Sydney Chamber Opera
Sydney Chamber Opera | |
---|---|
Origin | Sydney, Australia |
Genres | Contemporary opera, chamber opera |
Years active | 2011–present |
Website | www.sydneychamberopera.com |
Sydney Chamber Opera is an opera company based in Sydney, Australia. It is a resident company at Carriageworks.[1] The company was founded in 2010 by Louis Garrick and Jack Symonds.[2] Its first production was in February 2011 and has since produced between two and four twentieth and twenty-first century chamber operas each year. Its repertoire typically consists of world premieres of Australian operas and recent international works receiving their Australian premieres, including stagings of song cycles or non-traditional stage works.[3]
History and repertoire
Sydney Chamber Opera began with the world premiere of Notes from Underground by Jack Symonds and Pierce Wilcox, an adaptation of Dostoevsky’s novel at the Cellblock Theatre, Darlinghurst.[4] The Cunning Little Vixen, The Lighthouse, Owen Wingrave, Exil, His Music Burns, Mayakovsky, Fly Away Peter, An Index of Metals and O Mensch! were presented at Carriageworks and I Have Had Enough, In the Penal Colony and Climbing Toward Midnight at National Insitute of Dramatic Art.[5] Through The Gates was a performance for the 18th Biennale of Sydney at Pier 2/3 Walsh Bay amidst a large-scale installation by Belgian artist Honoré δ'O[6] and Victory Over the Sun was another site-specific commission by the 20th Biennale of Sydney for performance on Cockatoo Island, reimagining an early-twentieth century Futurist work with Western Sydney artist Justene Williams.[7] His Music Burns,[8] Passion[9] and O Mensch![10] were presented in the 2014 and 2016 Sydney Festivals. Passion was a revival of a production by Pierre Audi. Fly Away Peter toured to Arts Centre Melbourne in association with Melbourne Festival in October 2015.[11]
2011
WP= World premiere; AP= Australian premiere
- Notes from Underground (Jack Symonds / Pierce Wilcox) – WP dir. Netta Yashchin
- The Cunning Little Vixen (Leoš Janáček arr. Jonathan Dove) – AP dir. Kate Gaul
- I Have Had Enough (JS Bach / Jack Symonds) – WP (Symonds) dir. Kip Williams
2012
- In the Penal Colony (Philip Glass / Rudolph Wurlitzer) – AP dir. Imara Savage
- Through The Gates (various songs by Bach, Barber, Debussy, Mahler, Poulenc, Shostakovich et al) dir. Kip Williams
- The Lighthouse (Peter Maxwell Davies) dir. Kip Williams
2013
- Climbing Toward Midnight (Jack Symonds / Richard Wagner) – WP dir. Netta Yashchin
- Owen Wingrave (Benjamin Britten / Myfanwy Piper) – AP dir. Imara Savage
- Exil (Giya Kancheli) – AP dir. Adena Jacobs
2014
- ...pas à pas – nulle part... (György Kurtág / Samuel Beckett) – AP dir. Sarah Giles
- Into the Little Hill (George Benjamin / Martin Crimp) – AP dir. Sarah Giles
- Mayakovsky (Michael Smetanin / Alison Croggon) – WP dir. Kat Henry
2015
- Fly Away Peter (Elliott Gyger / Pierce Wilcox) – WP dir. Imara Savage
- An Index of Metals (Fausto Romitelli / Kenka Lekovich) – AP dir. Kip Williams
2016
- Passion (Pascal Dusapin / Rita de Letteriis) – AP dir. Pierre Audi (revival dir. Miranda Lakerveld)
- O Mensch! (Pascal Dusapin / Friedrich Nietzsche) – AP dir. Sarah Giles
- Victory Over the Sun (Huw Belling / Pierce Wilcox) – WP dir. Justene Williams/ Pierce Wilcox
- Notes from Underground (Jack Symonds / Pierce Wilcox) – WP new version dir. Patrick Nolan
Key personnel
Jack Symonds is the current Artistic Director. Louis Garrick was Artistic Director until 2015.[12]
Huw Belling, Mitchell Riley, Jane Sheldon, James Wannan & Pierce Wilcox are Artistic Associates.[13]
The company has typically engaged stage directors from a theatre background, often making their operatic debut, eg. Sydney Theatre Company resident director Kip Williams.[14] The company has also been noted for developing talented young singers.[15]
References
- ↑ "Residents – Carriageworks". Carriageworks. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
- ↑ "The wide-eyed impresarios taking on a proud tradition".
- ↑ "About". sydneychamberopera.com. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
- ↑ "Auspicious launch of an impressive production". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
- ↑ "Past Productions". sydneychamberopera.com. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
- ↑ "Through the Gates". sydneychamberopera.com. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
- ↑ "Sorry you missed the best thing at the Biennale". Time Out Sydney. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
- ↑ "Outstanding performances by Sydney Chamber Opera at Sydney Festival | by Bachtrack for classical music, opera, ballet and dance event reviews". bachtrack.com. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
- ↑ "Passion: Sydney Festival".
- ↑ "O Mensch!: Sydney Festival".
- ↑ "Fly Away Peter | Melbourne Festival". Melbourne Festival. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
- ↑ "Louis Garrick Steps down as Sydney Chamber Opera".
- ↑ "About". sydneychamberopera.com. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
- ↑ "Kip Williams leaps from STC to Sydney Chamber Opera and Back".
- ↑ "Live review: The Lighthouse (Sydney Chamber Opera)". www.limelightmagazine.com.au. Retrieved 2016-06-02.