The first few seconds of Gareth Farr's song-cycle Ex Stasis, the major work of his residency with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, suggested exotic climes were imminent - and it was a promise well kept.Paul Horan's allegory of an aviatrix who lands on a Pacific Island proved to be a rich blueprint for a possible opera, from its island-style Pinteresque dialogue between George Henare and Mere Boynton to some glorious aria opportunities for Deborah Wai Kapohe.Indeed, listening to the minimalist sheen behind Wai Kapohe's first appearance, gorgeously spun by the orchestra, one could well imagine the soprano playing the role in the most soignee of flying costumes.Horan's lyrics thoughtfully investigate what happens when cultures and personalities are thrown together; and Farr is the perfect musical partner all the way.This composer knows how to reconcile detail with a formally convincing structure and never errs in finding the right colours, especially in the wash of harp and keyboards during that gripping arioso in which the outstanding James Egglestone lays out the guilt and regrets of a colonial Governor.
The other singers, struggling at times to compete with the orchestra, were variable. Henare, the seasoned actor, was the most convincing.Wai Kapohe was too often burdened with a cumbersome vibrato, and a nervous Boynton had insecure intonation, with moments of stridency.There were the expected Farr outbursts, such as an early conflagration of log drums, but this was a score that knew the value of reticence, signing off with sighing voices that float away on orchestral gossamer.After the interval, Tecwyn Evans, who had been a maestro molto simpatico for Farr, inspired his players to give their rip-roaring all in the complete ballet score for Manuel de Falla's The Three-Cornered Hat.Again, we had the exotic, setting off with a fiery Boynton, thundering timpani, quivering castanets and orchestral players making with the hand-claps and "Ole"s.I doubt if the APO has ever played more vividly but was I alone in feeling that Henare's running commentary, although carried off with the snap and sparkle of a skilled thespian, was ultimately a distraction from evocations already in the score?
