Yorta Yorta/Yuin soprano Deborah Cheetham’s Woven Song takes us back to times when composers performed their own works, cutting out the intervening layer represented by the performer.

This first-hand communication by the composer creates a sense of intimacy and authenticity which is especially important in this Sydney Festival event co-presented by Short Black Opera and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Woven Song is a multi-modal, interconnected performance of new songs, instrumental music and video, matched with costumes and video projections of tapestries from the Australian Tapestry Workshop’s Embassies collection. The tapestries reside in Australian diplomatic missions around the world and are inspired by the art of a coterie of First Nations artists.

Deborah Cheetham. Photo © Wayne Quilliam

Cheetham’s co-performers come from around the nation. They include a trio of singers and western instrumental ensemble players with pianist Stefan Cassomenos, Anne Norman on Shakuhachi and Mindy Meng Wang playing Guzheng. The ensembles include Ensemble Dutala, Australia’s first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander chamber ensemble, Plexus Collective featuring players from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and SSO and instrumental scholars from the 2023 One Day In January project.

Cheetham wears several gowns through the...