Harbour City Opera – the new kid on the block
Creative Director of Harbour City Opera Sarah Ann Walker talks about why she is forming a new company and announces that Britten’s ‘The Rape of Lucretia’ is in the line -up for 2014. Sarah Ann Walker admits that she hasn’t slept properly in 7 months. The cause of this insomnia is that she is in the throes of…
Amina Edris wins Sydney Eisteddfod McDonald’s Operatic Aria Award.
Soprano Amina Edris from Christchurch, New Zealand has won the 2013 Sydney Eisteddfod McDonald’s Operatic Aria Award. Singing Steal Me Sweet Thief from The Old Maid and the Thief by Menotti and Caro Nome from Verdi’s Rigoletto, Edris beat her compatriot from Auckland, baritone James Ioelu into second place. He sang Non piu andrai from…
Russia’s anti-gay stance leaves Tchaikovsky in limbo
Russia’s anti-gay stance has posed a dilemna surrounding attitudes towards at least one of its iconic figures. The Russian government is to fund a biopic about Peter Tchaikovsky which will ignore his sexuality. The Russian Minister for Culture has denied what has long been considered fact hat Tchaikovsky was gay. Click here to read the feature, and a humourous look at revisionism…
Rachel Bate wins 2013 Sydney Eisteddfod Opera & Arts Support Group Scholarship
Last week soprano Rachel Bate was awarded the Opera and Arts Support Group Vocal Scholarship in the 80th Anniversary McDonald’s Sydney Eisteddfod. Singing Einsam in trüben Tagen from Lohengrin and Pace pace mio Dio from La Forza del Destino, adjudicators John Pringle and Graeme Pushee placed Rachel at the head of the six finalists finishing ahead of New…
Einaudi to appear at Sydney’s GRAPHIC Festival
Coinciding with his inaugural Sydney performance, Universal Music has released In A Time Lapse – The Remixes, featuring the music of Italian pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi. This release is a compilation of 7 new remixes of tracks from In a Time Lapse. In a Time Lapse is an album release from Einaudi, recorded in…
The Great Symphonies Series
Tom Service of The Guardian begins a year – long journey which explores the symphony and how it changed our world. The word was first used in the 16th century and referred to music for various combinations of voices and instruments, like Gabrieli’s Sacrae symphoniae, 1597. The symphony as we know it today took shape…
Mahler’s 8th symphony celebrates its 103rd anniversary today.
Today, September 12th is the day in 1910 when Gustav Mahler’s monolithic symphonic cantata the Symphony no 8 premiered in Munich. Mahler underwent much soul searching as he wrote it, but the audiences loved it, awarding the performance with a 20 minute ovation. Mahler himself conducted the premiere for which the impresario Emil Gutman…
Selby & Friends Gather a World of Musicians in 2014
Chamber music specialists Selby & Friends have rolled out their line-up for 2014. Pianist, founder and Artistic Director Kathy Selby, AM will perform with old friends and new, from Australia and around the world. Chameleon -like, the ensemble will morph from duos to larger ensembles to perform world premieres as well as cornerstones of the chamber repertoire with a special focus…