The Children's Bach (opera)

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The Children's Bach, Op. 74, is a chamber opera by the Australian composer Andrew Schultz to a libretto by Glenn Perry, based on the 1984 novella of the same name by Helen Garner. The work was commissioned by the Melbourne-based group Chamber Made and their artistic director Douglas Horton with the aid of an Australia Council Project Fellowship; it premiered for a run of 15 performances at the Malthouse Theatre's Merlyn Theatre on 20 June 2008. [1]

Contents

The opera was performed and recorded at the 2019 Canberra International Music Festival, conducted by Roland Peelman. [2] The Lyric Opera of Melbourne and Theatre Works gave the work its second full staging in August/September 2024. [3] [4]

Roles

Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 20 June 2008
Conductor: Brett Kelly
Dexter baritone Andrea Carcassi
Athena mezzo-soprano Kathryn Grey
Billy,
their son		Jackson Cairnduff/
James Christensen
Phillip tenor James Egglestone
Elizabethmezzo-sopranoDimity Shepherd
Vicki,
Elisabeth's sister		 soprano Teresa 'Tess' Duddy
Poppy,
Phillip's daughter		Hannah Kostros/
Alexa Madden
DirectorChris Kohn
Lighting designRichard Vabre
DesignDale Ferguson
Sound designRussell Goldsmith

The work is of 80 minutes duration and is scored for a cast of six, and six instrumentalists (violin, cello, double bass, clarinet, percussion, piano).

Synopsis

The Children’s Bach is a contemporary story set on the banks of Merri Creek in inner-suburban Melbourne. Dexter and Athena live in a ramshackle house with no TV and an outside loo. But they are comfortably happy although life with their disabled son, Billy, has taken its toll. Against this family crashes another; Phillip, Elizabeth and Vicki: urbane, musical and stylish. And like most crashes there’s collateral damage.

— from the program notes [5]

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References

  1. ↑ "The Children’s Bach, Op. 74 (2008), program notes", andrewschultz.net
  2. ↑ "The Children's Bach, recording details (2019), includes libretto
  3. ↑ "The Children’s Bach in Melbourne", 29 July 2024, andrewschultz.net
  4. ↑ "Lyric Opera of Melbourne: The Children’s Bach", Limelight , 7 September 2024
  5. ↑ "What's On". Melbourne: Malthouse Theatre. 2008. Archived from the original on 26 May 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2008.
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