Wellington Opera presents a new opera by Dame Gillian Whitehead (Ngāi Te Rangi, Tūhoe)

'Kaua e mate wheke, mate ururoa’ | ‘Don’t die like an octopus, die like a hammerhead shark’

Gallipoli, 1915. A captain in the Native Contingent disobeys his commander’s orders to save the lives of his men.  

A true story of the heroism and humiliation of Captain Roger Dansey, a Māori soldier on the frontline of a European war, Mate Ururoa is an urgent new chamber opera from legendary New Zealand composer Dame Gillian Whitehead (Ngāi Te Rangi, Tūhoe).  
With the originally planned 2021 premiere at New York’s Carnegie Hall cancelled due to the pandemic, Wellington Opera is proud to present the world premiere of this important new work by one of Aotearoa’s greatest living artists here in Pōneke.  

“Whitehead’s libretto is powerful” — Elizabeth Kerr, Fivelines  

Performed in English and te reo Māori by Māori-American baritone David Tahere alongside acclaimed taonga pūoro practitioner and vocalist Ariana Tikao, with director Sara Brodie and Aotearoa's leading new music ensemble, Stroma, conducted by Hamish McKeich. 

This performance also features Notes from the Front (Songs for Corporal Aitken), by Ross Harris, with text by Vincent O’Sullivan. Performed by Aotearoa’s much-loved tenor Richard Greager, violinist Matthew Ross and pianist Emma Sayers. 

This set of songs is about Alexander Aitken, the brilliant mathematician and gifted amateur musician, who managed to smuggle a violin through Gallipoli and France, playing it in the trenches.  

Alexander Aitken enlisted with the Otago Infantry as part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. 

Surtitles in English.

World Premiere

7:30pm Friday 11 July 2025

7:30pm Saturday 12 July 2025

2:30pm Sunday 13 July 2025

Tickets $35 - $95 (+ booking fees)
Run time: Approximately 55 minutes

See Ticketing T&Cs.