The man of many guises

Benjamin Fifita Makisi - the name says it all with its sonorous coupling of English, Tongan and Samoan. The Sydney-based tenor, who plays Count Almaviva in NBR New Zealand Opera's production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville, is a charmer.

He stresses over and over again how important this cultural mix has always been to him as a singer, ever since student days when he performed a selection of arias for the opening of Victoria University's new Adam Concert Room dressed in full Tongan regalia.

Makisi has maintained a low-key presence in this country until last year, when he carried off top honours in Sydney's McDonald's Aria contest, three years after Jonathan Lemalu was similarly honoured.

He admits winning was "the icing on the cake".

"It's made me work a lot harder and become more focused and goal-orientated because I wasn't sure where I was going. Opera is such a waiting game until your voice starts growing."

Now all the waiting has been rewarded with the role of Count Almaviva, and the singer's more than happy to chat about "this very clever man who can put on all these disguises".

"The count's the one that has to instigate the whole thing. Figaro might give him the ideas, but he's the one that comes out on top. It's like the boy pulling out all the stops trying to win the one he loves, just like our own young days when we were back in college and used to tell all the girls we were captain of the [First] XV."

The big tackles in Barber are the musical challenges - "it's very much bel canto with all that demanding florid writing" - as well as some unexpected physical routines, although director Carmel Carroll checks that her singers are comfortable with her demands.

"She's always asking whether something is too awkward," says Makisi. "There's a place where I have to climb up a ladder while I'm singing. No problem, I said - as a kid I used to be on the jungle gym every day."

Makisi is thrilled the opera is travelling around the country. "So many New Zealanders can have it in their own town - and in Italian. Everybody said to do it in English, but that's too easy. If we do it in Italian with subtitles we're bringing the best of the best, not just going halfway."

One suspects Makisi probably considers his own personal best came when he was given the inaugural Iosefa Enari Memorial Award last year. The late Enari, an inspirational singer, was the force behind Classical Polynesia, the runaway success of the 1998 Wellington International Festival.

He was also a mentor and role model for the younger man. "When I was in Classical Polynesia, I'd look for praise, but Iosefa wasn't one to bring out all the praises. He'd say it was good, but kept it at that."

He still hopes to fulfil Enari's dream of taking Classical Polynesia to Samoa, but in the meantime he would like to find a way of incorporating Tongan and Samoan folksongs into his own repertoire.

"My parents and grandparents have asked me to do this because there is some wonderful music out there. I don't want to be another Jamoa Jam or Pacific Soul Sisters. I want a strict regime, to do it operatically with much more emphasis on the voice."

We talk about the music of Queen Salote and an upcoming all-Polynesian production of The Pearl Fishers in Tahiti, in which Makisi is scheduled to play Nadir, which seems far removed from the stress of touring in winter with its associated aches, pains and bugs.

Makisi survived a chilly Wellington - "my mother came up with all the TLC I needed, rubbing coconut oil and Vicks into me".

Auckland audiences need not worry, he will be in good hands. "I'll be in the heart of the island country," says Makisi, "and all of my uncles and aunties have lots of that special island medication."

Performance:

* What: The Barber of Seville

* Where & when: Bruce Mason Theatre Friday & Saturday; Sky City Theatre June 17, 18, 20-22