Classical Music, Opera
features

Musical Briefing: Concert Etiquette

When to clap, why to clap, when to boo, what to do if you can’t stop coughing… We answer some of the most common questions. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

August 30, 2012
Opera
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Deconstructing the 2013 Opera Australia season

It’s that time of year again. Opera Australia has announced its 2013 season. There’s a press release freshly landed in my email inbox and from the opening paragraphs, you’d be forgiven for thinking this might be a controversial season. Opera Australia, it says, will “re-position itself as Australia’s international role… taking a leading role as a pioneer of the artform”. “The question of ‘what is opera to contemporary Australia’”, we’re told, “now underpins every artistic decision” and reference is made to the “controversial” dialogue between Lyndon Terracini and “the wider public”. (Limelight‘s coverage yesterday included comments from an interview with Terracini.) Yet in the ensuing list of new production and revivals, I can’t say I see much controversy brewing – except maybe over the return (already!) of South Pacific, since I know the question of opera companies staging musicals is always a contentious one. There’s also a visit by avant-garde theatre group La Fura dels Baus, who will stage Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera as part of both the Sydney Festival and OA’s celebration of the composer’s bicentenary; but I’d hazard a guess that most savvy operagoers will be more intrigued and excited by that prospect than appalled…. Continue reading Get…

August 23, 2012