Toi Toi Opera once again brings us a most innovative and effective opera experience with this superbly staged production of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Riders to the Sea.

Creative programming by Margot Button surrounds the opera with shorter contributions by Peter Bellamy, John Ireland and two New Zealand pieces – by David Hamilton and Gillian Whitehead respectively – which complement and enhance a very imaginative and rewarding presentation.

Mahina-Ina Kingi-Kaui’s Karakia and Taonga Puoro interludes further enrich the concept, making the main work’s universal relevance all the more palpable. Kingi-Kaui does seem a little restricted by the classical formality of the context, leaving me feeling that a little more cultural flair might have even greater impact.

The performance of the shanty “Roll Down” from Peter Bellamy’s folk opera The Transports could also benefit from letting its hair down a little more but, even so, it is beautifully and movingly sung by Toi Toi’s male ensemble. The women then join the men for David Hamilton’s “The Moon is Distant from the Sea”, effectively setting the mood for the opera proper.

Riders to the Sea is just a single act, but in its brief forty-minutes the tragedy that unfolds, along with the tragic family history that makes it even more heartbreaking, is masterfully communicated by Vaughan Williams’ handling of J.M. Synge’s text. All the principal singers meet the considerable demands of the composer’s almost Sprechstimme style of word-setting convincingly, as well as fully communicating the emotional range of the text.

In the short role of Bartley, Nigel Withington (effectively covering tonight for an indisposed Alex Robinson) could benefit from a more baritonal vocal quality, but all three women are excellent. Louisa Pilkington has just the right timbre for the tragic Maurya, demonstrating a range of vocal colour that expresses the character’s complex emotional range from bitterness, stoicism, remorse and, finally, to resignation. As Maurya’s daughters, both Matilda Wickbom and Erin Connelly-Whyte communicate the volatile fluctuations of fear, anxiety and reproach, not to mention their own grief, with impressive vocal tone and clarity of diction.

Offstage and onstage vocalisation from a small women’s chorus is finely sung and adds considerably to the atmosphere of this very atmospheric opera. The instrumental ensemble, play superbly under the musical direction of Mark Hodgkinson, with uniformly excellent wind soloists; and the sonic contribution from timpani and percussion is subtly and effectively handled, especially the ‘sea machine’ effect that’s indicated in the score. Matthew Oswin’s piano accompaniment in the supporting items is also an effective aspect of the instrumental variety.

However, I’m not going to pretend that I didn’t miss Vaughan Williams’ brilliantly conceived original orchestration. The way he uses the strings in this opera, both in ensemble and in solos, is a vital part of the work’s genius. In Toi Toi’s presentation a small organ is used to fill out the texture, but in this performance its contribution is far too understated to replace not only the strings but also the composer’s telling use of muted horns and trumpet in so many places. Even the wind instrument distribution is not as indicated in the score, but the playing is forthright and firm-toned so that we get some welcome degree of expressive colour. 

Welcome, too, as the two following pieces are, by John Ireland and, especially, Holly Evans’ poised and compelling performance of Gillian Whitehead’s “Nau mai e tea o marama”, I couldn’t help feeling that they would have been better placed before the opera whose touching conclusion would have made a more theatrically poignant ending. But Sara Brodie’s direction is otherwise highly effective, so that the whole production impresses with conviction and imagination. And Brodie’s use of the venue, with both instrumental ensemble and singers on stage and a simple but very effective set, along with The Piano’s wonderfully opulent acoustic, makes for a most rewarding night at the opera.

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