Opera Australia has announced the appointment of French violinist Matthieu Arama as Concertmaster for the Opera Australia Orchestra. the news comes after a worldwide search and Arama will join the OAO in August this year. Arama is currently the Concertmaster of the orchestra of the Opéra National de Bordeaux and he has been guest and soloist with some of the {…}
Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour, now in its thirteenth year, is a cultural entity in Australia, made possible with the ongoing financial assistance of the Japanese businessman, philanthropist and spiritual leader, the mysterious Dr Haruhisa Handa. This time in every year (except for 2020, due to COVID cancellations), an enormous stage is erected on the water of Sydney Harbour, while {…}
(Photo: Keith Saunders In her thought-provoking program essay on “Idomeneo,” the final opera in Opera Australia’s 2024 summer season which premiered at Sydney Opera House on Feb 20, director Lindy Hume quotes Anne Carson’s “Grief Lessons” of 2008: “Myths are stories about people who become too big for their lives temporarily, so that they crash into other lives or brush {…}
Opera Australia has announced that the cast of “West Side Story.” opening on March 22, hail from all over Australia. The performers come from Mount Gambier, Wagga Wagga, Alice Springs, Gold Coast, Canberra, Newcastle, Melbourne and Adelaide. There is also one international cast member from the U.S. The cast includes First Nations soprano Nina Korbe as Maria and Canberran Billy {…}
(Photo Credit: Keith Saunders) Opera Australia’s summer season continued on February 8 with a chance to hear Handel’s favorite among his oratorios. What was it? 1739’s “Saul?” “Messiah” of 1742? Neither. In a coproduction with baroque specialists Pinchgut Opera, Opera Australia presented “Theodora,” Handel’s oratorio from 1750. This was a semi-staged version directed by Lindy Hume, who has been Opera {…}
(Photo credit: Keith Saunders) Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” has a bit of everything – part-serious opera, part-singspiel, part-burlesque, part-ritual. Music commentators often seem much exercised with how to categorize it. That thought arose while watching Kate Gaul’s new production of “The Magic Flute” on February 1. This was the third opera in Opera Australia’s 2024 summer season at Sydney Opera {…}
Photo credit: Keith Saunders Opera Australia’s 2024 season at the Sydney Opera House continued on January 12th with a beguiling production of Gluck’s 18th century “Orpheus and Eurydice.” Originally a co-production between Opera Queensland and acrobatic troupe Circa, which Opera Australia now offered as their contribution to this year’s Festival of Sydney, this is a summer event that annually offers {…}
(Photo: Keith Saunders) Sarah Giles’s production of “La traviata,” currently playing at Sydney Opera House, comes across as a very intelligent piece of theater. Already seen at Opera Queensland, State Opera of South Australia and West Australian Opera, this production opened Opera Australia’s 2024 summer season on January 2. Much of its effectiveness was achieved through devices that increased our {…}
(Photo credit: Opera Australia) Opera Australia and Sydney Festival in association with Circa will present the Sydney Premiere of Opera Queensland’s reimagining of Gluck’s “Orpheus & Eurydice” at the Sydney Opera House on Jan. 12. Making his Opera Australia debut in the role of Orfeo is countertenor Christophe Dumaux. He performs alongside Opera Australia principal soprano Cathy-Di Zhang in the {…}
Opera Australia is set to open its 2024 season with the Sydney premiere of”La Traviata.” The production, directed by Sarah Giles, will open on Jan. 2, 2024. The opera is presented in co-production with Opera Queensland, State Opera South Australia, and West Australian Opera. Headlining the cast will be soprano Samantha Clarke in her Opera Australia debut. She is joined {…}
Opera Australia has announced soprano and award-winning cabaret star Ali McGregor and comedian and TV presenter Adam Hills as the host this year’s New Year’s Eve Opera Gala in the Concert Hall at the Sydney Opera House. The Opera Gala will be a wild journey through the world of opera with a distinctly Australian flavor, right in the heart of {…}
