ORESTE
20/08/2016 - 21/08/2016
Production Details
A NEW DIRECTION FOR HANDEL’S CLASSIC OPERA ORESTE
NZ’s freshest young opera talent alongside stage veterans will bring Handel’s rarely performed baroque Oreste opera to the stage, presenting a fiery tale of sacrifice, danger, and triumph. A semi-staged production, Oreste will combine the forces of Auckland Opera Studio and NZ Barok Orchestra at the historic Mercury Theatre just off K Rd, Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st August.
Magically saved from sacrifice at her own father’s knife, Iphigenia is bound to serve the goddess Diana on the island of Tauris under the tyrannical rule of a King living in fear. As the blood of all strangers must be cast over the island’s altar, fate brings Orestes, Iphigenia’s estranged brother, to its shores.
First performed in 1734 at the Covent Garden Theatre, Handel’s Oreste is a tightly woven exploration of love and lust; a desperate search for sanity in a world built on fear; a bitter struggle between destiny and desire. A combination of youth and experience make up the vocal cast who will perform recitatives in English and arias in Italian, starring Stephen Diaz (Oreste), Rebecca Ryan (Hermione), Madison Nonoa (Ifigenia), Filipe Manu (Pilade), James Ioelu (King Toante) and Kalauni Pouvalu (Filotete). This group of singers will be directed with the distinctive eye of Benjamin Henson, one of two national candidates for the Engine Room initiative. Under the initiative, Henson has spent six months working with Auckland Theatre Company, Fortune Theatre Dunedin, and the New Zealand Opera. This will be his very first foray into opera as the Director.
The Auckland Opera Studio was founded in the early 2000’s, established to provide free professional coaching to graduate students. The studio is led by powerhouse opera aficionado Francis Wilson, a world-renowned tutor and vocal instructor whose past students include Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Dame Sister Mary Leo. She’s worked previously as a personal vocal coach to Virginia Zeani, who is regarded as one of Romania’s legendary musical voices. Wilson is working with NZ’s freshest young opera talent alongside seasoned virtuoso’s of the stage to bring Handel’s rarely performed baroque Oreste opera to Mercury Theatre.
Providing the musical score are the instrumentalists of NZ Barok Orchestra. They are the only group performing baroque music on historic instruments in New Zealand, providing audiences with the opportunity to experience sounds and songs as they were intended to be heard by the original composers. They take to the stage alongside the vocal soloists to bring Handel’s score to life.
A unique opportunity to see some on NZ’s best opera performers in a stunning venue!
“Mercury Theatre…is a perfect venue for opera, having once been home to Auckland’s opera world” – John Daly-Peoples, National Business Review
Handel’s ORESTE plays
Mercury Theatre, 9 Mercury Lane, Auckland
Saturday 20 August 7:30pm
Sunday 21 August 5:30pm
Tickets: Adult $60, Student $20, Child $10 (service fees may apply)
Bookings: iticket, 0508 iTICKET (484-253) or https://www.iticket.co.nz/events/2016/aug/oreste
The cast includes:
Stephen Diaz Oreste
Rebecca Ryan Ermione
Madison Nonoa Ifigenia
Filipe Manu Pylades
and James Ioelu and Kalauni Pouvalu
Tickets are available from iTicket.
Theatre , Opera ,
A high standard of style and interpretation
Review by Penny Dodd 21st Aug 2016
Oreste is a rare gem – an obscure, recently revived opera by Handel, performed by a sensational New Zealand cast in the live acoustic of the Mercury Theatre, accompanied by NZ’s only Baroque orchestra. The opera was first performed at Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in 1734. It was first revived in 1988, with its first USA performance at Julliard School in 2003.
The semi-staged production is directed by opera new comer Benjamin Henson, who brings strong ideas, clean execution and elegant delivery to the stage. Henson makes good use of the extended introductions and codas of the arias, integrating story and music in a seamless and dynamic way.
Background animated projection and creative use of surtitles as a scenic device all serve to further the narrative and support the performance. The sword fight scenes, choreographed by Alexander Holloway of the Pop Up Globe, are vigorous and energised, in keeping with the full-blooded Ancient Greek story of “love and lust; a desperate search for sanity in a world built on fear; a bitter struggle between destiny and desire.”
NZ Barok are a revelation to me, the distinctive sound of their authentic instruments in perfect balance with the ensemble. As it is semi-staged the instrumentalists are onstage with the singers, either side of the central performance area, with the majority of musicians standing for the entire performance. The orchestra is not conducted but led by Graham McPhail, co-founder, with Miranda Hutton, of NZ Barok.
Stephen Diaz, as Oreste, tackles a Mt Everest of a counter tenor role, with an impressive display of vocal fireworks at the end. His voice fills the theatre, his sound richer and more secure than ever. Madison Nonoa is an exquisite Iphigenia, her vivacity of performance matched by a beautiful natural soprano.
Tenors Filipe Manu as Pylades, and Kalauni Pouvalu as Filotete command the stage with ease, and both sing most impressively in their roles.
Standout performances for me are Rebecca Ryan, a superb musician who brings a great deal of warmth and feeling to the role of Hermione, along with finely judged and beautiful singing.
And in the role of King Thoas, James Ioelu excels, his charisma and commanding bass-baritone contributing the pivotal role of the King for whom the prophecies come true.
Congratulations to Auckland Opera Studio, in particular Frances Wilson and Rosemary Barnes, who have brought this cast of wonderful singers together and produced such a high standard of style and interpretation.
Oreste is a real highlight of the Operatic calendar for 2016. There is one more performance, Sunday 21st August at 5.30pm and The Mercury, the best theatre in Auckland for enjoying this scale of performance.
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