Review: Madame Butterfly, Handa Opera On Sydney Harbour – Excellent Singing And A Scenic Triumph
Madama Butterfly, G Puccini Handa Opera On Sydney Harbour 23 March 2014 This is the third year that Opera Australia has mounted a production on the waters of Sydney Harbour in Farm Cove. The location remains unsurpassable: the harbour waters in the foreground, then the lights of the city and the Opera House, and…
Concert Review: Songs Of The Divine, The Choir of St James’ King Street
The Choir and Orchestra of St James St James, King Street, Sydney 22 March 2014 Songs of the Divine – Baroque Masterpieces For the first concert in their 2014 series, the choir and orchestra of St James, under the direction of Warren Trevelyan-Jones, turned to the two pillars of the musical Baroque: Bach and…
CD Review: Dudamel’s Mahler Journey Begins At The End
Mahler 9Los Angeles PhilharmonicGustavo DudamelDeutsches Grammophon 479 0924 (2CD set) In early 2012, Venezuelan Wunderkind Gustavo Dudamel undertook his journey with the symphonies of Gustav Mahler (1860 –1911). Conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic and his own Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, to commemorate the centenary of Mahler’s death, he led performances of all…
Concert Review: Miserere – Music For Lent, The Parsons Affayre
The Parsons Affayre St James, King Street, Sydney 9 March 2014 Miserere – Music for Lent The Parsons Affayre was formed in 2009 as an elite choral group, normally with two singers per part and specialising in Renaissance polyphony. Directed by Warren Trevelyan-Jones, a Lenten concert has become a regular feature of their calendar…
Review: Eugene Onegin, Opera Australia
Eugene Onegin, Opera in three acts by Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky libretto by Konstantin Shilovksy and Tchaikovsky, after the novel by Alexander Pushkin Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House, Opera Australia, February 28th 2014. Opera Australia unveiled Kasper Holten’s production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at the Sydney Opera House last week. It is the first…
Concert Review: Elektra
ElektraSydney Symphony OrchestraSydney Opera House, Concert HallFebruary 24 As a cathartic experience the Monday evening performance of Richard Strauss’s Elektra by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra would be difficult to surpass. Such was the emotional tension generated by the waves of sheer orchestral power and a dramatic soprano who is nothing short of a vocal phenomenon…
Concert Review: Bach Magnificat, The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra And Choir
Bach Magnificat Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and Choir City Recital Hall, Sydney February 21st 2014. The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra celebrating its 25th anniversary this year opened the 2014 season with a concert centred around the music of J S Bach. The programme reached back into history, performing two works which represent the stylistic origins of…
CD Review: Light’s Glittering Morn, The Choir of Christ Church St Laurence
Commemorating the season of Lent, The Choir of Christ Church St Laurence in Sydney has released an anthology of seasonal music from Lent to Easter, titled Light’s Glittering Morn. Directed by Dr Neil McEwen AM, with organist Peter Jewkes, the 34 strong choir sings 14 works from Gregorian chant to the 20th century which…
ACO/Upshaw Review
Read the review of this Sydney concert from The Australian which featured the 2014 Grammy Award winning team of Dawn Upshaw and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.