‘La Traviata’ – Demonstrates the Best Qualities of Traditional Productions
La Traviata – Giuseppe Verdi Opera Australia, 30 July 2013 On 30 July Opera Australia continued its celebration of the bi-centenary of Verdi’s birth with a revival of Elijah Moshinsky’s sumptuous 1994 production of La Traviata. This is a traditional view of the work which vividly brings to life the world of fashionable Parisian salons…
The Sydney Children’s Choir travels with its tales in song
In the evening heat of London this July, we may as well have been in a Sydney summer as the Sydney Children’s Choir gracefully and with innocent joy, took us to their heartland on the final evening of their 2013 European tour. There were no signs of flagging spirits amongst the now-seasoned travellers at the…
A Superb Cast Takes a Roman Holiday – ‘Don Pasquale’ reviewed
Don Pasquale – Gaetano Donizetti Opera Australia , 18 July 2013 When Donizetti wrote Don Pasquale for Paris in 1841, it was an immediate success. Within six months it had been produced in Milan, Vienna, Brussels and London and it has remained one of the most popular comic operas ever since. So it is surprising…
‘Tosca’- A Welcome Revival For The Future
Opera Australia’s new production of Puccini’s Tosca was premiered on 6 July, just three years after they launched their previous new production. That 2010 production was widely regarded as a dramatic disaster – a travesty which completely reinvented the work so that it bore only a passing resemblance to the plot for which Puccini wrote…
Stephanie MacCallum records Alkan’s ‘Recueils de Chants’
Sydney pianist Stephanie McCallum has released the first volume of Recueils de Chants a series of tone poems for piano by Charles-Valentin Alkan. This first edition contains the first three of five books, adding a world premiere recording of Une fuse a spinning song.tone poems by Charles-Valentin Alkan. Recorded in the Recital Hall West, of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music during 2012, there is nearly 75…
Fine singing and production impel Verdi’s ‘Forza’
La Forza del Destino – Giuseppi Verdi Opera Australia 29 June 2013 Opera Australia’s Sydney Winter Season opened on Saturday 29 June with a new production of Verdi’s La Forza del Destino which is part of the company’s commemoration of the bi-centenary of Verdi’s birth. It is 16 years since the company staged this work…
Virtuosity and spectacle: The Mahler Chamber Orchestra with Daniel Harding and Christian Tetzlaff
The Mahler Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Harding with Christian Tetzlaff, violin, at the Sydney Opera House, June 10th 2013. The display of virtuosity within the concert hall of the Sydney Opera House was as spectacular as the light show outside. The 50 strong Mahler Chamber Orchestra conducted by Daniel Harding with violinist Christian Tetzlaff…
ABO’s ‘Mozart the Great’ reviewed
The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra conducted by Paul Dyer delivered a powerful performance of Mozart’s glorious Mass in C minor, K 427, ‘The Great’. Soloists Sara Macliver and Fiona Campbell were well matched and outstanding. Read Peter McCallum’s reviewin the Sydney Morning Herald and Murray Black’s review in The Australian The performance is repeated Friday May 10th, Saturday May 11th, Wednesday…
Acis and Galatea at St James’ reviewed
On Saturday 4 May Warren Trevelyan-Jones conducted the Choir and Baroque Orchestra of St James’ Church, King Street, in a stylish performance of Handel’s delightful pastorale Acis and Galatea. The work has always been justifiably popular. During Handel’s lifetime it was performed over 70 times, making it the most frequently performed of his dramatic works. …