The Rabbits is a music theatre work with music by Kate Miller-Heidke and libretto by Lally Katz (with additional music by Iain Grandage), based on the book by John Marsden illustrated by Shaun Tan. As per the original book, it is an allegory for the colonisation of Australia, depicting an invasion of rabbits (in lieu of the English settlers) described as alien, harsh and greedy, as they destroy the land and lives of the native marsupials (in lieu of the original Indigenous population).
In 2014, Lyndon Terracini announced that Opera Australia had co-commissioned Miller-Heidke to write an opera based on John Marsden's children's book The Rabbits, to be performed in 2015. [1]
The Rabbits was first performed at the Perth International Arts Festival in February 2015, produced by Opera Australia and Barking Gecko Theatre Company, to critical acclaim. [2] [3] It later played seasons at the Melbourne Festival in October 2015, the Sydney Festival in January 2016 and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in March 2016. [4]
The Rabbits received four 2015 Helpmann Awards, for Best New Australian Work, Best Original Score, Best Presentation for Children and Best Costume Design. Katz received the 2016 AWGIE Award for Music Theatre for The Rabbits' libretto. [5]
| The Rabbits | |
|---|---|
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| Cast recording by | |
| Released | April 2016 |
| Label | ABC Classics |
The cast recording was recorded live during The Rabbits' Sydney season, and released in April 2016. It was nominated for Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album at the 2016 ARIA Awards.
Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of its time spent in the Arts Centre Melbourne, where it is accompanied by Orchestra Victoria. In 2004, the company gave 226 performances in its subscription seasons in Sydney and Melbourne, attended by more than 294,000 people.
John Marsden is an Australian writer and school principal. Marsden's books have been translated into eleven languages.
David Wenham is an Australian actor who has appeared in film, television and theatre. He is known in Hollywood for his roles as Faramir in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Friar Carl in Van Helsing, Dilios in 300 and its sequel 300: Rise of an Empire, Al Parker in Top of the Lake, and Lieutenant John Scarfield in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. He is known in his native Australia for his role as Diver Dan in SeaChange.
Constance Lalage "Lally" Katz is an American and Australian dramatist writing for theater, film, and television. She now resides in Los Angeles.
Marina Prior is an Australian soprano and actress with a career mainly in musical theatre. From 1990 to 1993, she starred as the original Christine Daaé in the Australian premiere of The Phantom of the Opera, opposite Anthony Warlow and later Rob Guest.
Shaun Tan is an Australian artist, writer and film maker. He won an Academy Award for The Lost Thing, a 2011 animated film adaptation of a 2000 picture book he wrote and illustrated. Other books he has written and illustrated include The Red Tree and The Arrival.
Kate Melina Miller-Heidke is an Australian singer-songwriter and actress. Although classically trained, she has generally followed a career in alternative pop music. She signed to Sony Australia, Epic in the US and RCA in the UK, but since 2014 has been an independent artist. Four of her solo studio albums have peaked in the top 10 of the ARIA Albums Chart, Curiouser, Nightflight, O Vertigo! and Child in Reverse. Her most popular single, "The Last Day on Earth", reached No. 3 on the ARIA Singles Chart after being used in promos for TV soap, Neighbours, earlier in that year. At the ARIA Music Awards Miller-Heidke has been nominated 17 times.
West Australian Opera (WAO) is the principal opera company of Western Australia and is a resident company at His Majesty's Theatre, Perth.
Keir Francis Nuttall is a Brisbane-based guitarist-singer-songwriter. He is a founding mainstay member of the rock trio, Transport, which formed in 2001. He married Australian singer-songwriter and actor, Kate Miller-Heidke, in 2007. Since 2004 he has performed and recorded in her backing band. Nuttall's songs have been recorded by Miller-Heidke, including her singles, "Space They Cannot Touch", "Words" and other tracks on her debut album, Little Eve. As Franky Walnut, Nuttall performs comic songs such as, "Where Have I Been All Your Life?" and "Three Word Review", both of which he recorded. His first solo album, The Franky Walnut Reflective Drink Coaster (2013), was nominated for the ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release in 2014.
John Rodgers is a Brisbane-based Australian composer, improviser, violinist, pianist and guitarist.
Barking Gecko Theatre is a Western Australian professional theatre company for children and families.
Michel van der Aa is a Dutch composer of contemporary classical music.
Lyndon William Terracini, OSI, is an Australian operatic baritone and since 2009 artistic director of Opera Australia.
Catherine Terracini is an Australian actress and producer born in Lake Como, Italy. She is the daughter of opera singer and artistic director of Opera Australia, Lyndon Terracini and arts administrator Elizabeth Terracini. Catherine is a graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and has been working in Australian theatre, film and television and commercials since 2004.
John Sheedy is an Australian theatre director, born in Geelong in 1972. He was educated at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). Based in Melbourne, he is a director of drama and musicals for the stage as well as opera. He has been described as "a director of bold vision both filmic and theatrical”.
David Leha, known professionally as Radical Son, is a Kamilaroi and Tongan singer. He was part of the GetUp Mob, which released a cover version of "From Little Things Big Things Grow" in May 2008 – it reached No. 4 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Other members of the temporary group were the song's writers Kev Carmody and Paul Kelly together with Urthboy, Missy Higgins, Mia Dyson, Jane Tyrrell, Dan Sultan, Joel Wenitong and Ozi Batla.
The Divorce is an Australian comedy opera miniseries which was broadcast on ABC TV on four successive nights from 7 to 10 December 2015. The four-part series is written by Joanna Murray-Smith with music by Elena Kats-Chernin. Based on an original idea by Lyndon Terracini, it was developed by Opera Australia and directed for television by Dean Murphy. Outside filming took place at Werribee Park Mansion west of Melbourne. The work was shown again in 2017 in a single 95-minute broadcast on Sky Arts and ABC TV.
Tom Wright is an Australian theatre writer, mostly known for his adaptations and translations.
Iain Grandage is an Australian composer and music director, best known for his compositions for theatre, dance and concert. In May 2018, the Perth Festival appointed Grandage as Artistic Director.
Live at the Sydney Opera House is a live album by Australian singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. The album was recorded in March 2017 during the tour of her The Best of Kate Miller-Heidke: Act One album and released in August 2017. The album peaked at number 31 on the ARIA Charts.