Melbourne Opera

Last updated

Melbourne Opera logo Melbourne Opera Logo.png
Melbourne Opera logo

Melbourne Opera was founded in 2002 as a charitable not-for-profit company dedicated to producing opera and associated art forms in Melbourne, Victoria. With philanthropic assistance [1] it has also toured to outer-suburban and regional Victorian theatres, as well as to Canberra and Hobart interstate. Despite receiving no government funding since its foundation, [2] [3] [4] the company mounts between three and five main stage productions each year. Its principal rehearsal and performance home is the Athenaeum Theatre.

Contents

Melbourne Opera is the business and trading name of South East Regional Touring Opera Ltd. [5] The corporate name was changed on 1 June 2007 to reflect the company's much expanded geographical scope.

History

Melbourne Opera's inaugural season consisted of La traviata directed by Blair Edgar, a new production of Bizet's The Pearl Fishers using Bizet's restored 1863 score, and Mozart's The Magic Flute , directed by Caroline Stacey. A proposed merger with Melbourne City Opera, in 2005, did not proceed. [6] In 2006 the company's first large scale tour commenced with a production of Don Giovanni travelling to Ballarat, Benalla, Frankston, Geelong, Hobart, Plenty Ranges, Sale, Warrnambool, and the Theatre Royal, Hobart. From 2010 to 2018 the company partnered with Monash University to bring performances to its Clayton Campus. In 2017 Melbourne Opera established the Richard Divall Emerging Artists Programme. In 2020 the company announced that it was embarking on a four-year project to perform Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen , commencing with Das Rheingold . This production was postponed due to the global outbreak of COVID-19 [7] and was premiered in early 2021. [8] Die Walküre, the second in the four Ring operas was premiered in 2022. Both Das Rheingold and Die Walküre were performed in Melbourne and in Bendigo, the regional Victorian city where the full Ring Cycle would eventually be performed. The third Ring opera Siegfried was first given a concert performance in Melbourne in 2022. The company presented three full Ring Cycles in Bendigo at the Ulumbarra Theatre in 2023, with Siegfried receiving its staged premiere, followed by the company's premiere of Götterdämmerung. It was the first independent production of Der Ring des Nibelungen to be staged Australia in over 100 years, critically acclaimed and attracting audiences from Melbourne, interstate and from overseas. [9]

Productions [10]

* Australian premiere ** World premiere † Concert performance

Governance

Melbourne Opera is charitable company [5] governed by a board; the current chair is David Pitt. There is also a chairman's advisory council consisting of twenty leading figures drawn from the opera and business world. [33]

Patrons

Patron-in-Chief: Lady Potter AC CMRI
Patron: Maestro Richard Bonynge AC CBE
Founding Patrons: Sir Zelman Cowen AK GCMG GCVO KStJ QC, Prof Richard Divall AO OBE, Sir Rupert Hamer AC KCMG, Lady Hamer, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE, Dame Joan Sutherland OM AC CBE.

Orchestra

The Melbourne Opera Orchestra was founded in 2003 and has developed into an ensemble in its own right. In December 2015/January 2016, and December 2016/January 2017 the orchestra undertook a concert tour of China. [34]

Conductors

Greg Hocking AM is Melbourne Opera's conductor-in-residence and Raymond Lawrence is Head of Music. Guest conductors include John Dingle, Richard Divall, Patrick Burns, Ben Hudson, David Kram AM, Armando Krieger  [ es ], Anthony Negus, Aldo Salvagno, Warwick Stengards and Matthew Toogood.

Stage Directors

Directors who have worked with the company include: Bruce Beresford, Greg Carroll, Suzanne Chaundy, Blair Edgar, Hugh Halliday, Plamen Kartaloff, Robert Ray, and Caroline Stacey.

Richard Divall Program

The Richard Divall Emerging Artists Program was created to honour the memory of Maestro Richard Divall AO OBE, supported by a bequest made by Melbourne born soprano, Sylvia Fisher. Upon her death, Fisher made this bequest to ensure the continuing support of the development new artists of operatic excellence in her hometown, Melbourne. Divall was closely involved in the planning and creation of this program before his death in 2017. The first intake of performers was in 2018. [35]

The program aims to develop singers of great potential to a performance-ready standard. It focusses on providing opportunities for emerging opera singers to experience the pressure of intensive role preparation, rehearsal and performance in a professional setting whilst continuing artistic development with financial support for singing lessons, tailored high-quality coaching, workshops, master classes and mentoring.

The program has developed over the past seven years. Originally for emerging artists only, it has expanded to include developing artists and is fulfilling an essential role in the preparation of performance ready singers. We have discovered that nothing prepares our emerging and developing artists for the rigours of professional performance better than a production and have developed productions of The Marriage of Figaro with programme members. This project provides the perfect platform for our artists to prepare a performance under the rigours of professional expectation but within a supported environment.

Program members regularly are cast in small roles and as understudies in our mainstage performances as well as having frequent performance opportunities. Many have gone on to win major awards and pursue careers internationally.

Richard Divall Program Emerging Artists to date are: Rachael Joyce, Emily Szabo, Caitlin Weal, Amanda Windred, Asher Reichman, Henry Shaw, Alastair Cooper­ Golec, Naomi Flatman, Olivia Federow­ Yemm, Esther Gresswell, Teresa lngrilli, Adam Jon, Jordan Kahler, Amelia Wawrzon, Alex Byrne, Eleanor Greenwood, Jane Magao, Darcy Carroll, Louise Keast, Michael Dimovski, Georgia Wilkinson, Shakira Dugan, Chloe Harris, Louis Hurley, Stephen Marsh, Rebecca Rashleigh, Alison Mclntosh­ Deszcz and Michael Lampard. Developing Artists: Daniel Felton, James Penn, Lily Ward, Andrew Alesi, Shania Eliassen Finn Gilheanny, James Park, Syrah Torii and Leah Phillips.

Related Research Articles

The German Fach system is a method of classifying singers, primarily opera singers, according to the range, weight, and color of their voices. It is used worldwide, but primarily in Europe, especially in German-speaking countries and by repertory opera houses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Opera Company</span> Opera company based in Toronto, Ontario

The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and one of the largest producers of opera in North America. The COC performs at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, which was purpose-built for opera and ballet and is shared with the National Ballet of Canada. For forty years until April 2006, the COC had performed at the O'Keefe Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inese Galante</span> Latvian soprano opera singer (born 1954)

Inese Galante is a Latvian soprano opera singer. Galante is known for a great beauty of tone, nuanced pianissimos and sensitive command of dynamics and colour. Her performance of Vladimir Vavilov's Ave Maria, from her "Debut" album (1995) attracted worldwide interest in the piece.

Thomas Rolf Truhitte is an American heldentenor who has become noted in recent years for his roles in Wagnerian operas. The son of actor Daniel Truhitte, his middle name is a tribute to his father's most famous role as "Rolf" in the movie adaptation of The Sound of Music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giuseppe Taddei</span> Italian opera singer

Giuseppe Taddei was an Italian baritone, who, during his career, performed multiple operas composed by numerous composers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Avenue Opera</span>

Union Avenue Opera is an opera company based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded in 1994 by Scott Schoonover, the music director of Union Avenue Christian Church, which serves as the company's venue in St. Louis' Visitation Park neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacqueline Dark</span> Australian operatic mezzo-soprano (1967/1968–2023)

Jacqueline Lisa Dark was an Australian operatic mezzo-soprano who appeared mainly with Australian companies, for a while as a member of Opera Australia. She was known for her voice in leading roles, including world premieres, but also for her stage presence and "a unique sense of comic timing".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ingvar Wixell</span> Swedish baritone

Karl Gustaf Ingvar Wixell was a Swedish baritone who had an active international career in operas and concerts from 1955 to 2003. He mostly sang roles from the Italian repertory, and, according to The New York Times, "was best known for his steady-toned, riveting portrayals of the major baritone roles of Giuseppe Verdi — among them Rigoletto, Simon Boccanegra, Amonasro in Aida, and Germont in La traviata".

Matthew Rose is an English operatic bass.

Lois Jeanette McDonall is a Canadian operatic soprano, especially known for her performances in the operas of Mozart and Donizetti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Babjak</span> Slovak operatic baritone

Martin Babjak is a Slovak operatic baritone. The winner of several international singing competitions, he has been a principal singer at the Slovak National Theatre since 1989. He has also appeared as a guest artist at opera houses in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, France, Norway, Egypt, Canada, the United States, Japan and the Czech Republic. He has particularly excelled in portraying roles from the operas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Giacomo Puccini, and Giuseppe Verdi.

This list includes opera productions of the Opera Group and Opera Company of Boston from 1958 to 1990.

June Card is an American soprano and stage director who had an active career in operas and concerts from 1959 through today. She began her career as a chorus girl on Broadway before moving into opera.

Marina Rebeka is a Latvian soprano, active on both opera and concert stages. Associated with Violetta in Verdi's La traviata, she performs primarily in the 19th-century Italian and French repertoire, most notably works by Gioachino Rossini, in addition to Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni, another frequent role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Ward (conductor)</span> British conductor (born 1980)

Christopher Ward is a British conductor. In August 2018 he became the music director of Theater Aachen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Davies (tenor)</span> Welsh tenor singer

Arthur Davies was a Welsh tenor who had an active international performance career from the 1970s through the 1990s. He performed leading roles with The Royal Opera in London, the Welsh National Opera, the Scottish Opera, and the English National Opera.

John Del Carlo was an American bass-baritone who had an active international opera and concert career from 1973-2016. Music critic F. Paul Driscoll wrote that "Del Carlo had the distinction of being not only one of the busiest artists in opera but one of the best liked, beloved throughout the U.S. by audiences and by his colleagues for decades." He was particularly active with the San Francisco Opera where he performed regularly from 1973-2015, and with the Metropolitan Opera where he appeared in more than 300 performances in 21 seasons from 1993-2016. He also frequently appeared at the San Diego Opera and the Seattle Opera, and gave performances at important opera houses internationally, including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Paris Opera, the Royal Opera House in London, and the Zurich Opera among many others. A skilled actor, Opera News stated that "Del Carlo made a career specialty of bringing authentic character to roles that are often dismissed as comprimario parts; in Del Carlo’s shrewdly judged performances, [these parts] became authentic star turns."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Longmuir (tenor)</span>

John Longmuir is a Scottish-born Australian tenor. Known primarily for operatic roles, he is also in demand on the concert platform and has appeared as a judge on channel seven's music competition show 'All Together Now'. Noted for his "generous voice, bright ringing vocal quality and legato phrasing" His operatic studies took place at the Australian Opera Studio. In 2019 John received his first Helpmann Award nomination, for his role as the Captain, in Berg's Wozzeck, for Opera Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urve Tauts</span> Estonian opera singer (born 1935)

Urve Tauts is an Estonian opera singer (mezzo-soprano).

Opera Columbus is an American professional opera company in Columbus, Ohio, founded in 1981, and is a member of Opera America. OC employs nearly 350 artists and creative professionals annually—vocalists, artisans, stagehands, costumers, and scenic designers—many of whom are members of the Columbus community.

References

  1. "Henkell Family Fund – Support". henkellfamilyfund.com.au.
  2. "The opera wars". The Age . 25 September 2004.
  3. "OperaChaser: From Melbourne Opera, intellectual and visceral strength greet the long overdue Australian premiere of Donizetti's Roberto Devereux". 12 November 2017.
  4. Quinn, Emily (3 August 2005). "New Melbourne Opera Company Will Reap Benefits of Australian Government Funding". Playbill .
  5. 1 2 "South East Regional Touring Opera Company Limited". acnc.gov.au. 6 May 2021.
  6. Quinn, Emily (16 May 2005). "Merger of Melbourne Opera Companies Called Off". Playbill . Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  7. "Wagner's das Rheingold | Regent Theatre". Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  8. 1 2 "Das Rheingold Melbourne Opera". Limelight Magazine.
  9. "Das Rheingold (2021)". 2021.
  10. "Past productions", Melbourne Opera
  11. "La traviata – Melbourne Opera". australianstage.com.au.
  12. Gérard Schneider (13 October 2009). "Tosca: Melbourne Opera". visual.artshub.com.au. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  13. "opera-offers-a-merry-opening". Herald Sun . Retrieved 11 May 2021.[ dead link ]
  14. 1 2 "faust-is-short-on-vocal-stature". Herald Sun . Retrieved 11 May 2021.[ dead link ]
  15. "Carmen – Melbourne Opera". australianstage.com.au.
  16. "La bohéme – Melbourne Opera". australianstage.com.au.
  17. Shmith, Michael (9 December 2013). "Melbourne Opera's performs Rienzi, a lumpish curiosity piece not one of Wagner's best". The Sydney Morning Herald .
  18. "Der Freischütz – Melbourne Opera". australianstage.com.au.
  19. Holdsworth, Rob. "The Barber of Seville (Melbourne Opera)". australianbookreview.com.au.
  20. Holdsworth, Rob. "Mary Stuart (Melbourne Opera)". australianbookreview.com.au.
  21. Selar, Paul (4 February 2016). "Opera review: The Abduction from the Seraglio, Melbourne Opera". Herald Sun .
  22. Shmith, Michael (15 August 2016). "Tannhäuser review: Grand, romantic new production a great leap forward for Melbourne Opera". The Sydney Morning Herald .
  23. "Melbourne Opera's HMS Pinafore is a handsome, spit and polished production". Herald Sun .
  24. "Lohengrin (Melbourne Opera)". Limelight .
  25. Zwartz, Barney (12 November 2017). "Melbourne Opera – Roberto Devereux: Helena Dix imbues work with real credibility". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  26. "Tristan and Isolde (Melbourne Opera)". Limelight .
  27. Davies, Bridget (13 August 2018). "Opera gets a Donald Trump makeover". The Sydney Morning Herald .
  28. "Otello (Melbourne Opera)". Limelight .
  29. "The Flying Dutchman review – Theatre in Melbourne". Time Out Melbourne .
  30. "Norma review". Time Out Melbourne .
  31. Davies, Bridget (6 February 2020). "Melbourne Opera in superb voice for Beethoven's magnificent Fidelio". The Sydney Morning Herald .
  32. "Macbeth Melbourne Opera".
  33. "About". Melbourne Opera.
  34. "Melbourne Opera Orchestra". National Centre for the Performing Arts (China).
  35. "Singers selected for Melbourne Opera's Richard Divall Emerging Artists Program". Limelight .