Left Bauer and The Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Chorus’ reduced scale production still maintains the drama.

St Kilda Town Hall, part of the Midsumma Festival
February 7, 2015

St Kilda Town Hall filled with an enthusiastic audience on Saturday night, each member eager for the Australian premiere of Harvey Milk – the Opera, in a concert performance, part of Melbourne’s annual gay and lesbian festival, Midsumma. Harvey Milk was a gay rights activist and (after several years’ perseverance) the first openly gay man elected to public office in America when he won a seat on San Francsico Board of Supervisors. He was tragically murdered by a fellow City Supervisor, Dan White in an apparent hate crime. Milk’s life was the right alchemy of inspiration and tragedy, a perfect basis for a contemporary opera. This pared down, semi-staged performance was the result of a collaboration between Left Bauer Productions and the Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Chorus. Conductor and Artistic Director of the Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Chorus, Kathleen McGuire led an intimate ensemble of percussion and piano (a significant reduction from the opera’s original orchestral scoring), and spoke eloquently before the performance. She articulated the importance of Milk’s life and...