Mana Moana: NZSO and Signature Choir celebrate Pasifika culture at Auckland’s Spark Arena

Mana Moana was a celebration of songs across the Pacific.

REVIEW:

Seven thousand voices scream. There’s rich, traditional melody, eloquent classical tunes, soft lights projected like ocean waves and plenty of humour at Spark Arena. The excitement from the Pasifika community crescendos as choral singers and orchestral musicians adorned with sei collide in a world-first - Mana Moana: A Fusion of Symphony of the Pacific is here.

In partnership with Live Nation, what ensued was an energetic and emotional two-hour set from the 80-person Pasifika choir, The Signature Choir, and 78 musicians from the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO). Following an opening prayer (as MC and comedian Tofiga Fepulea’i put it, “Like all things Pasifika, we start with God and we finish with God,”) and a breathtaking rendition of Mikhail Glinka’s Overture in D major, exuberant spectators were primed to celebrate cherished songs from Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau.

Laughing Samoans star and MC of the night, Tofiga Fepulea'i

As Fātuga Su’ifefiloi Fa’asamoa kicked off, a heavenly, blood-orange glow radiated behind the singers, casting a sense of divine power. The full-house arena relentlessly cheered as Samoans sang along proudly.

A dynamic favourite hailing from Tokelau, Te Hiva was sure to get people moving - though one moved more than others. An elderly woman got up from her chair and burst into siva in front of the beaming audience who ferociously cheered her on.

The sweet, sombre melody of Isa Lei gently dripped and seeped into the thirsty crowd, now soaked in a hue of ocean blue - a Fiji blue. And my heart broke.

My mother, a muse of emotions, often exclaimed Isa lei! in moments of sorrow, surprise, joy and regret. So then I remembered her moments - our moments - of sorrow, surprise, joy and regret. They appeared one after another, like stills from an ‘80s View-Master.

As a Signature Choir soloist arrived at a crescendo, signalling the end of the Fijian farewell song, I yearned for family. I yearned for the ones living and those lingering as ghosts. I welled up in tears as I listened to echoes of Suva, Taveuni and Labasa. I yearned for my homeland, and the homelands of four generations before me.

But it wasn’t time to say goodbye just yet. Mana Moana reminded us again - as they have been with each performance - that we were here to celebrate. An unexpected joyous number prompted us to our feet; clapping, cheering, swaying our arms like sea waves with phone torches on, as if hundreds of fireflies had joined our party. When 10 or so galvanised fans, mostly elders, lifted from their seats and broke into traditional dance in front of the stage, the crowd roared with pride.

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Following a standing ovation, there was another special moment: a humbled audience returned the favour and sang in unison for the talent on stage. A few performers, including the director of the Signature Choir Fepulea’i Helen Tupa’i, were visibly overwhelmed with emotion, wiping away tears. I, too, was overwhelmed, goosebumps rising.

This is what community is. This is what passion is. This is what celebration is.

Mana Moana, this was a privilege.