Victoria Opera’s ‘Tis Pity brings a litany of harlots to the stage, but doesn’t give its female lead many characters to play with. Indeed it risks capitulating to the very 'male hypocrisy’ it seeks to address.
A new production of the opera King Roger will open this week. At a time when Europe was charged with fear of the ‘Muslim threat’, this 12th century king collaborated with an Islamic scholar on an extraordinary project.
Barriers between artforms are tumbling down in three recent productions that mix circus and opera. The shows range from sombre to silly, but all hit magnificent high notes.
The Sydney Opera House is getting an A $200 million upgrade. It’s a chance to rectify some glaring faults, but in our risk-averse times, the outcome will be decided by committees.
Films about incompetent, inspirational flops are popular at present. These strange heroes embody the mantra of our self-help culture: never give up and embrace willpower over talent.
It seems obvious to say that opera “moves” people. But the question of “how” it moves people is far less straightforward. Cue a new research project pegged to Voyage to the Moon.
The kinds of voices that can be used in a show like ABC’s The Divorce are certainly not typical of those one would hear in Madama Butterfly. But – and let’s be honest for a second – does it matter?
Victorian Opera this week stages The Seven Deadly Sins, the final collaboration between Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht. First staged in 1933, it is a masterpiece by two of the most revolutionary artists of Weimar Germany.
Amid dwindling audiences and rising production costs, Australian opera is facing its first national review. So what are the solutions put forward so far?
A gang-rape scene in a new London staging of Rossini’s Guillaume Tell was greeted with audience booing, and has sparked ongoing controversy. Are opera directors at risk of miscomprehending the medium?