Deborah Wai Kapohe - Language Coach

Deborah Wai Kapohe
Te Ātihaunui-ā-Papārangi

M.Mus (Dis)(Otago), BA (Auckland), BMus (Auckland), and LLB (Hons) (Sydney).

Born in Southland, Deborah has performed in operas, musicals, contemporary Māori music, arts festivals, proms, concerts, recitals, self-accompanied voice recitals (classical guitar) and special events throughout New Zealand and Australia, as well as in the UK, China and South Africa.

Deborah’s traditional operatic roles include Pamina in The Magic Flute (Opera Australia), Mimi in La Bohème (New Zealand Opera) and Marguerite in Faust (Hong Kong). Her contemporary Opera performances include the ground breaking Outrageous Fortune by Gillian Whitehead (an opera accompanied by Taonga Pūoro) and Hōhepa by Jenny McLeod (New Zealand International Arts Festival).

From 2012 until 2018, Deborah returned to her ancestral home of Whanganui to work as the Arts Adviser for the Whanganui District Council. During this time, she developed her self-accompanied recitals through the study of historic guitars and continued to perform for special events.

Deborah now lives between Christchurch, New Zealand, and the Western Cape of South Africa.