Some fun facts about The Barber of Seville that I didn’t know going in is that it is based on a novel and is actually the prequel for The Marriage of Figaro, despite Seville being the work of Rossini and Figaro of Mozart. Having of course seen Opera Australia’s The Marriage of Figaro last year …
The Rabbits, written by John Marsden and illustrated by Shaun Tan, is an extraordinary piece of work. It takes important historical events and recreates its message in a haunting picture book- reaching children and adults alike. It does not shy away from what it needs to say. The adaption of this work into this opera …
When a story is told and retold and adapted in so many different ways you know there’s something special about it. This is of course the case with Puccini’s La Bohème, which has been adapted into popular modern musical RENT and used as inspiration for Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge just to name a few. In …
I have wanted to see Mozart’s The Magic Flute for so long. The “happy” opera, full of playfulness, colour and magic, a welcome change from my more recent (brilliant) but tragic La Bohemes and Don Carlos’. And boy was everyone correct! The Magic Flute is absolutely the happy opera. The first thing I noticed about …
A beautiful opera sung by a fantastic cast. La Traviata is quite a heavy one though, so I’m not sure I would want to see it again and again! — From the first notes of the overture we know that this will tell a tale of sweet tragedy. And music doesn’t lie- La Traviata is exactly that …
In celebration of Opera Australia’s latest production of Carmen opening this week and finally being able to witness the masterful voice of Lee Yonghoon again, here is the interview I did with him last year during the Turandot season. Definitely one of the most surreal and awe-inspiring interviewer moments for me, he’s such an incredible …
My absolute favourite opera performance ever. Ever. Yonghoon Lee was something else! As I mentioned in a “Favourites of 2015” article- “This is the opera that has made me fall in love with opera. Graeme Murphy’s latest production of Puccini’s Turandot is nothing less than absolutely stunning- beautiful sets, soaring music and the incredible tenor Yonghoon Lee. …
Aida is probably not my most favourite opera, and I’ve since decided that perhaps all Verdi operas are not really my thing, but you could literally see anything on the outdoor stage they build specifically for Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour and it will still take your breath away. Wow as always Sydney- you really …
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