and with Australia , with a shared Trans-Tasman identity between the two countries stemming from centuries of British colonisation. Nationally, legislative authority is vested in an elected, unicameral Parliament , while executive political power
9943-546: The Southern Alps , owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington , and its most populous city is Auckland . The islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable land to be settled by humans. Between about 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in the islands and subsequently developed a distinctive Māori culture . In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became
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#173277227715910106-452: The Statute of Westminster , confirming that the British Parliament could no longer legislate for the country without its consent. The British government's residual legislative powers were later removed by the Constitution Act 1986 , and final rights of appeal to British courts were abolished in 2003. Early in the 20th century , New Zealand was involved in world affairs, fighting in the First and Second World Wars and suffering through
10269-435: The United Kingdom and negotiate a treaty with the Māori. The Treaty of Waitangi was first signed in the Bay of Islands on 6 February 1840. In response to the New Zealand Company's attempts to establish an independent settlement in Wellington , Hobson declared British sovereignty over all of New Zealand on 21 May 1840, even though copies of the treaty were still circulating throughout the country for Māori to sign. With
10432-457: The United States Department of State noted that the New Zealand government generally respected the rights of individuals, but voiced concerns regarding the social status of the Māori population. In terms of structural discrimination , the New Zealand Human Rights Commission has asserted that there is strong, consistent evidence that it is a real and ongoing socioeconomic issue. One example of structural inequality in New Zealand can be seen in
10595-401: The West Coast of the South Island to semi-arid in Central Otago and the Mackenzie Basin of inland Canterbury and subtropical in Northland . Of the seven largest cities, Christchurch is the driest, receiving on average only 618 millimetres (24.3 in) of rain per year and Wellington the wettest, receiving almost twice that amount. Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch all receive
10758-424: The caldera of one of the world's most active supervolcanoes . New Zealand is prone to earthquakes . The country owes its varied topography, and perhaps even its emergence above the waves, to the dynamic boundary it straddles between the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates . New Zealand is part of Zealandia , a microcontinent nearly half the size of Australia that gradually submerged after breaking away from
10921-501: The famous orchestra in Mannheim, the best in Europe at the time. He also fell in love with Aloysia Weber , one of four daughters of a musical family. There were prospects of employment in Mannheim, but they came to nothing, and Mozart left for Paris on 14 March 1778 to continue his search. One of his letters from Paris hints at a possible post as an organist at Versailles , but Mozart was not interested in such an appointment. He fell into debt and took to pawning valuables. The nadir of
11084-686: The librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte . The year 1786 saw the successful premiere of Le nozze di Figaro in Vienna. Its reception in Prague later in the year was even warmer, and this led to a second collaboration with Da Ponte: the opera Don Giovanni , which premiered in October 1787 to acclaim in Prague, but less success in Vienna during 1788. The two are among Mozart's most famous works and are mainstays of operatic repertoire today, though at their premieres their musical complexity caused difficulty both for listeners and for performers. These developments were not witnessed by Mozart's father, who had died on 28 May 1787. In December 1787, Mozart finally obtained
11247-402: The motet Exsultate Jubilate , and the opera Idomeneo , among other works. While visiting Vienna in 1781, Mozart was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He stayed in Vienna, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During Mozart’s early years in Vienna, he produced several notable works, such as the opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail , the Great Mass in C Minor ,
11410-430: The reserve powers (e.g. the power to dissolve Parliament or refuse the royal assent of a bill into law). The powers of the monarch and the governor-general are limited by constitutional constraints, and they cannot normally be exercised without the advice of ministers. The New Zealand Parliament holds legislative power and consists of the king and the House of Representatives . It also included an upper house,
11573-444: The seven-continent model. New Zealand's climate is predominantly temperate maritime ( Köppen : Cfb), with mean annual temperatures ranging from 10 °C (50 °F) in the south to 16 °C (61 °F) in the north. Historical maxima and minima are 42.4 °C (108.32 °F) in Rangiora , Canterbury and −25.6 °C (−14.08 °F) in Ranfurly , Otago . Conditions vary sharply across regions from extremely wet on
11736-568: The symphonic , concertante , chamber , operatic, and choral repertoire. Mozart is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music, with his music admired for its "melodic beauty, its formal elegance and its richness of harmony and texture". Born in Salzburg , Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. At age five, he was already competent on keyboard and violin, had begun to compose, and performed before European royalty. His father took him on
11899-565: The "Kiwi dollar"; it also circulates in the Cook Islands (see Cook Islands dollar ), Niue, Tokelau, and the Pitcairn Islands . Historically, extractive industries have contributed strongly to New Zealand's economy, focusing at different times on sealing, whaling, flax , gold, kauri gum , and native timber. The first shipment of refrigerated meat on the Dunedin in 1882 led to the establishment of meat and dairy exports to Britain,
12062-463: The "first unauthorized copy of this closely guarded property of the Vatican ". However, both origin and plausibility of this account are disputed. In Milan, Mozart wrote the opera Mitridate, re di Ponto (1770), which was performed with success. This led to further opera commissions . He returned with his father twice to Milan (August–December 1771; October 1772 – March 1773) for
12225-437: The 1980s, which transformed it from a protectionist to a liberalised free-trade economy. The service sector dominates the national economy , followed by the industrial sector, and agriculture ; international tourism is also a significant source of revenue. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations , Commonwealth of Nations , ANZUS , UKUSA , Five Eyes , OECD , ASEAN Plus Six , Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ,
12388-983: The 2024 Global Peace Index , New Zealand is the 4th most peaceful country in the world. New Zealand's military services—the New Zealand Defence Force —comprise the New Zealand Army , the Royal New Zealand Air Force , and the Royal New Zealand Navy . New Zealand's national defence needs are modest since a direct attack is unlikely. However, its military has had a global presence . The country fought in both world wars, with notable campaigns in Gallipoli , Crete , El Alamein , and Cassino . The Gallipoli campaign played an important part in fostering New Zealand's national identity and strengthened
12551-673: The Chatham Islands Council is not a unitary authority, it undertakes many functions of a regional council. The Realm of New Zealand, one of 15 Commonwealth realms , is the entire area over which the king or queen of New Zealand is sovereign and comprises New Zealand, Tokelau , the Ross Dependency , the Cook Islands , and Niue . The Cook Islands and Niue are self-governing states in free association with New Zealand. The New Zealand Parliament cannot pass legislation for these countries, but with their consent can act on behalf of them in foreign affairs and defence. Tokelau
12714-609: The Don is dispatched to Hell at the climax not by the animated statue Il Commendatore, but by a man in a blue suit. The production was featured in the Christchurch Arts Festival , making it the first fully-staged opera in Christchurch since the merger with Southern Opera in 2009. The company's 2015 Tosca , with Orla Boylan (Tosca) and Phillip Rhodes (Scarpia) had Simon O'Neill singing Cavaradossi. O'Neill,
12877-489: The Duke, and critic Lindis Taylor noted the company's "continuing practice of using too many singers from overseas, when New Zealand boasts of producing so many who are gifted". Lindy Hume 's production had a modern setting, referencing the scandals of Berlusconi 's Italy. Wyn Davies conducted Don Giovanni in 2013, with Mark Stone and Jonathan Lemalu as the leads. In an update critic Ian Dando described as "ill-advised",
13040-606: The Emperor, who eventually was to support his career substantially with commissions and a part-time position. In the same letter to his father just quoted, Mozart outlined his plans to participate as a soloist in the concerts of the Tonkünstler-Societät , a prominent benefit concert series; this plan as well came to pass after the local nobility prevailed on Colloredo to drop his opposition. Colloredo's wish to prevent Mozart from performing outside his establishment
13203-483: The Government as a major societal issue; the country has 12.0% of children living in low-income households that had less than 50% of the median equivalised disposable household income as of June 2022 . Poverty has a disproportionately high effect in ethnic-minority households, with a quarter (23.3%) of Māori children and almost a third (28.6%) of Pacific Islander children living in poverty as of 2020 . New Zealand
13366-459: The MMP system, each person has two votes; one is for a candidate standing in the voter's electorate , and the other is for a party. Based on the 2018 census data, there are 72 electorates (which include seven Māori electorates in which only Māori can optionally vote), and the remaining 48 of the 120 seats are assigned so that representation in Parliament reflects the party vote, with the threshold that
13529-601: The Māori of later years. According to an early European synthesized interpretation of various Māori traditional accounts, around 750 CE the heroic explorer, Kupe , had discovered New Zealand and later, around 1350, one great fleet of settlers set out from Hawaiki in eastern Polynesia. However, from the late 20th century, this story has been increasingly relegated to the realm of legend and myth. An alternative view has emerged from fresh archaeological and scientific evidence, which correlates with doubts raised by historians everywhere as to
13692-536: The NBR sponsorship ceased in 2014 and its name became NZ Opera. A further merger with Southern Opera in Christchurch in 2012 allowed the company to maintain a nation-wide presence and stage work in all three cities. The company maintains a head office in Parnell , Auckland, and has a second office in Wellington. The Technical Centre in Auckland housed costumes, set-building, and a rehearsal space, and later combined with
13855-458: The NZ Opera offices to form The Opera Centre. NZ Opera coordinates and administers the Dame Malvina Major Foundation 's Artist Development Programme, a training programme for emerging opera singers. Notable alumni include Phillip Rhodes , Anna Leese , Manase Latu , Samson Setu and Thomas Atkins . In the late 1990s Jonathan Alver became General Director of Opera New Zealand, and oversaw
14018-771: The North Island and South Island had never been formalised, and names and alternative names were formalised in 2013. This set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui , and South Island or Te Waipounamu . For each island, either its English or Māori name can be used, or both can be used together. Similarly the Māori and English names for the whole country are sometimes used together ( Aotearoa New Zealand ); however, this has no official recognition. The first people to reach New Zealand were Polynesians in ocean going waka (canoes). Their arrival likely occurred in several waves, approximately between 1280 and 1350 CE. Those Polynesian settlers, isolated in New Zealand, became
14181-602: The North Island, and the Kermadec and Tonga Trenches further north. New Zealand, together with Australia, is part of a wider region known as Australasia . It also forms the southwestern extremity of the geographic and ethnographic region called Polynesia . Oceania is a wider region encompassing the Australian continent , New Zealand, and various island countries in the Pacific Ocean that are not included in
14344-614: The North Island, saw thousands of imperial troops and the Royal Navy come to New Zealand and became known as the New Zealand Wars . Following these armed conflicts, large areas of Māori land were confiscated by the government to meet settler demands. The colony gained a representative government in 1852 , and the first Parliament met in 1854. In 1856 the colony effectively became self-governing, gaining responsibility over all domestic matters (except native policy, which
14507-630: The Ross Dependency are New Zealand citizens. During the period of the New Zealand colony, Britain was responsible for external trade and foreign relations. The 1923 and 1926 Imperial Conferences decided that New Zealand should be allowed to negotiate its own political treaties , and the first commercial treaty was ratified in 1928 with Japan. On 3 September 1939, New Zealand allied itself with Britain and declared war on Germany with Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage proclaiming, "Where she goes, we go; where she stands, we stand". In 1951,
14670-674: The South American land was a small island in 1643, and Dutch cartographers subsequently renamed Tasman's discovery Nova Zeelandia from Latin , after the Dutch province of Zeeland . This name was later anglicised to New Zealand . This was written as Nu Tireni in the Māori language (spelled Nu Tirani in Te Tiriti o Waitangi). In 1834 a document written in Māori and entitled " He Wakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni "
14833-476: The Tarawera eruption except for three of a decade or so earlier. Radiocarbon dating and pollen evidence of widespread forest fires shortly before the eruption might also indicate a pre-eruption human presence. Additionally, mitochondrial DNA variability within the Māori populations suggest that Eastern Polynesians first settled the New Zealand archipelago between 1250 and 1300, Therefore, current opinion
14996-470: The Treaty of Waitangi. In 1975, a Waitangi Tribunal was set up to investigate alleged breaches of the Treaty, and it was enabled to investigate historic grievances in 1985. The government has negotiated settlements of these grievances with many iwi, although Māori claims to the foreshore and seabed proved controversial in the 2000s. New Zealand is located near the centre of the water hemisphere and
15159-659: The United Kingdom became increasingly focused on its European interests, while New Zealand joined Australia and the United States in the ANZUS security treaty. The influence of the United States on New Zealand weakened following protests over the Vietnam War , the refusal of the United States to admonish France after the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior , disagreements over environmental and agricultural trade issues, and New Zealand's nuclear-free policy . Despite
15322-524: The United States's suspension of ANZUS obligations, the treaty remained in effect between New Zealand and Australia, whose foreign policy has followed a similar historical trend. Close political contact is maintained between the two countries, with free trade agreements and travel arrangements that allow citizens to visit, live and work in both countries without restrictions. In 2013 there were about 650,000 New Zealand citizens living in Australia, which
15485-744: The Weber family, who had moved to Vienna from Mannheim. The family's father, Fridolin, had died, and the Webers were now taking in lodgers to make ends meet. After failing to win the hand of Aloysia Weber, who was now married to the actor and artist Joseph Lange , Mozart's interest shifted to the third daughter of the family, Constanze . The courtship did not go entirely smoothly; surviving correspondence indicates that Mozart and Constanze briefly broke up in April 1782, over an episode involving jealousy (Constanze had permitted another young man to measure her calves in
15648-438: The arrival of humans, an estimated 80% of the land was covered in forest, with only high alpine , wet, infertile and volcanic areas without trees. Massive deforestation occurred after humans arrived, with around half the forest cover lost to fire after Polynesian settlement. Much of the remaining forest fell after European settlement, being logged or cleared to make room for pastoral farming, leaving forest occupying only 23% of
15811-404: The canoe of Aoraki ' ) for the South Island . Early European maps labelled the islands North (North Island), Middle (South Island), and South ( Stewart Island / Rakiura ). In 1830, mapmakers began to use "North" and "South" on their maps to distinguish the two largest islands, and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of
15974-425: The case of a man who has already gone so far with a maiden. Further postponement is out of the question." Heartz relates, "Constanze's sister Sophie had tearfully declared that her mother would send the police after Constanze if she did not return home [presumably from Mozart's apartment]." On 4 August, Mozart wrote to Baroness von Waldstätten, asking: "Can the police here enter anyone's house in this way? Perhaps it
16137-412: The company took a touring production of Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel to 15 venues the entire length of New Zealand, from Kerikeri in the north to Invercargill in the south. It was director Michael Hurst 's first foray into opera. Later that year, the company's production of Janáček 's Jenůfa was the first staged in New Zealand (an Australian company had toured the opera in the 1970s), with
16300-450: The composition and premieres of Ascanio in Alba (1771) and Lucio Silla (1772). Leopold hoped these visits would result in a professional appointment for his son, and indeed ruling Archduke Ferdinand contemplated hiring Mozart, but owing to his mother Empress Maria Theresa 's reluctance to employ "useless people", the matter was dropped and Leopold's hopes were never realized. Toward
16463-474: The consequences of these decisions. The 42nd and current prime minister, since 27 November 2023, is Christopher Luxon . A parliamentary general election must be called no later than three years after the previous election. Almost all general elections between 1853 and 1993 were held under the first-past-the-post voting system. Since the 1996 election , a form of proportional representation called mixed-member proportional (MMP) has been used. Under
16626-461: The country has extensive marine resources. Its exclusive economic zone is one of the largest in the world, covering more than 15 times its land area. The South Island is the largest landmass of New Zealand. It is divided along its length by the Southern Alps . There are 18 peaks over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft), the highest of which is Aoraki / Mount Cook at 3,724 metres (12,218 ft). Fiordland 's steep mountains and deep fiords record
16789-518: The court of Prince-elector Maximilian III of Bavaria in Munich, and at the Imperial Courts in Vienna and Prague. A long concert tour followed, spanning three and a half years, taking the family to the courts of Munich, Mannheim , Paris, London, Dover, The Hague, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Mechelen and again to Paris, and back home via Zürich , Donaueschingen , and Munich. During this trip, Wolfgang met many musicians and acquainted himself with
16952-502: The criminal justice system. According to the Ministry of Justice , Māori are overrepresented, comprising 45% of New Zealanders convicted of crimes and 53% of those imprisoned, while only being 16.5% of the population. The early European settlers divided New Zealand into provinces , which had a degree of autonomy. Because of financial pressures and the desire to consolidate railways, education, land sales, and other policies, government
17115-690: The early 19th century, Christian missionaries began to settle New Zealand, eventually converting most of the Māori population. The Māori population declined to around 40% of its pre-contact level during the 19th century; introduced diseases were the major factor. The British Government appointed James Busby as British Resident to New Zealand in 1832. His duties, given to him by Governor Bourke in Sydney, were to protect settlers and traders "of good standing", prevent "outrages" against Māori, and apprehend escaped convicts. In 1835, following an announcement of impending French settlement by Charles de Thierry ,
17278-443: The end of the journey, Mozart wrote the solo motet Exsultate, jubilate , K. 165. After finally returning with his father from Italy on 13 March 1773, Mozart was employed as a court musician by the ruler of Salzburg, Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo . The composer had many friends and admirers in Salzburg and had the opportunity to work in many genres, including symphonies, sonatas, string quartets, masses , serenades, and
17441-416: The esteemed composer from leaving Vienna in pursuit of better prospects. In 1787, the young Ludwig van Beethoven spent several weeks in Vienna, hoping to study with Mozart. No reliable records survive to indicate whether the two composers ever met. Toward the end of the decade, Mozart's circumstances worsened. Around 1786, he ceased to appear frequently in public concerts, and his income shrank. This
17604-412: The events. The opera, which would combine opera and musical theatre singers, was to be staged in 2022. Less than two weeks later three of NZ Opera's board members – Murray Shaw, Witi Ihimaera , and Rachel Walkinton – resigned in protest at the artistic direction of the company. They were replaced by Carol Hirschfeld , Joanna Heslop , and Te Oti Rakena . The Unruly Tourists was in the end postponed when
17767-405: The extensive ice age glaciation of this southwestern corner of the South Island. The North Island is less mountainous but is marked by volcanism . The highly active Taupō Volcanic Zone has formed a large volcanic plateau , punctuated by the North Island's highest mountain, Mount Ruapehu (2,797 metres (9,177 ft)). The plateau also hosts the country's largest lake, Lake Taupō , nestled in
17930-503: The finest keyboard player in Vienna". He also prospered as a composer, and in 1782 completed the opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail ("The Abduction from the Seraglio"), which premiered on 16 July 1782 and achieved considerable success. The work was soon being performed "throughout German-speaking Europe", and thoroughly established Mozart's reputation as a composer. Near the height of his quarrels with Colloredo, Mozart moved in with
18093-712: The first European to sight and record New Zealand. In 1769 the British explorer Captain James Cook became the first European to set foot on and map New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the United Kingdom and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi which paved the way for Britain's declaration of sovereignty later that year and the establishment of the Crown Colony of New Zealand in 1841. Subsequently,
18256-491: The formation of the Pasifika New Zealander pan-ethnic group, the fourth-largest ethnic grouping in the country. Permanent migration is regulated under the 1970 Samoan Quota Scheme and the 2002 Pacific Access Category, which allow up to 1,100 Samoan nationals and up to 750 other Pacific Islanders respectively to become permanent New Zealand residents each year. A seasonal workers scheme for temporary migration
18419-403: The four operas Le nozze di Figaro , Don Giovanni , Così fan tutte and Die Zauberflöte and his Requiem . The Requiem was largely unfinished at the time of his death at age 35, the circumstances of which are uncertain and much mythologised. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on 27 January 1756 to Leopold Mozart and Anna Maria , née Pertl, at Getreidegasse 9 in Salzburg. Salzburg
18582-492: The fourth year of his age his father, for a game as it were, began to teach him a few minuets and pieces at the clavier. ... He could play it faultlessly and with the greatest delicacy, and keeping exactly in time. ... At the age of five, he was already composing little pieces, which he played to his father who wrote them down. These early pieces, K. 1–5, were recorded in the Nannerl Notenbuch . There
18745-622: The influence of Gottfried van Swieten , who owned many manuscripts of the Baroque masters. Mozart's study of these scores inspired compositions in Baroque style and later influenced his musical language, for example in fugal passages in Die Zauberflöte ("The Magic Flute") and the finale of Symphony No. 41 . In 1783, Mozart and his wife visited his family in Salzburg. His father and sister were cordially polite to Constanze, but
18908-580: The islands are uninhabited except for about six people at Raoul Island station. These islands put the northern border of New Zealand at 29 degrees South latitude. After the 1982 UNCLOS , the islands contributed significantly to New Zealand's exclusive economic zone . In 1891, the Liberal Party came to power as the first organised political party. The Liberal Government , led by Richard Seddon for most of its period in office, passed many important social and economic measures. In 1893, New Zealand
19071-436: The judiciary to interpret the law based solely on the legislation enacted by Parliament without other influences on their decisions. New Zealand is identified as one of the world's most stable and well-governed states. As of 2017, the country was ranked fourth in the strength of its democratic institutions, and first in government transparency and lack of corruption . LGBT rights in the nation are also recognised as among
19234-511: The land in 1997. The forests were dominated by birds , and the lack of mammalian predators led to some like the kiwi , kākāpō , weka and takahē evolving flightlessness . The arrival of humans, associated changes to habitat, and the introduction of rats , ferrets and other mammals led to the extinction of many bird species, including large birds like the moa and Haast's eagle . Other indigenous animals are represented by reptiles ( tuatara , skinks and geckos ), frogs , such as
19397-403: The largest minority, followed by Asians and Pasifika . Reflecting this, New Zealand's culture is mainly derived from Māori and early British settlers, with recent broadening of culture arising from increased immigration to the country . The official languages are English, Māori , and New Zealand Sign Language , with the local dialect of English being dominant. A developed country , it
19560-641: The latter being common. New Zealand is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing agreement, known formally as the UKUSA Agreement . The five members of this agreement compromise the core Anglosphere : Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Since 2012, New Zealand has had a partnership arrangement with NATO under the Partnership Interoperability Initiative. According to
19723-409: The latter has promised to augment with one thousand gulden", with the total "to pass to the survivor". Further, all joint acquisitions during the marriage were to remain the common property of both. The couple had six children, of whom only two survived infancy: In 1782 and 1783, Mozart became intimately acquainted with the work of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel as a result of
19886-456: The long white cloud') is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the whole country before the arrival of Europeans; Aotearoa originally referred to just the North Island . Māori had several traditional names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui ( ' the fish of Māui ' ) for the North Island and Te Waipounamu ( ' the waters of greenstone ' ) or Te Waka o Aoraki ( '
20049-534: The longest recession in over thirty years, and unemployment rising back to 7% in late 2009. The lowest unemployment rate recorded using the current methodology was in December 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic , at 3.2%. Unemployment rates for different age groups follow similar trends but are consistently higher among youth. During the September 2021 quarter, the general unemployment rate was around 3.2%, while
20212-455: The massacre and virtual extinction of the Moriori. In a hostile 1642 encounter between Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri and Dutch explorer Abel Tasman 's crew, four of Tasman's crew members were killed, and at least one Māori was hit by canister shot . Europeans did not revisit New Zealand until 1769, when British explorer James Cook mapped almost the entire coastline. Following Cook, New Zealand
20375-437: The merger with The National Opera of Wellington to create the present company. In 2002 he was succeeded by Alex Reedijk , who left in 2005 to run Scottish Opera . Reedijk was followed by Aidan Lang , and in turn was followed as general director in 2014 by Stuart Maunder . Maunder took a position as Artistic Director with State Opera South Australia in 2018 and was replaced by Thomas de Mallet Burgess . In October 2022 Burgess
20538-485: The most tolerant in Oceania . New Zealand ranks highly for civic participation in the political process, with 82% voter turnout during recent general elections, compared to an OECD average of 69%. However, this is untrue for local council elections; a historically low 36% of eligible New Zealanders voted in the 2022 local elections , compared with an already low 42% turnout in 2019 . A 2017 human rights report by
20701-719: The nebulous United Tribes of New Zealand sent a Declaration of Independence to King William IV of the United Kingdom asking for protection. Ongoing unrest, the proposed settlement of New Zealand by the New Zealand Company (which had already sent its first ship of surveyors to buy land from Māori) and the dubious legal standing of the Declaration of Independence prompted the Colonial Office to send Captain William Hobson to claim sovereignty for
20864-473: The newly-merged NZ Opera in 2000 was a sold-out season of Verdi 's Aida . Since then the company has put on two or more productions a year, performed in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. It also runs educational programmes for young people and touring productions to other venues. The Marriage of Figaro was staged in 2002. Italian soprano Nuccia Focile played the Countess and Wendy Dawn Thompson
21027-475: The number of dairy cows doubling between 1990 and 2007, to become New Zealand's largest export earner. In the year to June 2018, dairy products accounted for 17.7% ($ 14.1 billion) of total exports, and the country's largest company, Fonterra , controls almost one-third of the international dairy trade. Other exports in 2017–18 were meat (8.8%), wood and wood products (6.2%), fruit (3.6%), machinery (2.2%) and wine (2.1%). New Zealand's wine industry has followed
21190-440: The period 1782 to 1785, and are judged to be a response to Haydn's Opus 33 set from 1781. Haydn wrote, "posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years" and in 1785 told Mozart's father: "I tell you before God, and as an honest man, your son is the greatest composer known to me by person and repute, he has taste and what is more the greatest skill in composition." From 1782 to 1785 Mozart mounted concerts with himself as
21353-437: The period include the last three symphonies (Nos. 39 , 40 , and 41 , all from 1788), and the last of the three Da Ponte operas, Così fan tutte , premiered in 1790. Around this time, Mozart made some long journeys hoping to improve his fortunes, visiting Leipzig, Dresden, and Berlin in the spring of 1789, and Frankfurt , Mannheim, and other German cities in 1790. Mozart's last year was, until his final illness struck,
21516-442: The protected endangered Hamilton's Frog , spiders , insects ( wētā ), and snails. Some, such as the tuatara, are so unique that they have been called living fossils . Three species of bats ( one since extinct) were the only sign of native land mammals in New Zealand until the 2006 discovery of bones from a unique, mouse-sized land mammal at least 16 million years old. Marine mammals, however, are abundant, with almost half
21679-575: The reliability of interpretations drawn from the oral evidence of indigenous peoples, including from Māori. Regarding the arrival of these Polynesian settlers, there are no human remains, artefacts or structures which are confidently dated to earlier than the Kaharoa Tephra, a layer of volcanic debris deposited by the Mount Tarawera eruption around 1314 CE. Samples of rat bone, rat-gnawed shells and seed cases have given dates later than
21842-594: The signing of the treaty and declaration of sovereignty, the number of immigrants, particularly from the United Kingdom, began to increase. New Zealand was administered as a dependency of the Colony of New South Wales until becoming a separate Crown colony , the Colony of New Zealand , on 3 May 1841. Armed conflict began between the colonial government and Māori in 1843 with the Wairau Affray over land and disagreements over sovereignty. These conflicts, mainly in
22005-496: The support of the local nobility, Mozart was offered a post as court organist and concertmaster. The annual salary was 450 florins, but he was reluctant to accept. By that time, relations between Grimm and Mozart had cooled, and Mozart moved out. After leaving Paris in September 1778 for Strasbourg, he lingered in Mannheim and Munich, still hoping to obtain an appointment outside Salzburg. In Munich, he again encountered Aloysia, now
22168-467: The total workforce in 2016. In 2017, international visitor arrivals were expected to increase at a rate of 5.4% annually up to 2022. Wool was New Zealand's major agricultural export during the late 19th century. Even as late as the 1960s it made up over a third of all export revenues, but since then its price has steadily dropped relative to other commodities, and wool is no longer profitable for many farmers. In contrast, dairy farming increased, with
22331-486: The two regions. This free trade agreement expanded on the pre-existing free trade agreement and saw a reduction in tariffs on meat and dairy in response to feedback from the affected industries. The service sector is the largest sector in the economy, followed by manufacturing and construction and then farming and raw material extraction. Tourism plays a significant role in the economy, contributing $ 12.9 billion (or 5.6%) to New Zealand's total GDP and supporting 7.5% of
22494-481: The unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24 was 9.2%. New Zealand has experienced a series of " brain drains " since the 1970s that still continue today. Nearly one-quarter of highly skilled workers live overseas, mostly in Australia and Britain, which is the largest proportion from any developed nation. In recent decades, however, a " brain gain " has brought in educated professionals from Europe and less developed countries. Today New Zealand's economy benefits from
22657-404: The visit occurred when Mozart's mother was taken ill and died on 3 July 1778. There had been delays in calling a doctor—probably, according to Halliwell, because of a lack of funds. Mozart stayed with Melchior Grimm at Marquise d'Épinay 's residence, 5 rue de la Chaussée-d'Antin . While Mozart was in Paris, his father was pursuing opportunities of employment for him in Salzburg. With
22820-557: The visit prompted the composition of one of Mozart's great liturgical pieces, the Mass in C minor . Though not completed, it was premiered in Salzburg, with Constanze singing a solo part. Mozart met Joseph Haydn in Vienna around 1784, and the two composers became friends. When Haydn visited Vienna, they sometimes played together in an impromptu string quartet . Mozart's six quartets dedicated to Haydn (K. 387, K. 421, K. 428, K. 458, K. 464, and K. 465) date from
22983-927: The works of other composers. A particularly significant influence was Johann Christian Bach , whom he visited in London in 1764 and 1765. When he was eight years old, Mozart wrote his first symphony , most of which was probably transcribed by his father. The family trips were often challenging, and travel conditions were primitive. They had to wait for invitations and reimbursement from the nobility, and they endured long, near-fatal illnesses far from home: first Leopold (London, summer 1764), then both children (The Hague, autumn 1765). The family again went to Vienna in late 1767 and remained there until December 1768. After one year in Salzburg, Leopold and Wolfgang set off for Italy, leaving Anna Maria and Nannerl at home. This tour lasted from December 1769 to March 1771. As with earlier journeys, Leopold wanted to display his son's abilities as
23146-847: The world's cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises ) and large numbers of fur seals reported in New Zealand waters. Many seabirds breed in New Zealand, a third of them unique to the country. More penguin species are found in New Zealand than in any other country, with 13 of the world's 18 penguin species. Since human arrival, almost half of the country's vertebrate species have become extinct, including at least fifty-one birds, three frogs, three lizards, one freshwater fish, and one bat. Others are endangered or have had their range severely reduced. However, New Zealand conservationists have pioneered several methods to help threatened wildlife recover, including island sanctuaries, pest control, wildlife translocation, fostering, and ecological restoration of islands and other protected areas . New Zealand
23309-457: The year of his son's birth, Leopold published a violin textbook, Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule , which achieved success. When Nannerl was seven, she began keyboard lessons with her father, while her three-year-old brother looked on. Years later, after her brother's death, she reminisced: He often spent much time at the clavier , picking out thirds, which he was ever striking, and his pleasure showed that it sounded good. ... In
23472-443: Was Cherubino, with Aidan Lang directing his first production for the company. New Zealand bass Wade Kernot and Australian soprano Emma Pearson (married in real life) sang the lead roles of Figaro and Susanna. NZ Opera staged Figaro again in 2010, and once more in 2021 with Emma Pearson returning in the role of the Countess. The company's 2006 production of Mozart 's The Magic Flute was directed by Stanley M. Garner based on
23635-504: Was a devoted teacher to his children, there is evidence that Mozart was keen to progress beyond what he was taught. His first ink-spattered composition and his precocious efforts with the violin were of his initiative and came as a surprise to Leopold, who eventually gave up composing when his son's musical talents became evident. While Wolfgang was young, his family made several European journeys in which he and Nannerl performed as child prodigies . These began with an exhibition in 1762 at
23798-528: Was a difficult time for musicians in Vienna because of the Austro-Turkish War : both the general level of prosperity and the ability of the aristocracy to support music had declined. In 1788, Mozart saw a 66% decline in his income compared to his best years in 1781. By mid-1788, Mozart and his family had moved from central Vienna to the suburb of Alsergrund . Although it has been suggested that Mozart aimed to reduce his rental expenses by moving to
23961-563: Was also supported by the law firm Chapman Tripp , who gave their name to the Chapman Tripp Opera Chorus, the company's resident chorus. By 2011, NZ Opera's Creative New Zealand funding had increased to $ 2.2 million a year, double the amount of a few years previously. In 2019 Creative New Zealand gave $ 2.7 million to NZ Opera, with an additional $ 1.2 million coming from Auckland ($ 1.1m), Wellington, ($ 67,744) and Christchurch ($ 70,000) city councils. The first production of
24124-732: Was called "one of the great female voices to emerge from New Zealand". In 2011 the company staged Handel's Xerxes , with costumes by Trelise Cooper , and a double bill of the one-act operas Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci . These used a play-within-a-play convention, with the opening scene of Pagliacci being the closing scene of Cavalleria , linked by the prologue of Tonio. Cavalleria Rusticana featured English tenor Peter Auty as Turidda and Ukrainian soprano Anna Shafajinskaia as Santuzza. Mexican tenor Rafael Rojas sang Canio in Pagliacci , and Anna Leese sang Nedda. The 2012 production of Rigoletto again starred Rafael Rojas, as
24287-569: Was centralised and the provinces were abolished in 1876. The provinces are remembered in regional public holidays and sporting rivalries. Since 1876, various councils have administered local areas under legislation determined by the central government. In 1989, the government reorganised local government into the current two-tier structure of regional councils and territorial authorities . The 249 municipalities that existed in 1975 have now been consolidated into 67 territorial authorities and 11 regional councils. The regional councils' role
24450-434: Was dismissed by the archbishop, freeing himself both of his employer and of his father's demands to return. Solomon characterizes Mozart's resignation as a "revolutionary step" that significantly altered the course of his life. Mozart's new career in Vienna began well. He often performed as a pianist, notably in a competition before the Emperor with Muzio Clementi on 24 December 1781, and he soon "had established himself as
24613-477: Was formed in 2000 when Opera New Zealand (the name adopted by Auckland Opera in 1995) and The National Opera of Wellington (formerly Wellington City Opera ) decided to merge into one organisation for financial reasons. It launched on 15 October 1999 as The National Business Review New Zealand Opera (the National Business Review had paid $ 1,000,000 for naming rights for the next three years);
24776-472: Was granted in the mid-1860s). Following concerns that the South Island might form a separate colony, premier Alfred Domett moved a resolution to transfer the capital from Auckland to a locality near Cook Strait . Wellington was chosen for its central location, with Parliament officially sitting there for the first time in 1865. In 1886, New Zealand annexed the volcanic Kermadec Islands , about 1,000 km (620 mi) northeast of Auckland. Since 1937,
24939-477: Was in other cases carried through, raising the composer's anger; one example was a chance to perform before the Emperor at Countess Thun 's for a fee equal to half of his yearly Salzburg salary. The quarrel with the archbishop came to a head in May: Mozart attempted to resign and was refused. The following month, permission was granted, but in a grossly insulting way: the composer was dismissed literally "with
25102-615: Was introduced in 2007, and in 2009 about 8,000 Pacific Islanders were employed under it. New Zealand is involved in the Pacific Islands Forum , the Pacific Community , Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation , and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum (including the East Asia Summit ). New Zealand has been described as a middle power in the Asia-Pacific region, and an emerging power . The country
25265-522: Was praised as "one of Aotearoa’s most glorious sopranos." In May 2021 de Mallet Burgess announced that NZ Opera would be commissioning a comic opera based on the saga of the "unruly tourists" who visited New Zealand in January 2019. Luke Di Somma was to compose the work to a libretto by comedians Livi Reihana and Amanda Kennedy of the Fan Brigade. One of the characters would be a journalist covering
25428-627: Was primarily reserved for visiting troupes. Two long expeditions in search of work interrupted this long Salzburg stay. Mozart and his father visited Vienna from 14 July to 26 September 1773, and Munich from 6 December 1774 to March 1775. Neither visit was successful, though the Munich journey resulted in a popular success with the premiere of Mozart's opera La finta giardiniera . In August 1777, Mozart resigned his position at Salzburg and on 23 September ventured out once more in search of employment, with visits to Augsburg , Mannheim, Paris, and Munich. Mozart became acquainted with members of
25591-524: Was required to dine in Colloredo's establishment with the valets and cooks). He planned a bigger career as he continued in the archbishop's service; for example, he wrote to his father: My main goal right now is to meet the emperor in some agreeable fashion, I am absolutely determined he should get to know me . I would be so happy if I could whip through my opera for him and then play a fugue or two, for that's what he likes. Mozart did indeed soon meet
25754-575: Was selected as the new Artistic Director of Finnish National Opera , starting in August 2023. Brad Cohen, an opera conductor and administrator and former artistic director of West Australian Opera became the General Director in late 2023. When the Wellington and Auckland companies merged, NBR's million dollar sponsorship was possibly the largest in the history of the NZ performing arts. The company
25917-817: Was the capital of the Archbishopric of Salzburg , an ecclesiastic principality in the Holy Roman Empire (today in Austria ). He was the youngest of seven children, five of whom died in infancy. His elder sister was Maria Anna Mozart , nicknamed "Nannerl". Mozart was baptised the day after his birth, at St. Rupert's Cathedral in Salzburg. The baptismal record gives his name in Latinized form, as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart . He generally called himself "Wolfgang Amadè Mozart" as an adult, but his name had many variants. Leopold Mozart,
26080-584: Was the first nation in the world to grant all women the right to vote and pioneered the adoption of compulsory arbitration between employers and unions in 1894. The Liberals also guaranteed a minimum wage in 1894, a world first. In 1907, at the request of the New Zealand Parliament, King Edward VII proclaimed New Zealand a Dominion within the British Empire , reflecting its self-governing status. In 1947, New Zealand adopted
26243-429: Was the first to introduce a minimum wage , and the first to give women the right to vote . It ranks very highly in international measures of quality of life , human rights , and it has one of the lowest levels of perceived corruption in the world. It retains visible levels of inequality , having structural disparities between its Māori and European populations. New Zealand underwent major economic changes during
26406-844: Was translated into English and became the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand . It was prepared by Te W(h)akaminenga o Nga Rangatiratanga o Nga Hapu o Nu Tireni , the United Tribes of New Zealand , and a copy was sent to King William IV who had already acknowledged the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand, and who recognised the declaration in a letter from Lord Glenelg . Aotearoa (pronounced [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa] in Māori and / ˌ aʊ t ɛəˈr oʊ . ə / in English; often translated as 'land of
26569-528: Was visited by numerous European and North American whaling , sealing , and trading ships. They traded European food, metal tools, weapons, and other goods for timber, Māori food, artefacts, and water. The introduction of the potato and the musket transformed Māori agriculture and warfare. Potatoes provided a reliable food surplus, which enabled longer and more sustained military campaigns. The resulting intertribal Musket Wars encompassed over 600 battles between 1801 and 1840, killing 30,000–40,000 Māori. From
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