| Date and venue | Title | Submitted by |
|---|---|---|
| 22-Mar-2013 Handa Opera, Sydney Harbour | Opera Australia's Carmen lights up Sydney's harbour | Oliver Brett |
 There can be fewer more idyllic places in the world to see an opera. Behind the floating stage was Sydney’s harbour bridge and opera house; to the left, the lights of the central business district; and to the right, the glittering lights of the Northern Shore and the occasional ferry making its way to Circular Quay. With last year’s Handa Opera on the Harbour, Verdi’s La Traviata having been named 2012 Australian event of the year, this year’s opera – Bizet’s Carmen – was highly anticipated.Read full review... | ||
| 28-Feb-2013 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Opera Australia serve up a comically modern Orpheus in the Underworld in Sydney | Oliver Brett |
 In his director’s note, Jonathan Biggins writes, ‘All I can hope for is that you go out of the theatre feeling a bit more cheerful than when you came in’. If that was the opera’s aim, then few could claim that it was not successful in achieving it. The ABC’s Limelight magazine describes the production as ‘a razor sharp, satirical romp that’s camper than a row of tents and twice as funny’.Read full review... | ||
| 15-Feb-2013 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | A belly-full of laughs at Opera Australia's production of Verdi's Falstaff | David Larkin |
 Tragedy seems to age better than comedy. The works of Aeschylus have been more influential than those of Aristophanes, and Shakespeare’s darker plays are far more popular than his pure comedies. This same propensity for gloomy subjects can also be seen in the opera world. With notable exceptions in the cases of Mozart and Rossini, the composers whose works are most frequently performed today tend to be better known for their tragedies than their lighter works: think of Puccini, Wagner, Bizet.Read full review... | ||
| 29-Jan-2013 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Efficient Trovatore at the Sydney Opera House | David Larkin |
 Simultaneously one of the most loved and most mocked operas in the canon, Il trovatore has some of Verdi’s catchiest melodies set to one of his silliest plots. Against the backdrop of a 15th-century Spanish war, a cast of nobles, gypsies, nuns and soldiers enact a drama which hinges on that hoariest of dramatic clichés: children swapped at birth.Read full review... | ||
| 24-Jan-2013 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Memorable re-visioning of Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera at the Sydney Opera House | David Larkin |
 “I would ask what the management’s drama has in common with mine. The title? No. The poet? No. The period? No. The place? No. The characters? No.”
This excerpt from Verdi’s legal proceedings against the management of San Carlo, who were trying to foist changes on Un Ballo in Maschera, came vividly to my mind last night at Sydney Opera House. Read full review... | ||
| 17-Oct-2012 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | A world-class Madama Butterfly from Opera Australia | Oliver Brett |
 There is nowhere to hide in Madama Butterfly. It is a well-known opera, contains very little in terms of stage action and changing scenery, is intensely lyrical in its vocal writing, and its orchestral writing is exposed. None of these factors bothered Opera Australia in their latest production, which was superb from beginning to end in every respect.
Read full review... | ||
| 12-Oct-2012 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Heady stuff: A visceral production of Salome at Sydney Opera House | David Larkin |
 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... | ||
| 28-Sep-2012 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Emma Matthews delivers in Opera Australia's Lucia di Lammermoor | David Larkin |
.jpg) For many opera fans, especially here in Australia, the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor is indelibly connected with the late, much lamented Joan Sutherland. She made her breakthrough as Lucia in a Covent Garden production of 1959, and continued to sing the part for over three decades, thankfully leaving several celebrated recordings. All eyes and ears were therefore on Emma Matthews on Friday night, as she took on the role in a new production of Donizetti’s masterpiece at the Sydney Opera House.Read full review... | ||
| 24-Jul-2012 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Latonia Moore shines in Sydney Aida | David Larkin |
.jpg) Virtually every reviewer of Aida mentions elephants, generally only to note their absence: the elephant not in the room, as it were. Like most others, the current Opera Australia production was lacking in pachyderms, but few of last night’s audience will have felt short-changed. We were treated to some of the most thrilling singing I have yet heard at the Sydney Opera House, in a production that was traditional but not unthinkingly so.
Read full review... | ||
| 18-Jul-2012 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Opera Australia pushes boundaries with Korngold's Die tote Stadt | Oliver Brett |
 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... | ||
| 9-Jul-2012 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Opera Australia's Pearl Fishers at Sydney Opera House | Oliver Brett |
 with Henry Choo as Nadir and Nicole Car as Leila..jpg) Georges Bizet's The Pearl Fishers, written some ten years before Carmen, does not enjoy as much recognition as the latter opera. Composed at the age of 25, the opera received harsh criticism from many contemporary critics, although not from Hector Berlioz, who clearly recognised something of Bizet's genius in the work. Many people know the celebrated Pearl Fishers' Duet from Act I; however, the rest of the opera is also a treasure trove of lyrical writing, endearing melodies and simply beautiful music.Read full review... | ||
| 15-Apr-2012 Handa Opera, Sydney Harbour | La Traviata performed by Opera Australia in Sydney Harbour | Oliver Brett |
 I could not have asked for a more magical setting in which to watch Verdi's La Traviata. In front of me was the floating stage, surrounded by gently rippling water glistening in the evening moonlight. On the left rose the buildings of Sydney's central business district, while on my right was the beautiful harbour bridge and opera house.
Read full review... | ||
| 20-Mar-2012 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Così fan tutte at Sydney Opera House | Oliver Brett |
 Another Mozart opera and another intriguing modern production from Opera Australia. The whole opera was presented as entertainment for a wedding reception, with a bride and bridegroom sitting at two corners of the stage, their sole purpose for the production to observe the unfolding comedy on stage. With their backs to the audience, it was almost as if we were their invited wedding guests, enjoying the entertainment with them.
Read full review... | ||
| 28-Feb-2012 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Opera Australia: The Marriage of Figaro with a difference | Oliver Brett |
 From the opening bars of the Overture of Opera Australia’s production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro it was clear that this was going to be a production with a difference. As the orchestra began, the curtain raised to reveal a room, painted in brilliant white, with clothes rails at either end containing maids’ costumes. Gradually the maids entered in their modern clothing and began undressing and putting on their maids’ uniforms, hanging up their jeans and t-shirts on the coat hangers.Read full review... | ||
| 14-Feb-2012 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | The power of love: Opera Australia's Turandot | Oliver Brett |
 in Opera Australias Turandot SS12 ©Branco Gaica (121).jpg) Opera Australia pulled out all the stops for their latest production of Puccini’s Turandot: an excellent cast, fabulous choreography, amazing costumes and a great sense of drama all combined to make it a wonderful production at Sydney Opera House. The Opera Theatre is comparatively small by modern standards and is a very intimate venue in which to see an opera. It has the effect of enveloping the audience and drawing them right into the action.Read full review... | ||
| 27-Jan-2012 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Mozart meets the pantomime in Sydney | Oliver Brett |
 Opera Australia's production of The Magic Flute was advertised as a family-friendly production, and at times felt more like a pantomime than an opera. The English translation attempted to bring the libretto more in line with a modern-day drama, not remaining overly faithful to the original; it thus avoided those sometimes rather forced, awkward translations often associated with operas performed in English. This version of the opera was first performed by the Metropolitan Opera in New York and was directed by Julie Taymor, who had previously done The Lion King.Read full review... | ||
| 25-Oct-2011 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Don Giovanni sung by a superlative cast at Sydney Opera House | Oliver Brett |
 The older I get, the more convinced I become that the heart of Mozart’s genius is to be found in his operas. This is no truer than in Don Giovanni, especially when performed by such a talented cast as it was last night in Sydney Opera House, three hours of the most sublime music. I have always believed that great music does not need any gimmicks and should be able to stand on its own. Maybe that was why last night’s production was so refreshing. There was not one scene change in the whole production.Read full review... | ||
| 20-Sep-2011 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Verdi's early Shakespearian drama | Oliver Brett |
 As the curtain rises at the beginning of Act I, we are greeted with violent flashes of light, rocks strewn across the stage and the witches almost slithering among the rocks, as they make their prophecies to Macbeth that he will eventually become King, prompting him and Lady Macbeth in their murderous, Machiavellian pursuit of power.Read full review... | ||
| 19-Sep-2011 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Opera Australia’s latest La Bohème stands tall among the rest | Alan Yu, alanayu.wordpress.com |
 After the untimely passing of Salvatore Licitra, touted the “new Pavarotti”, in a motor-scooter accident earlier this month, I hardly dare suggest anyone as potential successor to the lyric tenor of the finest Italian tradition, lest he be jinxed. Yet, I would be doing a great disservice to Mexican tenor Diego Torre if I didn’t even make a passing mention of his possible candidacy.
Read full review... | ||
| 25-Aug-2011 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Léhar’s Merry Widow - a lively cast in schmaltzy melodies with a dash of cabaret | Alan Yu, alanayu.wordpress.com |
 Operettas are not supposed to have plausible plots, yet the seemingly implausible plot of Franz Léhar’s Merry Widow cuts to the quick in the current environment of possible sovereign bankruptcy. A “merry” widow would be rather callous in any case. The saccharine-soaked melodies, however, are enough to keep me still. Long an admirer of the Gold and Silver waltz, I am biased.
Read full review... | ||
| 24-Mar-2011 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Opera Australia’s The Barber of Seville is remarkable musical theatre at its best | Alan Yu, alanayu.wordpress.com |
 CBranco Gaica 2.2.2011.jpg) Opera Australia’s production of the Rossini magnum opus The Barber of Seville is a period piece, featuring an era a century later than the one in which it was composed. In this revival of Elijah Moshinsky’s production, director Cathy Dadd masterfully transports the action from the classical period of the 1810s to the silent movies of the 1910s.
Read full review... | ||
| 8-Feb-2011 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Opera Australia’s scintillating production of Carmen | Alan Yu, alanayu.wordpress.com |
 In an opera of such popularity as Carmen by Georges Bizet, it wouldn’t be easy to please an audience likely to be inured to a variety of performances of arias such as Habanera and The Toreador’s Song. Yet Opera Australia made a thoughtfully constructed and well vindicated attempt.
Read full review... | ||
| 30-Mar-2010 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Pure Bliss | Bachtrack webmaster |
| Much anticipated, ten years in the making, interrupted by some fairly momentous bumpy bits at Opera Australia such as the removal of Music Director Simone Young who comissionned the work in the first place, Bliss has finally arrived. And the good news is that audiences in Sydney received it warmly: the season of just five performances sold out.
Read full review... | ||
