Crossover superstar Katherine Jenkins teams with the great tenor for Australian arena shows. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Limelight's panel of experts presents 12 opera stars making musical history.

Stuart Maunder: “There is nothing worse than having to explain a joke.”

Two previous solo recordings by the British soprano Kate Royal displayed her broad musical interests and imaginative programming. Her new CD is equally thoughtful. Rather than structure a recital in the usual “four groups plus two encores” format, Royal has devised a story arc for her album. This “lesson in love” concerns a young girl’s journey from the anticipation of romance, meeting Mr Right, their marriage, and his ultimate betrayal. Opening with the little-known Waitin’ by William Bolcom, Royal fits many well-loved songs into the scenario, including Schubert’s Gretchen am Spinnrade, Duparc’s Extase, Britten’s setting of the folksong O Waly, Waly and three songs from Schumann’s Myrthen. Waitin’ is sung again at the very end by the now worldly-wise protagonist, this time with a more pensive and knowing attitude. Most of the 28 songs fit the storyline neatly; only a couple, such as Danny Boy, seem to come from… Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Stuart Maunder directed, compèred and played the patter roles very adroitly and the cast was largely in good form.

Peter Grimes is one of the roles for which American tenor Anthony Dean Griffey is best known: Australian audiences may have seen him in the cinema broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera’s Peter Grimes or at the West Australian Opera in 2009. This, however, is a much earlier Grimes, recorded live at Glyndebourne in 2000, and it’s likely his interpretation has matured since then. Griffey sings with a strong, often beautiful voice, but his delivery is disappointingly monochromatic and restrained, never properly plunging into the vast emotional depths the role offers. From the indignation of the Act I storm scene, to the wistfulness and subsequent violence of Act II, to the final desolation of the mad scene, Griffey’s Grimes sounds basically the same, his expressive palette too limited to suggest the character’s extraordinary trajectory. As his Ellen, Vivian Tierney makes a pallid beginning, but then hits her stride, singing the Embroidery Aria with a poignant, brittle sweetness. Susan Gorton is a suitably bawdy Auntie, though her voice is at times easily confused with that of Hilary Summers’ menacing Mrs Sedley, and Steven Page makes a solid if… Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber?…

Opera Australia's Antoinette Halloran sings to a growing audience in her backyard.

The Chinese filmmaker talks about his love of Peking opera and why he has directed Turandot. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Limelight gives you a front-row seat inside the world's most illustrious opera theatres, old and new: their history, classic performances and the hottest tickets coming up.

On the centenary of WS Gilbert’s death, Tom Ford sheds light on the life without Sullivan. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The dilapidated Woollahra cottage and grounds expected to fetch more than $5.5m.

The tenor’s new advisory role is designed to restore credibility to the soccer association. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in