The Monster in the Maze

Facing adversity, could you find your way home?

Presented by New Zealand Opera, the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Auckland Philharmonia, this exciting community opera directed by Anapela Polata’ivao ONZM (Tinā, Red White and Brass, Wild Dogs Under My Skirt) will see the myth of the minotaur told as never before.

Want to join our community choirs for this production? Click here to register your interest.

When King Minos defeats the Athenians, he metes out his punishment in the cruellest way possible: by destroying their hope for the future. Every year, the king compels the conquered Athenians to send him their youth, to be fed to the terrible beast at the centre of his island’s maze: the Minotaur. As King Minos triumphs, his great monster “will eat your future, it will rip your hope, it will stamp your youth, your children in the sand.”

As the vindictive king will soon learn, however, these youth will not accept their fate without a fierce challenge. The Monster in the Maze is a story about resistance; about justice; about finding power not in oppression, but in collectivism. Fittingly, then, it’s also a groundbreaking work in its form: a community-focused and community-driven opera in which young and community singers and players stand proudly shoulder-to-shoulder with their professional counterparts, and in which both are integral.

The Monster in the Maze has been roundly praised by audiences, participants and reviewers worldwide, and in its Aotearoa debut season, it will serve as a gorgeous articulation of New Zealand Opera’s reciprocal community kaupapa.

Tickets are just $25 for students and under-25s, or $45 for adults. Purchase 6 or more adult tickets and pay just $30 per ticket.

Please note: To book with this discounted group rate in Christchurch, email premiump@ticketek.co.nz. For groups of 10 or more in any city, email boxoffice@nzopera.co.nz to book.

The Auckland season of The Monster in the Maze is supported by Auckland Live.