Ahead of the tenth anniversary Kōanga Festival – showcasing Māori storytelling – and just days before Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori language week) begins, two young opera singers have transformed the historic art form from its Italian roots.
Kawiti Waetford, Te Ohorere Williams and pianist Juan Kim joined Breakfast this morning for a special performance — a te reo Māori version of Giacomo Puccini’s O mio babbino caro (Oh my dear Papa).
“Our vowels in te reo are pretty much the same in Italian,” Waetford said. “We’ve taken those big, operatic bangers, if you’d like, and translated them into te reo Māori.”
“It’s really cool to be able to sing in our language because it’s so close to home,” Williams added.
“I got into classical singing because I love the technique, so being able to do it [in te reo Māori] makes it so special.”
Asked how singing in te reo changes her performance, Williams said: “It makes the experience and the performance so different — the intention of how I would perform the characters is like what we are used to at home.
“I imagine I’m talking to my pāpā instead of talking to my imaginary Italian dad.”
The pair have sung alongside Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, one of Aotearoa’s most famous opera singers.
They said they are following in her footsteps — but “also the footsteps of our tīpuna, all our mātua who fought so much to retain our language”.
The pair will perform at the Kōanga Festival, which runs from September 6 to September 28 at Te Pou Theatre in Auckland.
Watch the above video for Te Ohorere Williams’ performance of Puccini’s O mio babbino caro (Oh my dear Papa).
