The Children's Bach (opera)

The Children's Bach 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 at the Malthouse theatre's Merlyn Theatre on 20 June 2008.

Roles

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
Elizabeth	mezzo-soprano	Dimity Shepherd
Vicki, Elisabeth's sister	soprano	Teresa 'Tess' Duddy
Poppy, Phillip's daughter		Hannah Kostros/ Alexa Madden
Director		Chris Kohn
Lighting design		Richard Vabre
Design		Dale Ferguson
Sound design		Russell 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^[1]

References

1. "What's On". Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne. 2008. Archived from the original on May 26, 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2008.

External links

• Usher, Robin (17 July 2008). "A novel approach to modern opera". The Age. Retrieved 21 June 2008.
• Burch, Peter (24 June 2008). "Between the lines". The Australian. Retrieved 28 June 2008. (Review)