An engaging interpretation

Garnering three Oscar awards in 1994, the movie on which The Piano is based told the tale of a mute Ada Mcgrath, leaving Scotland in the 1850s with her beloved piano and daughter, bound for an arranged marriage in New Zealand.

The film is still highly regarded though, now, it is largely remembered for its sweeping visuals of a wild and desolate land and its highly emotive Michael Nyman score.

That the Royal New Zealand Ballet should bring this tale to the stage seems highly appropriate and The Piano has been anticipated around the country.

The ballet opened masterfully, winning over an admiring audience, the superb video visuals displayed on large, curved moving screens capturing the rugged New Zealand coastline, the anxiety of the landing itself and the difficulties of life in early New Zealand.

To a score featuring some of Nyman’s original score together with pieces by composers such as Schnittke, Brahms and Shostakovich and traditional and contemporary Maori music, the first half goes on to introduce us to the local inhabitants both settlers and natives, but it is in these latter sequences that the ballet lost momentum.

Even though the dance was well executed, both the limited colour design palate and the score seemed to distract us from the main point of the story. However, all was forgiven as the second half focused on the inevitable eternal triangle tale as told by Ada (Abigail Boyle), Alistair (Paul Mathews) and George (Alex Ferreira).

Their solo and pas de deux work was superbly executed throughout, the soaring lifts and twists and turns beautifully depicting the intensity of anguish so inherent in this story.

The choreography of the Czech Jifi Bubenicek matched the brilliant visual design of his brother, Otto, both ensuring the evening was as engaging as any audience member may have hoped.