Christopher BLAKE: Bitter Calm (Act 1)

Bitter calm is a full length opera for five principals, chorus and orchestra in two acts. It is based on an incident at Motuarohia Island in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand in the 1840s. It is a drama of human passions in the contexts of land alienation and tensions between Maori and new settlers. Premiered at the New Zealand Internal Festival for the Arts in 1994 and filmed for television. Performed by Wendy Dixon, Jenny Wollerman, Iosefa Enari, Roger Howell, G Harris, Wellington City Opera Chorus, Wellington Regional Orchestra, conducted by Patrick Thomas and directed by James Beaumont.