Prodigies (New Zealand TV series)

Prodigies is a New Zealand classical music talent show for singers, dancers, and musicians aged 7 to 16 and is based on the French reality competition Prodiges. All performances are accompanied by a choir of roughly 40 voices and a full orchestra of approximately 60 members under the direction of Faiza Naceri.

Unlike the original series in France, for which both episodes in each season are pre-recorded, the season finale in New Zealand version is a live show for which the overall winner is decided solely by televoting despite the super finalists from each category being decided by the corresponding judge. The semi-final, however, is pre-recorded.

Series overview

 * Contestant mentored by Anna Azerli (singers)
 * Contestant mentored by John Metcalfe (musicians)
 * Contestant mentored by Corey Baker (dancers)
 * Contestant mentored by Natasha Wilson (singers)
 * Contestant mentored by Hannah O'Neill (dancers)
 * Contestant mentored by Douglas Mews (musicians)

Season 1 (2019)

 * Main article: Prodigies (New Zealand season 1)

Here are the contestants and performance details from the inaugural season. Contestants whose names are in bold qualified for the season finale, while contestants whose names are underlined were the super finalists of their respective categories.


 * Musicians
 * Arnold, age 9, cello - "Seven Butterflies" by Saariaho
 * Anya, age 12, organ - "Little Organ Book" by Bach
 * Chloé, age 12, violin - "Caprice #1" by Rode / "Laughing Unlearned" by Salonen
 * Curtis, age 13, piano - "Allegretto molto capriccioso" by Bartók / "The Easy Winners" by Joplin
 *  Whitney , age 11, accordion - "Csárdás" by Monti / "Hungarian Dance #5" by Brahms


 * Singers
 * Caitlin, age 16 - "March with Me" by Montserrat Caballé
 * Chad, age 16 - "Toreador Song" from Carmen / "Nell tue mani" by Andrea Bocelli
 * Destiny, age 15 - "Les oiseaux dans la charmille" from The Tales of Hoffmann
 *  Josh , age 14 - "Allez chantez l'office" from Werther / "Possente spirto" by L'orfeo
 * Marissa, age 11 - "Where Do I Begin?" from Love Story / "Music of the Night" from Phantom of the Opera


 * Dancers
 * Alexandra, age 14 - "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper / "March from The Nutcracker" by Tchaikovsky
 * Aurélia, age 15 - "Dies iræ" from Requiem
 *  Kelly , age 15 - "The Blue Danube" by Strauss / "Last Christmas" by Wham!
 * Lucas, age 16 - "Allegro con brio" by Beethoven
 * Tyrone, age 13 - "William Tell Overture" from William Tell / "Gladiator" by Hanz Zimmer

Results
The overall winner was 15-year-old Kelly from the dancers category, after she won the public vote 41%.

Trivia
For Destiny's performance in the semi-final, one man from the choir was given a giant "key" to turn on Destiny's back several times to get her to stand up, as is common with other performances of "Les oiseaux dans la charmille".

Season 2 (2020)

 * Main article: Prodigies (New Zealand season 2)

Here are the contestants and performance details from season 2. Contestants whose names are in bold qualified for the season finale, while contestants whose names are underlined were the super finalists of their respective categories. Spectators in the auditorium were required to wear face masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand.


 * Musicians
 * Dawn, age 14, harp - "Under the Palm Tree" by Albéniz
 * Katie, age 16, flute - "L'estate, presto" by Vivaldi / "Flight of the Bumblebee" by Rimsky-Korsakov
 * Lyle, age 12, trombone - "Green, Balanced Power and Harmony" by Appermont
 *  Matthew , age 13, piano - "Presto agitato" by Beethoven / "Hungarian Rhapsody #2" by Liszt
 * Rachel, age 7, violin - "We Are Warriors" by Avril Lavigne / "La vita è bella" by Piovani


 * Singers
 * Adam, age 11 - "O sole mio" by Di Capua and Capurro
 * Federica, age 14 - "Memory" from Cats / "Time to Say Goodbye" by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman
 * Liam, age 15 - "O du mein holder Abendstern" from Tannhäuser
 * Milo, age 16 - "Nessun dorma" from Turandot / "Happy Christmas" by John Lennon
 *  Stacy , age 12 - "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley / "Parla più piano" by Rota


 * Dancers
 * Clara, age 12 - "Look Through My Eyes" by Phil Collins / "Waltz #2" by Shostakovich
 *  Jessica , age 16 - "Nothing Compares to You" by Sinéad O'Connor / "Reflections of Mufasa" from The Lion King
 * Lillian, age 16 - "A White Rose" from Beauty and the Beast
 * Nicolas, age 15 - "William Tell Overture" from William Tell / "Polyjuice Potion" from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Ronan, age 13 - "Airbender Suite" from The Last Airbender

Results
The overall winner was 13-year-old Matthew from the musicians category, after he won the public vote 39%.

Trivia

 * Katie and Rachel are sisters.

Season 3 (2021)

 * Main article: Prodigies (New Zealand season 3)

Here are the contestants and performance details from season 3. Contestants whose names are in bold qualified for the season finale, while contestants whose names are underlined were the super finalists of their respective categories. Spectators in the auditorium were required to wear face masks for the second year in a row due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


 * Musicians
 * Caroline, age 15, piano - "Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi / "Linus and Lucy" by Guaraldi
 *  Emma , age 10, violin - "Allegretto poco scherzoso" by Ysaÿe / "Moderato e sempre martellato" by Kreutzer
 * Marina, age 8, trumpet - "Pomp and Circumstance" by Elgar
 * Robert, age 16, clarinet - "The Perilous Shore" by Adams / "Quiet City" by Copland
 * Sabrina, age 10, guitar - "Histoire du Tango" by Piazzolla


 * Singers
 * Anne, age 12 - "Look to Your Path" from The Chorus / "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz
 * Ivy, age 13 - "Voi che sapete" from The Marriage of Figaro
 * Marcus, age 16 - "The Cold Song" from King Arthur / "Albinoni's Adagio" by Giazotto
 * Rochelle, age 14 - "Lascia ch'io pianga" from Rinaldo
 *  Simon , age 11 - "Ombra mai fu" from Serse / "Ave Maria" by Gounod


 * Dancers
 * Jason, age 15 - "How I Would Die" from Twilight
 *  Laura , age 13 - "La gazza ladra Overture" by Rossini / "My Way" by Frank Sinatra
 * Marianne, age 14 - "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran / "Somewhere in My Memory" by John Williams
 * Sandra, age 15 - "Palladio" by Jenkins
 * Steve, age 16 - "Hoist the Colours" from Pirates of the Caribbean / "March of the Wheatley Cavalcade" from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Results
The overall winner was 10-year-old Emma from the musicians category, after she won the public vote 46%.

Season 4 (2022)

 * Main article: Prodigies (New Zealand season 4)

Here are the contestants and performance details from season 4. Contestants whose names are in bold qualified for the season finale, while contestants whose names are underlined were the super finalists of their respective categories.


 * Musicians
 *  Isabelle , age 12, flute - "Seis bagatelas" by Solare / "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey
 * Serena, age 15, piano - "Andalusian Fantasy" by De Falla / "Oriental" by Albéniz
 * Trey, age 13, cello - "Scent Dance 2" by Xuntian / "Adagio con gran espressione" by Kodály
 * Ursula, age 14, organ - "Auf meinen lieben Gott" by Bach
 * Zack, age 16, clarinet - "Herbstmusik" by Stockhausen


 * Singers
 * Monique, age 13 - "L'ho perduta, me meschina" from The Marriage of Figaro
 * Nina, age 15 - "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" from Carmen / "Una voce poco fa" from The Barber of Seville
 *  Renée , age 16 - "There's a Place for Us" from West Side Story / "Angels from the Realms of Glory" by James Montgomery
 * Shaun, age 16 - "O du mein holder Abendstern" from Tannhäuser / "Panis Angelicus" by Franck
 * Stephanie, age 11 - "Casta Diva" from Norma


 * Dancers
 * Henry, age 14 - "Elevator and Headache" from The Punisher
 * Jake, age 16 - "Farandole" by Bizet / "Oyfn Pripetshik" from Schindler's List
 * Ofélia, age 12 - "Csárdás" by Monti
 *  Vanessa , age 13 - "Première rhapsodie" by Debussy / "Swan Lake" by Tchaikovsky
 * Vincent, age 15 - "The River Cam" by Whitacre / "Sequenza V" by Berio

Results
The overall winner was 16-year-old Renée from the singers category, after she won the public vote 53%.

Season 5 (2023)

 * Main article: Prodigies (New Zealand season 5)

Here are the contestants and performance details from season 5. Contestants whose names are in bold qualified for the season finale, while contestants whose names are underlined were the super finalists of their respective categories.


 * Musicians
 * Alyssa, age 11, piano - "Lento non troppo" by Bernstein / "Più mosso" by Janáček
 * Eleanor, age 12, cello - "Sostenuto e largamente" by Britten / "Etudes Boreales" by Cage
 * Gillian, age 14, flute - "Encounter" by Takemitsu
 *  Richard , age 14, accordion - "American Rhapsody" by Serry / "Slow Motion" by Hosokawa
 * Ron, age 16, clarinet - "Très lent and expressif" by Ravel


 * Singers
 * Anneliese, age 16 - "La danza" by Rossini
 * Holly, age 14 - "O zittre nicht" from The Magic Flute
 *  Jason , age 16 - "Or che il dover" by Mozart / "Ecco il mondo" from Mefistofele
 * Nihar, age 12 - "Voi che sapete" from The Marriage of Figaro / "O sole mio" by Di Capua and Capurro
 * Sadie, age 9 - "My Heart Will Go On" by Céline Dion / "Amazing Grace" by John Newton


 * Dancers
 * Julianna, age 13 - "Neville's Waltz" from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Levon, age 15 - "The Downed Dragon" from How to Train Your Dragon / "Arrival at Aslan's How" by Gregson-Williams
 * Lola, age 12 - "The Daydreamer" by Laws / "Far Longer Than Forever" from The Swan Princess
 * Pınar, age 15 - "My True Love's Eyes" by Goldsmith
 *  Sophia , age 16 - "The Forbidden Tower" by Sondheim / "Speechless" from Aladdin

Results
The overall winner was 16-year-old Jason from the musicians category, after he won the public vote 37%.

Tours
Every year between April and May, all 15 contestants co-headline a tour across New Zealand reprising their performances in order from the semi-final to the season finale. Tours promoting seasons one and two weren't held due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand.


 * Prodigies 2021: The Tour
 * Prodigies 2022: The Tour
 * Prodigies 2023: The Tour