A monthly newsletter about all things new opera & opera adjacent in Australia.
All the new work we can find in Australia for the month of October.
EUCALYPTUS
Victorian Opera & Opera Australia
MELBOURNE
Eucalyptus is Jonathan Mills' new opera based on Murray Bail’s beloved novel. It’s part Australian fairy tale and part musical evocation of the Australian bush. The score is mysterious and colourful, with moments of dramatic intensity and hushed beauty. The libretto by Meredith Oakes is poetic and spare.
Eucalyptus is an ageless story of love and longing about a daughter and a father.
Unable to bear the thought of losing Ellen, her father announces a competition. He sets an impossible task: only a man who can name all the trees on his land may marry his daughter.
As suitors cross the world to try their luck, Ellen encounters a stranger amongst her father’s trees: a storyteller with enchanting tales of faraway lands.
Renowned Australian playwright and director Michael Gow directs this new production, with designs by Simone Romaniuk. Desiree Frahn and Simon Meadows create the roles of Ellen and her father, with Orchestra Victoria conducted by Tahu Matheson.
DATE: 16 October - 19 October
TIME: 7:30pm
PLACE: The Palais, Melbourne
Srn https://www.victorianopera.com.au/production/eucalyptus/ for more information.
The Lyre Bird's Voice
Victorian Opera - Student Production
MELBOURNE
Fun fact, no company in this country has made as much new work for the opera stage as Victorian Opera. Since 2016, they have created almost as many new works as they have produced from the classical canon! (I have a pretty pie chart if you're interested ;)
In partnership with Montsalvat and as part of their commitment to creating new work, the New Work Opera Studio is a program where people aged 15 – 25 can create new work together. This year's program sees emerging artists work over the school holidays to create a work for public performance. Tickets are just $15 and are a great way to support new work and new artists.
"One day, the Lyrebird’s trick of mimicry goes too far and they face a harsh punishment: the Lyrebird is banished by the birds and cursed to mimic only what they hear.
Isolated and struggling to fit in, the Lyrebird wanders alone, imitating the sounds of the wind and rain. But everything changes when they meet Lord Emu, they bond over their shared experiences of not fitting in and being misunderstood. Their budding friendship is put to the test when the Lyrebird hears the dangerous sound of a domestic cat on the loose and the two must work together to use their voices for good and save their community.
This coming-of-age story highlights the struggles of not fitting in and the power of friendship and understanding."
DAY; 4 October
TIME: 10:30 am & 1:00 pm
PLACE: Monsalvat, Eltham
See https://www.victorianopera.com.au/production/the-lyrebirds-voice/#ticket-information for more information
MOTHER
A co–production with
Sydney Conservatorium of Music & NIDA
This special collaboration premieres four short new operas created by postgraduate students from NIDA and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music that explore aspects of the mother and motherhood, from personal to political, from quirky to queer. From the bloodlines of womanhood to the birth of a Star Baby, from a snakeskin nightmare to the finale of a reality television competition to find the next pop superstar, these captivating music dramas range across musical idioms and showcase a new generation of musical storytellers.
This co-production is directed by Lindy Hume, one of Australia’s great directors with more than 50 major productions across Australasia and a long line of international work stretching from Berlin to London to Seattle.
In Cosmic Utero Music by Aija Draguns, Libretto by Bianca Watkins
The Lullaby Music by Hao Zhen, Libretto by Lily Thomson
Menarche Music by Jessica O’Donoghue, Libretto by Rebecca Duke and Karina Young
M.TH.R Music by Oliver John Cameron, Libretto by Xavier Hazard, Megan Rundle and Oliver John Cameron.
Directed by Lindy Hume, Dramaturgy by Dr Sally Blackwood
DAY: 28th October - 2 November
TIME: TBA PLACE: Parade Theatre, NIDA
For more info go to https://www.nida.edu.au/news-and-events/student-productions/spring-season/mother/
Please, as always, let us know of any recitals, productions, developments or performances that we should be aware of, and we will include them in future blog posts and on our instagram account.
This blog is in no way sponsored by any of the companies mentioned* and is created by FLUXUS to celebrate contemporary Australian Opera.
*OPEN TO OFFERS
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