Embellished ‘Creation’
memorable

By John Berger
Special to the Star-Bulletin

A rose by any other name still smells sweet. When and where hula may cease to be hula is a matter of opinion but it certainly looked like hula when the men and women of Halau Na Mamo 'O Pu'uanahulu performed with the Hawai'i International Choral Festival Chorus and Orchestra in the Blaisdell Concert Hall Saturday.

Dancers in conventional modern hula attire utilized familiar hula movements in adding Hawaiian ambience to the Oahu Choral Society's production of Franz Joseph Haydn's magnificent oratorio, "The Creation."

It was a successful and logical blending of the Judeo-Christian creation story and Hawaiian dance. Christianity has been part of Hawaiian culture for over 150 years, and hula has incorporated non-indigenous musical instruments and fabrics, along with Western standards of dress and modesty, for well over a century. Adding hula to Haydn's account of God's creation of the Universe, the earth, and Adam and Eve, was questionable only in that "The Creation" is a complete work without embellishment.

With Zofia Kilanowicz (soprano), Jonathan Mack (tenor) and Honolulu expatriate Leslie Tennent (baritone), as featured vocalists, a traditional staging would have been a stirring experience on its own merits.

Kumu hula William "Sonny" Ching and OCS artistic director Timothy Carney used hula only to accent key passages in the narrative. The additional visual element made the performance especially memorable.

THE audience was shamefully small for such an artistic event. Even those with objections to cross-culturalism should have been there to assess the performance. Almost all in attendance joined in giving the performers a well-earned standing ovation. The applause and cheering increased dramatically when Ching joined the others on stage.

Tennent was an imposing presence throughout as he portrayed Raphael and then Adam. He appeared to be having a great time singing for a hometown audience and certainly did not disappoint; his interpretation of the lyrics enhanced their impact in key passages.

Mack was a noble and stately Uriel whose voice and demeanor mirrored the benevolent satisfaction of the angels as they recounted the majesty of God's great works. Kilanowicz (Gabriel/Eve) was challenged by the volume of the chorus early on but sang gloriously thereafter.

Haydn's extraordinary composition provides ample material for vivid mental images, but the use of modern lighting to further suggest the turmoil of creation, the greening of the earth, and the rising and setting of the sun, added a facet to the experience not possible when "The Creation" was first performed in 1799.

The combination of hula and European orchestral music brought to mind the fascinating piece commissioned several years a go by the late John Dominis Holt, and also the "ballet kahiko" presented by the Brothers Cazimero during their years at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

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