Waituhi

Tu Tangata, Issue 21, 1 December 1984, Page 41

Waituhi

Hiria Rakete

Nga mahi a te reihia

Well, what can I say? The first Maori opera on stage was, well ... an opera. And considering there are few trained Maori opera singers, the show was generally well presented. The opera was one of mixed emotions. Love, hate, rejection, laughs, tears, envy ... and on it goes. The cast were well prepared for their debut, and were obviously familiar with the expanse of the stage. Moving around without banging into each other although at times you could see a few lips counting the beat and obviously thinking about where they were supposed to be. One actress didn’t have that problem, Matira Taikato, playing Annie, was a natural. She had an ear for the music. And to lend more quality to her appearance, she was sincere. She believed in her part, and it came across in her freshness, exhuberance but

most of all, her confidence. One of the hardest parts to play would have been Leslie Graham’s character Mattie Jones. She was an erotomania. Only to be pushed aside when her supposed lover, George Karepa (Richard Haeata), married the Girl from Te Arawa. It was a hardcase watching her have a good tangi when George Karepa was fictionally being wed about five metres away from her. Interesting to note she spent onethird of her time rejecting an admirer (Sam), one-third pining after George Karepa and the rest of her time balling her eyes out. George Karepa was an excellent character. He was obviously at home on the stage. His movements, voice control, air of confidence and perhaps even his looks contributed more to the character. But credit must be handed over to Pou TeMara. As Paora, koroua of the cast, he was more than adequate.

Stooped back, cracked voice, expert use of his tokotoko he portrayed Paora well.

And of course his apprentice. Nathan Gray was his great-grandson, the mokopuna of the cast. He was the “Chosen one”. He learnt his maori knowledge from his koroua.

His was a hard role. Technically, physically and mentally a draining role. However, he did his best which is more than expected from a ten year old. Most of his part was kind of like a patere. Unfortunately, it sounded flat against the orchestral background. But considering his extensive part, he was beyond reproach.

There were two acts I particularly enjoyed out of the three I watched. (I dozed off in Act three). One was the wedding.

Hayley Rangi, who played the Girl from Te Arawa, was beautiful. Her entourage, adorned with korowai, kahurangi and poi, was certainly impressive. Previous lines from the cast about whether she would be good enough for George Karepa were soon apprehended. She was perhaps, too good for him.

I felt sorry for my mate beside me, who incidently is Te Arawa born and bred. He was writhing in his seat about some earlier comments about Te Arawa. But the wedding was timely, and seemed to cheer him up a little.

The final act was a mind boggier. A haka, backed by a soft lull from the cast was integrated with contemporary dance. A definitely dynamic performance by the New Zealand School of Ballet boys.

Generally, the opera was well presented. Congratulations to Witi, Adrian Kiernander and Ross Harris. However, there were a few distractions.

I lost track of what was actually happening. If I had arrived a little earlier I would have been able to read the programme to see what was going on. In a few places it seemed to drag which suggested a lack of communication between the cast and the audience.

In other places I tried not to plug my ears. Some of the voices (or shall we blame it on the music), were flat and unfortunately, very noticeable and unavoidable for the audience.

The set, though very attractive, added little to my understanding of the story. Maybe that was out of pure ignorance on my part. But I think “Waituhi The Life of the Village” could go a long way. If, for instance, it was going on a nationwide tour the name could easily be changed to adapt to the town. Taheke, Wairoa, Mahia, Kaikohe, Ruatoria they could all be put on the map, just like Waituhi. Kia ora.