News

‘The Art of the Prima Donna’ remastered

Recorded in 1960, Dame Joan Sutherland’s gold standard recording The Art of the Prima Donna has been remastered for Classic Sounds and released on the Decca legends label. Dame Joan Sutherland sings with the Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden with Francesco Molinari-Pradelli conducting. The listing includes Arne’s The Soldier Tir’d of War’s Alarms from…

From recording to stage – ‘Sappho’ the opera

Since recording the world premiere of Peggy Glanville Hicks’ never performed opera Sappho, Australian conductor Jennifer Condon has set her sights on bringing to life the opera on stage. She will visit Sydney in July from her present home in Hamburg, in the next step of this project. If Jennifer Condon’s single mindedness in making…

A new conductor for Melbourne’s ‘Ring’

Opera Australia has announced that Finnish conductor Pietari Inkinen will conduct the Melbourne production of Wagner’s ‘Ring’ later this year. Here’s the full statement issued earlier today: “Opera Australia has appointed the outstanding young Finnish conductor Pietari Inkinen as the new conductor for The Melbourne Ring Cycle 2013. Mr Inkinen will join Opera Australia at…

Halcyon launches ‘Kingfisher’

Chamber vocal ensemble Halcyon has a new project underway.  Kingfisher, Songs for Halcyon is a seminal commissioning project to celebrate and indeed commemorate 15 years of music making by Australia’s leading ensemble for contemporary vocal chamber music. In the decade and a half since its inception, Halcyon has undertaken performing, commissioning, recording and maintained a strong presence in the Australian new…

‘Boarding now’ – The Sydney Children’s Choir leaves for ‘Summer in Europe’

The homes of singers in the Sydney Children’s Choir will be uncharacteristically quiet over the school holidays as the choir heads to Europe on tour this northern summer. Sydney airport will be ringing with the excitement of 41 children aged between 11 and 15 as they board their aircraft for the long journey that will tkae them to performances at…

The power of Tosca – Christian Badea talks about his lifelong friendship with the Roman woman

Christian Badea chuckles as he confesses that he has known Tosca all his life. The Romanian born US based conductor is in Sydney again for Opera Australia, rehearsing John Bell’s production of the Puccini opera which opens here in early July. Just last year, the graduate of the Juilliard School, Grammy Award winning conductor and past- director…

Carolyn Watson wins the 2013 Brian Stacey Award for Emerging Australian Conductors.

Congratulations to conductor Carolyn Watson who has won the annual 2013 Brian Stacey Award for Emerging Australian Conductors under the auspices of the Helpmann Awards.  As the winner of the award, Carolyn  Watson receives an $8000 prize. The Brian Stacey Memorial Trust was launched in 1997 on the first anniversary of the death of Brian Stacey. The Trust Fund in his name…