| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 12-Oct-2012 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Heady stuff: A visceral production of Salome at Sydney Opera House |
 Salome was a huge, scandalous success at its 1905 première, and stagings of this, Richard Strauss’ third opera, have continued to shock audiences over the past century. This is hardly to be wondered at: after all, the title character’s final monologue ends with her kissing the severed head of John the Baptist, whom she has had executed for spurning her advances. The trifecta of religion, sex and violence was very much to the fore in Opera Australia’s new production, designed by Gale Edwards and her colleagues, which amped up the brutality and raunchiness considerably.Read full review... | |
| 18-Jul-2012 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Opera Australia pushes boundaries with Korngold's Die tote Stadt |
 Korngold’s Die tote Stadt is an extraordinary opera, an often underrated masterpiece of the 20th century. On the face of it, it has a simple plot – the protagonist Paul, unable to overcome the death of his wife, falls in love with another woman, Marietta, similar to his dead wife in many ways. Overcome with feelings of guilt and betrayal, he eventual kills Marietta, only to wake up and discover it was all a dream. This is, however, a simple plot with deep contemporary resonances.
Read full review... | |
