The Pinchgut Opera has announced its 2027 season celebrating its 25 years. In a statement, Artistic Director Erin Helyard said “In 2027, Pinchgut turns 25, and I turn 50. So this is a personal season for me. It brings together composers, works, artists and dear friends who mean a great deal to me.” The season opens with John Frederick Lampe’s {…}
(Photo credit: Anna Kučera) Pinchgut Opera’s Artistic Director, Erin Helyard, had long wanted to present “The First Murder” by Alessandro Scarlatti. This production, which premiered on Saturday May 23, was the second by Pinchgut to be presented in the Roslyn Packer Theatre in Sydney’s Walsh Bay, Pinchgut’s normal home being Angel Place recital hall, a concert venue suited to the {…}
The Pinchgut Opera is set to present the Australian premiere of Alessandro Scarlatti’s “The First Murder (Il primo omicidio).” The work is a rare Baroque piece that returns to one of humanity’s oldest myths, not simply to tell the story of Cain and Abel, but to explore what follows. “The First Murder” is a story of becoming human and the {…}
(Photo credit: Anna Kucera) In his notes on the work, Erin Helyard, conductor of Pinchgut Opera’s recent “Messiah,” states that there are “about 10 identifiably different versions of ‘Messiah’ that Händel appears to have approved, developed, or tolerated following its composition in 1741.” “Why perform the first version,” he asked, posing a question by which to judge this, Pinchgut’s final {…}
(Photo credit: Alison Johnston) Eugene Lynch’s production of “Maid Made Boss,” Pinchgut Opera’s latest presentation, revealed so convincingly what conductor Erin Helyard had spoken-of in a podcast on the company’s website: just how pivotal “La serva padrona” (to use the 1733 work’s original title) must have been in the history of opera, particularly when seen in France (home of the {…}
The Pinchgut Opera has announced its 2026 season. The season opens with Pinchgut’s first-ever orchestral concert, Bach and Telemann I: Concertos and Sonatas. The first installment of a two-part series in 2026 will feature music by Telemann and Bach. Performance Dates: March 28 & 29, 2026 The second production of the season will be Scarlatti’s “The First Murder (Il primo {…}
(Photo credit: Cassandra Hannagan) How many people on first learning about Purcell’s “The Fairy Queen” have thought, “Why would anyone have inserted masques between the Acts of Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream?’ Did someone think it would improve on Shakespeare?” Some writers have conceded that “Fairy Queen” is mostly, or only, worth staging these days because of Henry Purcell’s music, {…}
Pinchgut Opera is set to present Purcell’s “The Fairy Queen,” The work will be directed by Netia Jones, who is known for her innovative use of technology and projection. She will transform this Baroque masterpiece into a visually dynamic and immersive experience for this production, marking her Australian debut. In a statement, Jones said, “I want the audience to experience {…}
(Photo: BrettBoardman) Undoubtedly, Sydney is coming of age as a culturally vibrant city, with thought-provoking, often superior productions of concerts, musicals, plays and operas. This long-awaited but most welcomed process is well illustrated by two excellent opera performances within less than a week that would be hailed anywhere in the world: a few days after Richard Wagner’s “Die Walküre” had {…}
(Photo Credit: Cassandra Hannagan) Audience-members arriving at Sydney’s Angel Place Recital Hall for Pinchgut Opera’s latest production, Purcell’s opera “Dido and Aeneas,” walked in on a boxed theatrical space in which ensemble-members crossed and re-crossed the stage folding linen. While some audience-members were to be heard wondering what the folding signified, the repeated activity, minutes before the opera started, could {…}
(Photo: Cassandra Hannagan) The enthusiastic reaction of the audience on opening night for Pinchgut Opera’s latest production of Handel’s 1711 opera, “Rinaldo,” makes it easy to understand why this opera was so popular at the time of its premiere 312 years ago. It is also important to bear in mind how operatic productions back then would have boasted a lot {…}