Otello Opera in 4 acts by Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Arrigo Boito, The Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House, Opera Australia, Saturday July 5, 2014. With a few strategic sweeps of his baton, conductor Christian Badea unleashed the full force of the Opera Australia orchestra and chorus, igniting the slow burning fuse of the opera…
Music critic Michael Church once noted the existence of “Those who mistakenly believe that historical operas by dead composers can only be made ‘relevant’ if they are updated and taken out of their traditional theatrical context”.* Whether or not you subscribe to this view, Opera Australia’s Roger Hodgman directed offering of Verdi’s masterpiece Rigoletto demonstrates…
Australian Chamber Orchestra Sibelius 6 and Mahler 4 City Recital Hall, Angel Place, Sydney 17 June 2014 The Australian Chamber Orchestra and director Richard Tognetti are continually exploring new territory. Two years ago they ventured into the world of large-scale symphonies with a performance of Beethoven’s Choral Symphony which was hugely successful and won Limelight…