Category Archive: MUSIC
The Richard Wagner Society
Wagner laughing at himself
14 April 2014 The Richard Wagner Society of SA presented Timothy Sexton, Artistic Director of State Opera SA, to present the inaugural Brian Coghlan Lecture in honour of its Past President. Sexton, who presented the Glass Trilogy in August 2014, was given the difficult brief of proving a link between Wagner and Glass, which he heroically did in an erudite and entertaining way, enlivened by musical examples. Although TVC‘s response to the lecture’s sub text “Was Richard Wagner the first experimental minimalist composer?” is a resounding “No”, we are now prepared to water down that ‘narrow-minded’ position a tad. Wagnerites…
Continue Reading →The Barber of Seville
(Opera Australia) (2007) Another can’t-miss piece, perhaps the greatest opera buffa of all, with typical Rossini touches – beautiful young lady, thwarted passion, a nasty guardian, identity confusion and a comically manipulative mastermind – was staged by OA over the country in 2007. Rossini’s score is uneven but joyous, featuring many popular melodies (e.g. the smash cavatina Largo al Factotum Della Citta – “Figaro sù, Figaro giù! Figaro quà, Figaro la!”). TVC saw the production in Melbourne (14/4/07), when there was last minute shuffling of the cast, Figaro being laryngeally inflamed, and replaced by his servant. The key role of…
Continue Reading →Il Signor Bruschino / La voix humaine
Yvonne Kenny
(15/12/2005, Melbourne) These one act operas, by Rossini and Poulenc respectively, were staged as “Love in Two Acts” by OA at the Arts Theatre, both conducted by Stephen Mould. Rossini’s short opera buffa is, as usual, very kind on the ear, eye and understanding, as assumed identities, a pompous guardian and true-love-triumphant make for a nice pas de huit. Emma Matthews and Kanen Breen as the lovers, led a fine cast, directed by Stuart Maunder. Poulenc’s piece, on the other hand, is like a cross between Sorry, Wrong Number and and a Lifeline transcript, as Elle, on her disheveled bed,…
Continue Reading →Kata Kabanova
Palais Garnier. Image by P. Giraud
Palais Garnier (2 November 2004) A beautiful production of this sad tale of adultery and recrimination, with the set a series of flats that would be at home in The Bill, including an appropriately atrocious print of bison at a waterhole (just to rub in Kabanicha’s horrendousness) and leaf-swept patio – incongruous in the gilded truffle of this particular opera house. Angela Denoke and Jane Henschel, as Kata and mum-in-law respectively, take on the white and black hatted key roles magnificently. Peter Burian conducted.
Continue Reading →Dumbing Down Terracini
Sydney Opera House (photo by Diliff)
Every artist has occasion to groan about critics. Often it can amount to, in Verdi’s phrase, ‘stupid criticism, even stupider praise’, or argumentum ad hominem. As Peter Craven observed in last weekend’s The Australian, much online content falls into these categories but in the current context, the artistic director of Opera Australia has taken the bait and been hooked like a bullfrog. Diana Simmonds reports on her site Stage Noise that she was informed: “In response to some of your recent writing about the company, Lyndon [Terracini] asked that you be removed from the media list.” So what was Simmonds’…
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