Vietnamese opera graduate lives her singing dream

Anna Nguyen’s mother sang her lullabies as a young child and she remembers thinking her voice was very beautiful.

Coming to New Zealand as a refugee from the Vietnam War, her mother had wanted to be a professional singer herself.

Now her daughter will take that dream forward.

Anna is graduating from the University of Auckland on 7 May with a conjoint Bachelor of Music (Honours) and a Bachelor of Arts (English) with First Class Honours.

And in September, she’ll begin her masters in vocal performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, one of the most prestigious and competitive music schools in the world.

Anna is the first in her family to attend university, the first of even the wider family to go to Europe and very likely the first Vietnamese student to graduate from the University with a Bachelor of Music in singing.

It’s a surreal feeling, she says.

“I think I’ll be really emotional on graduation day … it’s been a very long journey.”

One that goes right back to singing in her local Catholic church in Howick – later at St Patrick’s Cathedral in the city and now St Michael’s in Remuera – via Covid, which created some low moments of anxiety and depression, to successfully getting through two demanding degrees.

And 2025 was a very big year.

Anna was part of the New Zealand Youth Choir that toured Europe and was crowned the 2025 ‘Choir of the World’, made the finals of the elite New Zealand Aria Competition in Rotorua and was accepted into her dream school: Guildhall.

“Guildhall, which also offers drama training, has been where I’ve wanted to go since I was 18. When I walked into the buildings in London for my audition last year I felt so at home and, considering I also felt quite sick, at peace.”

And she says Guildhall was the only school that asked her to sing a New Zealand art song and she chose 'Kia Hora Te Marino', the version composed by Māori opera singer Deborah Wai Kapohe in 2021.

“They wanted to make space for that part of my identity which I really liked.”
She was accepted the following Monday via email.

“I was on top of Primrose Hill looking down over London when it came through. There was definitely a bit of crying. I tried not to think about how I was going to afford it!”

With fees, including accommodation, coming in at around NZ$100,000 a year, that’s not a casual concern, but so far she’s been able to manage with a combination of scholarships, fundraising concerts, donations, savings and part time work.

“The degree is actually three years so I’ll stay for as long as I can.”

Another part of her identity, the Vietnamese part, is now making her father very proud as her name is becoming known in singing circles, but it wasn’t always easy.

“At first when I told my dad about wanting to be a singer, he didn’t want to know. He said, ‘How are you going to feed your family? Just with noodles?’”

In the end she did a conjoint degree to make him feel more reassured, and now he couldn’t be more supportive.

“My father came to New Zealand in search of a better life and more opportunities, and he gave me such a strong foundation. Now when he sees our surname in a programme or something he’s so proud. He says, ‘You might end up the poorest in our family, but you will be rich in other ways!”

Anna always uses her full Vietnamese name in her professional life to honour her heritage.

In terms of musical styles, she loves the romantic, lyrical soprano repertoire, epitomised by composers like Puccini (Madame Butterfly, La Bohème, Turandot).

“I love the long, sweeping lines that focus on being emotive, probably because I’m generally an emotional person.”

Her singing teachers, Associate Professor Te Oti Rakena at undergraduate level and Dr Morag Atichson during her honours year, were “exactly the teachers I needed at the time,” she says.

She can’t wait to immerse herself in Europe’s musical world later this year.

“I’m just really excited to be surrounded by so much amazing music. I’ll be going with some of my best friends (including alumnus and countertenor Jack Doyle, who will attend the Royal College of Music) so we’ll be able to support each other.”

After six years at University, including an honours year, this will be Anna’s first graduation. However, she’ll be performing on stage alone at three ceremonies in the days before her own.

“I’m just glad there are stage lights and the stadium itself will be dark. That way I can just ‘look into the lights’ and not think about that huge audience!”

And sitting in that large audience on 7 May will be her biggest fan, her dad, cheering her on to a future he could never have imagined.