The opera ''Hōhepa'', composed by

Jenny McLeod Jennifer Helen McLeod (12 November 1941 – 28 November 2022) was a New Zealand composer and professor of music at Victoria University of Wellington. She composed several major works for big groups including ''Under the Sun'' for four orchestr ...

, premiered at the

Opera House An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

in March 2012, in a production by NBR New Zealand Opera. It starred Phillip Rhodes, Deborah Wai Kapohe, Jonathan Lemalu, and Rawiri Paratene. It relates the true story of the friendship between Māori chief Hōhepa Te Umuroa and English colonist Thomas Mason during the

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars () took place from 1845 to 1872 between the Colony of New Zealand, New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori people, Māori on one side, and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. Though the wars were initi ...

Plot

The story of Hōhepa is centred on Hōhepa Te Umuroa ( Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, 1820?–1847), living in the

Hutt Valley The Hutt Valley (or 'The Hutt') is the large area of fairly flat land in the Hutt River valley in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Like the river that flows through it, it takes its name from Sir William Hutt, a director of the New Zea ...

near Wellington in the 1840s. Hōhepa is befriended by

Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...

(white New Zealander) settlers Thomas and Jane Mason. The local Māori become disillusioned with the arrival of colonists, and land disputes lead to bloodshed; the Masons depart for

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. Newly-appointed Governor of New Zealand Sir

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Gov ...

identifies Hōhepa as a rebel; he and other Māori are captured and sentenced to hard labour for life in the penal colony of Tasmania, and their land is confiscated. Mason, who speaks Māori, volunteers to translate for the newly-arrived prisoners, but realises Hōhepa is among them. Hōhepa dies of tuberculosis in 1847 and is buried on

Maria Island Maria Island or wukaluwikiwayna in palawa kani is a mountainous island located in the Tasman Sea, off the east coast of Tasmania, Australia. The island is entirely occupied by the Maria Island National Park, which includes a marine area of o ...

. The opera is book-ended by the 1988 repatriation of Hōhepa's remains to New Zealand by his descendants after 150 years.

Premiere

The first production of ''Hōhepa'' was at the 2012 International Festival of the Arts in Wellington. It was directed by Sara Brodie in the Wellington Opera House, with 12 Vector Wellington Orchestra musicians conducted by Marc Taddei. The choreographer was Taiaroa Royal. The role of Hōhepa was sung by Phillip Rhodes.

References

External links

* Premiere performance of ''Hōhepa'' in ful
on YouTube
* RNZ feature on ''Hōhepa'' which aired o
3 February 2013
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hohepa 2012 operas English-language operas Opera in New Zealand