The Monster in the Maze with Anapela Polataivao

I spoke with Anapela on Zoom ahead of her opera rehearsals to discuss the production and her busy creative schedule. My first question was whether she had directed opera before.

“This is my first time directing for the NZ Opera, but in terms of directing an opera, I have done one before. It was in South Auckland at the Nathan Homestead and was called Alofagia; Le Opera. It was my own creation, something I did for the community. It was all in Samoan and completely original. We had Sol3 Mio as the stars and Poulima Salima who composed most of the music and Tupua Tigafua who did the choreography. Such a great group of people to work with… So, to answer your question, yes and no.”

With that settled, I launched into my standard first question and asked what audiences can expect from The Monster in the Maze.

“Epicness,” Anapela said without hesitating. “Because of the numbers. We have 150 people in the ensemble. Plus, four main characters and 14 youths who play an important role. It’s a community piece. We’re still in the process of putting it all together. We haven’t started rehearsals yet – we start next week – so it’s still all about logistics. It’s a mammoth piece, just thinking about navigating that many people on stage. It’s going to be fun.”

The Monster in the Maze is a relatively new opera, first performed just 10 years ago. I asked Anapela if she thought this made it more relatable to modern audiences, despite being based on an ancient Greek myth.

“With the current political climate, it’s easy to draw parallels. You’ve got the King of Crete and the Athenians, and one side wants to crush the youth and the hope and life of the country. It’s easy to find the relevance. You don’t even have to look to deeply into it to see how this story reflects things still happening in 2025.”

And, I suggested, have been happening in all the centuries in between.

“Oh, absolutely. And it’s just so much more prominent. You look at what’s happening in America, in Israel, in Palestine it’s all there.”

For some, opera can seem like an acquired taste, so I asked Anapela how this production will reach a broader audience.

“I’m focused on the community and the storylines. It’s something I understand because I’m not an opera-goer. I’m not the traditional audience. However, working with Sol3 Mio the first time, I got a window in. Opera is often seen as elitist, but when you’re in it, listening to them… You can hear how they’ve been trained. It’s all so specific and pronounced and detailed. You can understand how it’s a very specific art form. When I do theatre, I often ask for the actors to be mic’ed depending on the size of the theatre so they’re not pushing or straining to be heard. I didn’t understand that about opera. They’re not mic’ed. This is the instrument. It took a bit to get used to, but I came to appreciate their training and this form which is so incredible.

“But I’m privileged to have had time in there. People on the outside – normal people – they’ll ask why? What’s the big deal? I hope this experience - especially for our community - they find some kind of appreciation for this art form, and it delivers an emotional story that moves you to tears. I know that music and singing moves me to tears. Things might look over the top, like it’s too much, but it’s a different way to articulate something. When we bring in the community, it may be a challenge to keep their attention because it is all so specific, the music is all to the beat. It’s going to be so interesting to get into rehearsals next week and to see how it all pans out.”

With so many exciting and talented Polynesian singers making it big in opera, I asked if that might be helping to create a new audience for opera in the Pacific community.

“Yes, I do actually. Their voices are different to the ear. They have a different resonance and it’s like in acting; you can hear people’s different experiences in life by the way they deliver a line. It sits differently in the body. When I hear Pacific singers, it sits differently, and I tune into them more because of my relationship to those experiences. It’s intrinsic, a kind of knowing. So yes, I think it is opening things up to a whole new group of people. I mean the Sol3 Mio boys, they took New Zealand by storm and now they’re galivanting all over the planet, doing incredible things and taking over those spaces. It’s so much about what they have to offer. Yes, they have gorgeous voices and this beautiful art form, but it’s also them and their souls. They’re such wonderful human beings and that shines through.”

With such a lot packed into the last couple of years, I asked Anapela if she felt she was at the top of her career and what she has coming up next – maybe a well-deserved break?

“Break? What is that word, Kate?” she asked with a laugh. “What does sleep mean? The calendar is already starting to pile up for next year. The first six months is already blocked out. We have a presentation of The Savage Coloniser Show [performed at the 2024 Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts] coming up in Ottawa in November, so right after this I’ll be going into rehearsals for that and taking it to Canada. And then there will probably be a tour of the show in 2026 through to 2027. There’s a lot…”

With such a vast and varied resume across theatre, film, directing, acting and writing, I asked if there was one thing she likes doing the most.

“It’s amazing to do everything, but to be honest, sometimes acting is the thing because someone else can do the thinking. You just learn your lines, show up, don’t be an egg and do your thing. But in these positions, you have to do everything else. But even doing Tīnā was a lot. I didn’t think it was going to blow up the way it did, and I didn’t know about things like press junkets. They’re something everyone else does, but of course, I’d never been the lead before. That’s been relentless, flying from city to city, island to island. I think one day I did 25 interviews in one go. And of course, we shot the film years ago, so when they ask how I felt in this scene or about very specific moments, I’m wracking my poor perimenopausal brain to remember. Especially since I’ve done so many other things since.”

Our time was rapidly running out, so I asked if there was anything else Anapela wanted to add.

“Just come. Have a shared experience with us. It’s going to be so much fun. I’m really excited about it. I say that today. Next week, when we’re in rehearsals, it’ll be a whole other story. Like what the hell was I thinking!”

The Monster in The Maze is in Christchurch 5-6 September, in Wellington 12-13 September and in Auckland 19-20 September. You can purchase tickets here.

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