Opera Review: The Rape Of Lucretia/ Sydney Chamber Opera/ Victorian Opera
The Rape of Lucretia, Benjamin Britten Sydney Chamber Opera/ Victorian Opera Carriageworks 19 August 2016 Written by Deen Hamaker Productions of Benjamin Britten’s operas have become a rare event in Sydney and performances of Britten’s most enigmatic work, The Rape of Lucretia, are even more rare. Last performed by The Australian Opera as part of…
Concert Review: Winterreise/ Sydney Schubert Society
Winterreise – Sydney Schubert Society Independent Theatre, North Sydney 20 August 2017 Written by Deen Hamaker Franz Schubert’s Winterreise is one of the pinnacles of the lieder repertoire. It tells of a lonely person’s journey into a bleak winter landscape of snow, ice and bare trees. The 24 songs that make up the cycle explore…
Opera In Concert Review: Parsifal/ Opera Australia
Parsifal in Concert Opera Australia Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House 9 August 2017 Written by Deen Hamaker Parsifal is a work that is revered for its Wagnerian splendour and epic scale, but its magnitude makes it a rarity in many opera houses. Adding to this is the difficulty of staging this intensely spiritual piece in…
Cabaret Review: Bedlam/ Strange Bedfellows
Bedlam Strange Bedfellows Leadbelly, Newtown 7 August, 2017 Written by Deen Hamaker The Strange Bedfellows are a formidable duo comprising Jacqueline Dark and Kanen Breen. Dark is a renowned mezzo-soprano famed for her performances in opera (Herodias, Fricka, Amneris) and more recently as Mother Superior in the national tour of The Sound of Music. Breen, star…
Concert Review: Schubert’s Trout/Omega Ensemble
Schubert’s Trout Omega Ensemble: David Rowden (Co-Artistic Director and clarinet), Maria Raspopova (Co-Artistic Director and piano), Alexandra Osborne (violin), Veronique Serret (violin), Neil Thompson (viola), Paul Stender (cello), Alex Henery (double bass), Ben Hoadley (bassoon), Michael Dixon (horn) 27 July 2017, City Recital Hall, Angel Place Written by Larry Turner One of Schubert’s best-loved works, the Trout Quintet (D.667), was voted number one in ABC-FM’s Classic 100 Chamber Music survey in…
Concert Review: Australian Brandenburg Orchestra/ Dmitry Sinkovsky/ The Singing Violin
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra Dmitry Sinkovsky, violin 26 July 2017, City Recital Hall, Angel Place Written by Larry Turner Dmitry Sinkovsky has acquired a substantial reputation in Europe and North America both as a violinist and a counter-tenor. On this 2017 tour for the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, it is his virtuosity as a violinist that is…
Birthday Boy Kaufmann Impresses In Role Debut As Otello
I cannot recall a more highly anticipated performance. Jonas Kaufmann, demigod of the opera world was about take to the stage of the Royal Opera at Covent Garden, making his debut in the title role of Verdi’s Otello. And I was in the stalls. There was a sense of disbelief to the occasion. After a…
Concert Review: Haydn’s Paris / The Australian Haydn Ensemble And Melvyn Tan
The Australian Haydn Ensemble: Skye McIntosh (Artistic Director) Melvyn Tan (Fortepiano) 1 July 2017, City Recital Hall, Angel Place The Australian Haydn Ensemble’s (AHE) recent concert featured Melvyn Tan as the fortepiano soloist and took Paris as the common denominator of its program. Tan is a fortepiano pioneer of historically informed performances, and is noted…
Concert Review: Musica Viva Sessions
Musica Viva Sessions, The National Herbarium of NSW The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney 29 June 2017 Written by Deen Hamaker Musica Viva’s Sessions series is a bold initiative which aims to attract new audiences and re- invigorate the way classical music is heard and where it is performed. The prospect of an unusual combination of…