Farr's score for children's opera Kia Ora Khalid is a vehicle for stories told about refugees and their migration to New Zealand. It is set in a New Zealand playground over a lunch hour and brings together the stories of four students: Tom, a Paheka New Zealander; Serena, a Samoan; Trang, a first-generation Cambodian New Zealander; and Khalid, a Tampa refugee from Afghanistan.
Remember, this is a 55-minute mini-opera, not unlike a Brecht/Weill Lehrstucke, with a didactic purpose (a plea for racial tolerance) but Dave Armstrong's strong, varied and often amusing libretto and Gareth Farr's driving rhythms...and, of course, the four leading players kept a full house made up of all ages and races spellbound.
