Opera
Bride of Fortune
Opera in 2 acts for soprano, tenor, 2 baritones, and 10 smaller roles doubling as chorus, accompanied by a 17-piece ensemble
Libretto by Anna Maria dell’Oso
Bride of Fortune was commissioned by West Australia Opera and the Perth Festival. It was first performed in a 4-night season at the Octagon Theatre during the 1991 Perth Festival. Performers included the WASO Ensemble and singers Merlyn Quaife (Grazia), Geoffrey Harris (Vito), and Emma Mathews in perhaps her first professional role as Grazia’s sister Fiorina.
About the work
Bride of Fortune is set in Calabria and Sicily in Italy, and Melbourne in Australia in the early 1950s. It’s a work about immigration from Europe to the New World after the war, about the importance of letters in a pre-computer age and about the difference between the different cultures.
The opera opens with the main character, Grazia, writing a letter in her Collingwood, Melbourne flat to her sister — her story is told in flashback.
In Calabria, Grazia is with her sisters preparing for her arranged marriage to Vito, who lives in Melbourne and whom she has never met. (This was common practice at that time, until Australian law put a stop to the practice around 1952.) The marriage takes place, with Vito represented by his photo. She has the ring to take to him, celebrations follow and, as she is leaving by ship from Naples, she argues with her brother Ennio about her land that she refuses to sell to him. On the ship she writes a letter to her husband-to-be, imagining their life together.
In Melbourne, things are very different from her expectations. Vito is crippled from an accident in the brewery where he works, and he is living in the shabby flat of a friend, Mario. Grazia takes a job in a textile factory, and Vito becomes jealous of Mario when he playfully flirts with Grazia. In Sicily, Vito’s mother-in-law has received a ticket so that his young daughter from his previous marriage can join him in Melbourne, and Grazia, unaware of this, comes across a box containing the child’s clothing.
Things unravel quickly from this point. Vito, fuelled with jealousy, challenges Mario, who refuses to fight him, Grazia loses her factory job, Ennio sells Grazia’s land, Vito gambles and loses Grazia’s pay, they argue, Vito hits Grazia and she runs out of the flat sobbing.
Some days later he receives a letter telling him his daughter, still in Sicily, has died of tuberculosis. He is very drunk when Grazia comes to collect her belongings with some friends from the factory. A letter from Fiorina has arrived — she has sold her own land and can pay for Grazia’s return to Italy. As the women rejoice, Vito, anguished, pulls out a knife and holds it to Grazia’s throat.
The flat is surrounded by police and a priest is begging Vito to give himself up. Vito shows Grazia a photo of his dead child. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ she asks. ‘If I had told you, would you have come?’ The police burst in and seeing Vito threatening them with a knife, they shoot him. Grazia places the wedding ring on his finger as he dies.
Grazia is finishing her letter to Fiorina as another immigrant family are looking to rent the flat. Grazia is pregnant. She will stay in Australia to provide a better life for her child, and hopes Fiorina will come and join her. ‘Life is hard here, but we can live.’
Instrumentation
The score is written for 13 singers, who, except for the 2 main roles, cover many roles between them, both as soloists and ensemble singers.
The orchestration is: flute, oboe, clarinet and saxophone (1 player), horn, trumpet, trombone, timpani, 2 pianos, piano accordion and 2 violins, violas, cellos and double basses.
One musician could play percussion and piano, and a cast member could play the simple accordion part.
Production notes
Some use is made of recorded sound — for example, street sounds, crowd sounds, water, wind — and the Perth production also used slides in the shipboard scenes.
Score and recording
Buy or borrow the score from SOUNZ.
Review
A review of the Perth season by Noel Sanders was published in Music in New Zealand.
The Bride of Fortune: Gillian Whitehead at Perth — publication
A thesis by Anne Power about opera in Australia from 1988-1998 discusses this opera.
Iris dreaming
One act opera for soprano and chamber ensemble
Text by Fleur Adcock
Iris dreaming was commissioned and premiered by soprano Joanne Roughton-Arnold. The first performance was accompanied by the Octandre Ensemble conducted by Jon Hargreaves, at the Grimeborn Festival in London in August 2016. The version with string trio was premiered with Joanne and NZTrio at the Adam Chamber Music Festival in Nelson on 6 February 2017.
About the work
Iris dreaming is based on the life of celebrated New Zealand writer and feminist, Iris Wilkinson (also know as Robin Hyde), whose short but intensely dramatic life took her from New Zealand via war-torn China to London on the brink of WWII where she killed herself in 1939, aged 33. She was a star, a significant figure in New Zealand literature, a respected journalist in her time and a pioneer of feminism.
Fiona Maddocks in her review for The Guardian noted, ‘Whitehead … mixes tonal and melodic writing with Māori and Pacific rim-inspired techniques, especially audible in music for flute and piccolo, or more overtly in the gentle, clattery wash of rainsticks.’
Instrumentation
Lyric coloratura soprano and a chamber ensemble of flute doubling piccolo, oboe, clarinets (B♭, E♭ and bass), bassoon, harp, 2 violins, viola, cello and double bass.
There is also a version for soprano and piano trio.
Score
The score will soon be available from SOUNZ.
Recordings
Films of performances both versions of the opera are available online.
Iris dreaming, London, August 2016 — video
Iris dreaming, Nelson, New Zealand, February 2017 — video
RNZ Concert’s recording of the New Zealand premiere in February 2017 is available online.
Reviews and interviews
The Waitangi Day performance in Nelson in 2017 was reviewed in the Nelson Evening Mail.
Opera Iris Dreaming tells tragic life of New Zealand writer Robin Hyde — Nelson Evening Mail
A review by Elizabeth Kerr of the Nelson performances was broadcast by RNZ Concert on Upbeat.
Adam Chamber Music Festival Waitangi weekend reviews — talk
Joanne was interviewed for Kim Hill’s programme on RNZ National.
Joanne Roughton-Arnold: Iris Dreaming — interview
There is also an interview with Joanne and me, filmed before the Nelson performances.
Festival conversations: Iris dreaming — interview
Bryan Crump interviewed me on RNZ National’s Nights programme shortly after my return from the premiere in London.
Mate Ururoa
For 2 baritones, mezzo and large ensemble
Text in Māori and English by the composer
Commissioned by and written for baritone, David Tahere. The premiere at Carnegie Hall in New York was scheduled for November 2021 but has been postponed because of Covid. The premiere performances were given by Wellington Opera from 11-13 July 2025 at Hannah Playhouse with David Tahere, baritone, Ariana Tikao, singer and taonga pūoro player, and Stroma conducted by Hamish McKeich. The opera was directed by Sara Brodie.
Mate Ururoa | Wellington Opera
About the work
During World War 1, Roger Dansey, of Te Arawa, a captain in the pioneer battalion, disobeys his commander’s orders to save the lives of his men. The piece explores the differences between Māori and European approaches to war.
‘Kaua e mate wheke, mate ururoa — don’t die like an octopus, die like a hammerhead shark’ was a saying used in the Dansey family.
Characters and instrumentation
Captain Roger Dansey — baritone
Commanding Officer — baritone
Whaea — mezzo-soprano
Mate Ururoa is scored for an ensemble of taonga pūoro, flute doubling alto flute and piccolo, clarinet doubling E flat and bass clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, percussion, violin, viola, cello and double bass.
Percussion instruments are: marimba, vibraphone, 2 timpani, rototoms, bass drum, wood blocks, wooden drum, metal chimes, 5 suspended cymbals, tamtam, thundersheet, stones and poi.
Scores and recordings
The score will be available from SOUNZ after the premiere performance.
Articles and interviews
Elizabeth Kerr wrote about this work in a blog celebrating my 80th birthday.
Gillian Whitehead at 80 — publication
Together with director Sara Brodie and baritone David Tahere, I was interviewed by Kathryn Ryan on RNZ about the work and the preparation of the premiere.
Rotorua war hero story told in new opera, Mate ururoa — RNZ
Reviews
Elizabeth Kerr reviewed the premiere performance.
Gillian Whitehead’s Mate Ururoa: powerful storytelling with aroha and pride — Five Lines
Hariara Moriaty reviewed the work for TheatreView.
Outrageous Fortune
Opera in 2 acts for kuia, soprano, 2 mezzo-sopranos, 2 high baritones, 8 smaller roles also doubling as chorus, and 15-piece ensemble
Libretto by Christine Johnston
Outrageous Fortune was commissioned, with funding from Creative New Zealand, by Otago Commemorative Opera Group, Te Atamira Whakamaumahara, to commemorate the sesquicentenary of the founding of the city of Dunedin and the province of Otago in 1848. The first performance was given on 29 September 1998 at the Trust Bank Theatre, Dunedin, conducted by Michael Joel.
About the work
The action is set on the Otago goldfields in 1862, and weaves together fictionalised dramatisations of true stories of Māori, European pakeha and Chinese living on the goldfields. Each act lasts for approximately 65 minutes.
Cast
The cast consists of 16 singers:
- Rona, soprano
- Marama, traditional chant and karanga
- Rani, high baritone
- Hoani, high baritone
- Bess, mezzo
- Maryann, mezzo
- Rosie, soprano
- Lily, mezzo
- Daisy, mezzo
- Charlie/Mick, tenor
- Timmy, tenor
- Tommy, baritone
- Paddy, bass
- Joe, baritone
- 2 Chinese male singers
The first 6 roles are soloists, 4 of which are Māori. The remainder are primarily ensemble singers, although they have substantial solo work at times.
Instrumentation
The opera is scored for flute, oboe, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, piano, percussion, 2 violins, viola, 2 cellos, double bass and taonga pūoro (2 players).
In the Dunedin production, 2 dancers were included, as well as an on-stage fiddler. The role of the fiddler, depending on the distance between the stage and the orchestra pit, can be undertaken by a player from the ensemble.
Scores and recordings
The score, parts and a recording of the first performance are available from SOUNZ.
Review
Suzanne Court and Jenny McLeod wrote articles for Music in New Zealand after the premiere.
Music in New Zealand No. 34 — publication
Award
Outrageous Fortune won the 1999 SOUNZ Contemporary Award. Critic William Dart described the work as ‘a rich score, very much the fruit of Whitehead’s openness.’ He presented her with the 1999 SOUNZ Contemporary Award at the APRA Awards.
The Art of Pizza
Opera for 2 sopranos, mezzo, high tenor, 8 or 9 singers doubling small roles and chorus, accompanied by 14-piece ensemble
Libretto by Anna Maria dell’Oso
The Art of Pizza was commissioned by Chamber Made Opera with funding from the Australia Council.
About the work
The Art of Pizza is about money, the corporate world and greed. It is set in a shopping mall in the Sydney suburb of Cabramatta in the early 1980s, at a time when there was still a significant Italian population based there as Asian immigrants were moving into the area. The story focuses on 3 women. Gina, an Italian woman whose husband has left her, runs a struggling pizza joint. Rosie, a Cambodian refugee is her volatile cook. She also works at night as an office cleaner and with her fellow cleaners gambles on the stock exchange with information gleaned from the office rubbish bins to raise money for her daughter’s higher education. Thida, her daughter, is still at school and works part-time in the mall’s supermarket.
The pizza joint is taken over by a pizza franchise, but Rosie continues to make her unorthodox pizzas rather than following the approved recipes. Gina falls for her contact in the pizza world, then her ex returns, now reformed — he has seen the light. And Rosie, haunted by her memories of the Pol Pot years, gambles with her employer’s money.
Written as an opera, but with rather too complex a story line, this piece would work well as a musical by retaining the songs, converting the recitative to dialogue and conveying the Cambodian back story in film, with traditional Cambodian musicians, rather than text, evoking the flashbacks.
Instrumentation
The Art of Pizza is scored for: flute/piccolo, oboe, clarinet/bass clarinet, bassoon; horn, trumpet (C), trombone; percussion (2), harp; violins (2), viola, cello and double bass. Tape of electronic sounds also required.
Score
Borrow the score from SOUNZ.
The Journey of Mataatua Whare — the house that came home
unstaged opera in 4 sections for soprano, baritone, bass, SATB chorus and orchestra, with video and images prepared by Tessa Petersen.
Text in Māori and English by the composer.
Mataatua was commissioned by Tessa Petersen and the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra for matariki 2025. The first public performance took place on 28 June 2025 in Dunedin Town Hall with Rebecca Ryan (soprano), Tomairangi Henare (baritone), Paul Whelan (bass) and the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra and chorus conducted by James Judd.
A private performance for Ngāti Awa was given by Opus Orchestra with the same soloists conducted by by Peter Walls in the Mataatua wharenui in Whakatane on 22 June.
About the work
This project was the vision Tessa Petersen, concertmaster of Dunedin Symphony Orchestra. Our collaboration involved extensive research, and consultation with iwi. We were honoured to have the wonderful support of Ngāti Awa, particularly that of Tā Hirini Moko Mead, and the South Island iwi Kaitahu, whose aroha surrounded Mataatua while it was in Ōtepoti Dunedin.
Mataatua tells the true story of the great wharenui Mataatua, built in Whakatane in1875 by Ngāti Awa. After a devastating period of war, land confiscations and contagious illnesses, the whare was built to recreate and honour the sacred ancestral figures that had been destroyed, and to encourage unity between the several iwi who had travelled to Aotearoa on Mataatua waka.
Against the will of the iwi, the house was ‘borrowed’ by the New Zealand government to be displayed in the Sydney International Exhibition, but the ownership of the house was soon lost sight of, and it travelled to Melbourne and London, where it spent 40 years in storage in the basement of the Victoria and Albert Museum. It returned to Dunedin in 1925 where it stood in Tūhura, the Otago Museum, for over 60 years before returning to Whakatane in 2011.
The tribulations Mataatua went through, being disassembled and rebuilt many times over the years, makes a very compelling and dramatic story. In the work, the baritone represents Te Ao Māori and is at times the voice of Ngāti Awa wordlessly lamenting the loss of their taonga. The bass represents the pākehā world assuming characters of a government official and a Waitangi tribunal judge, while the soprano represents the voice and the presence of Mataatua wharenui.
Instrumentation
Mataatua is scored for 2(doubling piccolo)222; 2211; harp, timpani, 2 percussion and strings.
Score
The score will be available from SOUNZ after the premiere performance.
Reviews
The Dunedin premiere was reviewed by Brenda Harwood for The Star.
History writ large in concert — Dunedin Symphony Orchestra
The Otago Daily Times published a review by Judy Bellingham.
Performances brilliantly crafted, balanced — Otago Daily Times
A review by Helen White was also published in New Zealand Opera News Summer Issue December 2025–February 2026 describing it as ‘an outstanding piece of theatre’.