Maverick Malcolm’s first opera finally premieres in Australia.

This LA Opera live recording under James Conlon stems from 2015 and gives a pretty fare impression of the busy score and crazy plot.

The Rabbits has become a real success story in contemporary Australian opera. Featuring a gorgeous score by singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke and Iain Grandage, with a libretto by Lally Katz, the work has won four Helpmann awards and was nominated for best world premiere at this year’s International Opera Awards. Based on John Marsden and Shaun Tan’s illustrated tale of the British invasion of Australia, it’s unquestionably powerful, and stylistically the score draws on all manner of genres. The music of the natives (a band of marsupials) is influenced by pop and musical theatre, while music for the bird (Miller-Heidke’s character) incorporates electronic effects to conjure the aerial world it inhabits. The more explicitly operatic elements are reserved for the leporine European invaders, with waltzes and wonky recitatives underscoring the singing of these slapstick caricatures. A band of five packs a real punch, some doubling or tripling on other instruments. Some of the most engaging music on the disc features Miller-Heidke’s extraordinarily agile and expressive singing. Also worthy of mention is Jessica Hitchcock’s honest performance as Flinch, a young marsupial, as well as Kanen Breen’s prim portrayal of a sadistic scientist rabbit, employing his raucous countertenor to hilarious effect. Continue reading…

This 2012 production was the centrepiece of Cecilia Bartoli’s first season as Artistic Director of the Salzburg Whitsun Festival. It’s a pleasure to note that Andreas Scholl has retained almost all his tonal beauty over 20 years now. Costumed as a European Union bureaucrat, his towering physical presence and wonderful sound befits the stature of the role. Christophe Dumaux exudes danger and menace as Tolomeo. His nemesis, Sesto, usually comes across as a dithering ninny but Philippe Jaroussky takes hold of the role, his youthful look suggesting a boy out of his depth in a pool of circling sharks. Anne Sophie von Otter has gravitas as aging beauty Cornelia, singing with such artistry as to conceal any marks of time. Bartoli’s Cleopatra is a knockout; a big, blousy Elizabeth Taylor portrayal sung with flamboyance in triumph and tenderness in defeat. The big tragic arias are heart-rending showstoppers, the artist spinning endless strands of silken tone. In contrast there’s Bartoli in frizzy blonde wig astride a missile. Once seen it’s difficult to unsee. And there’s the rub – wonderful musical performance in an ugly mess of a production. I counted off the directorial clichés; No 7 – dancers in army fatigues,…

The huge repertoire of English opera from the Victorian and Edwardian eras has virtually vanished from public view, but not from the public ear, thanks to top recordings such as this one. Michael Balfe, the composer of Satanella, was prolific, writing some 30 operas for both British and European opera houses. However, his most famous piece, The Bohemian Girl, hasn’t been seen on its feet for decades. Satanella opened at Covent Garden in 1862 and held the stage for 60 years, including a visit to Sydney in 1962. It is a sturdy work, a mix of opera, operetta and ballad opera. I wish I could be more enthusiastic about the music as it is very professionally written with a reasonable balance between arias, choruses and ensembles. However it lacks true inspiration and there is little that grabs the ear. To put it crudely, it has no memorable tunes, and as with fellow works in the genre, makes us realise how brilliant Gilbert and Sullivan were and why they are the great survivors from that period. Bonynge has edited the work and the recording is happily without dialogue, always a weakness in this repertoire. As it is unlikely that any of…

Curious fact: at one time Leoncavallo’s Zazà outstripped Pagliacci for popularity.

From fables to fairy stories, from puppets to prostitutes, Richard Mills aims to run the operatic gamut. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Beresford gives Britten’s comic opera cinematic elegance and slick sophistication.

Deborah Cheetham’s Pecan Summer will receive a one-off performance at the Opera House. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Lindy Hume’s reimagining of the Grimm fairy tale puts the Queen in the spotlight.

Malcolm Williamson’s opera was hailed as the best thing since Peter Grimes, yet it sank as its composer sank. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

With their lucky charms, bizarre rituals and arcane mantras, the average artist can be an irrational being.