On stage with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang










Released last week on the Deutsche Grammophon label, Andris Nelsons, the leading conductor of his generation, takes on a full cycle of Beethoven’s eternal symphonies – directing the Vienna Philharmonic in a series of new recordings made at the historic Vienna Musikverein. These will be released in a deluxe boxed set on 5 CDs, featuring…
“The Rabbits is a melting pot of genres….. (singers) from opera to jazz and music theatre…..accompanied by a 5 piece band which includes a piano accordion, violin and electronics…..It is likely to become an iconic work that not only entertains but makes critical statements about Australia’s history – beguiling and thought-provoking.” Those are some of…
Violinist Simone Slattery and cellist Anthony Albrecht have released a new CD themed around birdsong, Where Song Began. The tracks include classics like Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending and JS Bach’s Prelude from Cello Suite No.1, with traditional items like Ngarra Burra Ferra, a traditional Yorta Yorta hymn and contemporary works like Ross Edwards’ Ecstatic…
Japanese soprano Hiromi Omura returns to the Sydney Opera House to perform the title role in five extra performances of Opera Australia’s production of Madama Butterfly in 2015. Ms Omura was an impressive ‘Butterfly’ when she first sang the role in Sydney in Moffatt Oxenbould ‘s 2012 production. She returned in 2013 to sing the role…
If you’d prefer to listen to a much-loved classic rather than try and get your mind around a new work, think again. It may well be worth the effort of listening to something new. Scientists at Rotman Research Institute, in Toronto, found that the brain’s reward centre showed increased activity when participants heard a new piece of music. Read…
This feature from Newsweek, explains why aspiring opera singers gravitate to Germany to pursue their careers. “According to the opera statistics website – Operabase, last year 7,230 opera performances took place in Germany, one third of the world’s total. The United States came a distant second, at 1,730 performances, followed by France and Russia. Austria ranked…