Shortly, the next generation of elite New Zealand opera singers won't have to win a scholarship, find tens of thousands of dollars, or be separated from their families to train overseas for an international career. Next year the University of Waikato is opening Te Pae Kokako, The Aotearoa New Zealand Opera Studio, aimed at preparing talented young New Zealand singers to be career ready when they graduate. It's the long held dream of Dame Malvina Major, one of our most successful international opera singers. Heading the programme is soprano Madeleine Pierard, the inaugural Dame Malvina Major Chair in Opera at the University of Waikato. Lynn Freeman asked Madeleine why the studio weas so important to Dame Malvina.