Opera Review: The Pearlfishers/ Opera Australia
The Pearlfishers – George Bizet Opera Australia, January 15, 2016 Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House Don’t blame Bizet. Though he travelled extensively through Italy for three years from 1857, this was about as far east as the Frenchman ventured, and so his opera The Pearlfishers, written in the summer of 1863, when he was…
Review: The Rabbits/ Opera Australia
The Rabbits – Opera Australia/Barking Gecko Theatre Company/ Sydney Festival Roslyn Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay, 14 January, 2016 With four Helpmann Awards under its belt and successful seasons at the Perth International Arts Festival in February 2015 and the Melbourne Festival a few months later, The Rabbits had already established its credentials before its…
CD Review: Yuja Wang – Ravel
Turning twenty-nine next month, pianist Yuja Wang has released her sixth recording with Deutsche Grammophon, Yuja Wang: Ravel. On it she performs Maurice Ravel’s two piano concertos – the G major and the Concerto for the Left Hand in D major. The palate cleanser between these two is Gabriel Fauré’s Ballade in F# minor for…
Opera Review: The Magic Flute/ Opera Australia
The Magic Flute – W. A. Mozart Opera Australia, 7 January 2016 Joan Sutherland Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House. Julie Taymor’s 2005 New York Metropolitan Opera production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute was first adapted for Sydney in 2012 and is now having its fourth series of performances in Opera Australia’s summer season. It is…
Opera Review: La boheme/ Opera Australia
La bohème – Giacomo Puccini Opera Australia, 6 January 2016 Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House Once again, the Opera Australia summer season features a revival of Gale Edwards’s production of La bohème which has been presented every year since its premiere in 2011. These continual revivals presumably make good financial sense by attracting…
Concert Review: Haydn’s Esterházy Orchestra/ Australian Haydn Ensemble
Australian Haydn Ensemble Haydn’s Esterházy Orchestra Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House 20 December 2015 Marc Destrubé (Guest lead violin & co-director)/ Erin Helyard (Guest co-director & harpsichord soloist)/ Skye McIntosh (Artistic Director & violin) The Australian Haydn Ensemble finished their musical year with a concert entitled Haydn’s Esterházy Orchestra which consisted of Haydn’s symphonies numbers 6,…
CD Review: Ten Top Tenors
Ten Top Tenors is a double CD set which brings together the voices of some of the most prodigiously talented singers of our times. A compilation from Decca, it’s an entertaining collection that places these voices next to each allowing contrasts and comparisons. The recordings, taken from each of the decades since the 1960s, also…
CD Reviews: Especially For Movie Buffs – Spectre And Music From Star Wars
Especially for movie buffs, Decca has released two CDs to coincide with the premieres of two holiday blockbusters. Spectre is the soundtrack from the James Bond movie of the same name; John Williams Conducts Music from Star Wars is a double album compilation of astral-themed music synchronised with the launch of the latest in the…
Concert Review: Maxim Vengerov/ Roustem Saitkoulov/ Musica Viva
Maxim Vengerov, violin and Roustem Saitkoulov, piano Musica Viva 70th Anniversary Gala Recital Tour Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House December 11, 2015 There is something enigmatic about Maxim Vengerov in performance. His powerful build seems at odds with the fragility of the 1727 ex-Kreisler Stradivari tucked under his chin and the slender bow he glides…