Sydney Chamber Opera’s Biographica opens on Renaissance physician and mathematician Gerolamo Cardano plotting the day of his death on an astrological chart, a death knell of gongs and drums accompanying his calculations. A colourful genius in a time when science and mysticism were intrinsically interwoven, Cardano wrote treatises on medicine, mathematics, games of chance – including how to cheat at them – and dreams. It is his life and writings that inspired Australian composer Mary Finsterer’s first opera, with a libretto by Tom Wright, receiving its world premiere at Carriageworks as part of this year’s Sydney Festival.

Finsterer tells the story of Cardano’s life through a series of vignettes, as the composer explained to Limelight, “it’s like a visit to a great portrait gallery, full of different paintings – but all depicting the same person.”

^{Jane Sheldon as Cardano’s mother. All photos © Lisa Tomasetti}

Actor Mitchell Butel is captivating as Cardano, and it is his striking intensity that holds the show together. Butel himself doesn’t sing, but is supported by an ensemble of five who serve as both chorus and cast of characters. As narrator, Butel’s eyes burn...