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| Lyndon Terracini Photo by Peter Derrett |
It’s hard to quantify what makes a truly wonderful opera: what brings audiences to their feet and turns the dalliance of a first-time viewer into a life-long love affair.
But you usually see it first on the faces of the cast, crowding the wings of the stage, craning for a glimpse of opera magic.
When a truly exceptional singer performs, and his comrades on stage are applauding, it creates this incredible atmosphere: everyone wanting to do the very best they can do. With the ensemble cheering for them, even the stars are inspired to push for their very best. When it comes off, it’s an incomparable experience. It’s why people go to the opera.
Opera is about voice, voice and more voice. It’s our job at Opera Australia to deliver exceptional voices to audiences, and make sure they’re in productions that have meaning, that connect with audiences, that have a narrative drive.
It’s why international stars are descending on The Opera Centre as I write, as preparations for the Sydney winter season reach fever pitch. It’s an exciting time. The larger-than-life voices of the 40-strong Chorus swell to fill cavernous rehearsal rooms. World famous maestros are strolling the corridors, while Australia’s best directors are workshopping the best of Australian and international singing talent.
Hammers are banging, machines are whirring, batons are tapping.
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| Elijah Moshinksy's lavish production of La Traviata is part of the Sydney Winter season. Photo: Branco Gaica |
This season is a balance of light and dark, of new and old, of beloved and forgotten works. Most importantly, it’s a season that will speak to audiences.
A new production of Verdi’s The Force of Destiny promises to master a difficult work: it’s a wonderful, wonderful opera, but it’s not often performed. That’s no fault of the opera itself: just that the roles are incredibly difficult. It takes a certain calibre of artist to stage this work. In Verdi’s bicentennial year, it makes sense to resurrect Elijah Moshinksy’s production of La Traviata, loved by audiences for its splendour and tragic beauty. John Cox’s 1976 production of Albert Herring remains the definitive version of Britten’s witty opera about English country life. The playful Roger Hodgman production of Don Pasquale is a perfect foil for the drama and tragedy of a brand new production of Tosca.
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| Riccardo Massi in the chilling new production of Verdi's The Force of Destiny Photo: Branco Gaica |
The leading roles demand singers of exceptional talent - Riccardo Massi is one of the few people in the world who can sing Don Alvaro. Svetla Vassileva has the sort of compelling charisma that Leonora requires – she can communicate the subtleties and subtext of a phrase by the inflections she uses in her voice. At the same time she will illustrate it physically – she’s a genuine stage performer.
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| Rinat Shaham in The Force of Destiny Photo: Branco Gaica |
You also need a conductor who really understands Verdi’s style - it has wonderful, wonderful music. Andrea Licata is a magnificent conductor, of this opera along with many, many others.
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| Rachelle Durkin stars in Don Pasquale |
You need a larger than life singer to perform the title role, and Conal Coad is one of the great Australian bass buffos. The opera plays Don Pasquale off against the self-assured Norina. You need a singer with a fabulous sense of humour, as well as being a great singer and wonderful actor. Who better than Rachelle Durkin, who showed everyone in Orpheusin the Underworld earlier this year how talented she really is?
Ji-Min Park was a wonderful Rodolfo in La boheme, and Ernesto is a perfect fit for him. Guillaume Tourniaire has impressed audiences enormously over the last couple of years that he has conducted for us. He has a lightness of touch that brings Donizetti’s Don Pasquale to life.
Ji-Min Park was a wonderful Rodolfo in La boheme, and Ernesto is a perfect fit for him. Guillaume Tourniaire has impressed audiences enormously over the last couple of years that he has conducted for us. He has a lightness of touch that brings Donizetti’s Don Pasquale to life.
It was time at Opera Australia for a new production of Tosca. It’s one of the greatest operas ever written, in fact, one of the greatest pieces of music theatre ever written. This will be a beautiful production. The curtain opens onto a magnificent set – it will fill the entire stage of the Sydney Opera House with the interior of a cathedral: in the church where Puccini first intended Tosca to be performed.
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| Alexia Voulgaridou shines in John Bell's new production of Puccini's Tosca Photo: Keith Saunders |
Alexia Voulgaridou and Cheryl Barker are both true prima donnas, which are so important for the title role – after all, the character of Floria Tosca is a soprano in the opera herself.
Voulgaridou has that Latin way of playing – she’s got a great temperament. The two Cavaradossis are two sensational singers. Yonghoon Lee I first heard sing at The Met in New York, and he’s a tremendously impressive young singer. Fortunately we managed to engage him before everyone else heard him and wanted him. Something I try and do regularly. And Diego Torre is such a moving performer – he’s been singing for us for a number of years, and his voice just gets better and better.
Audiences are used to seeing John Wegner as Scarpia and John Bolton Wood as the Sacristan, but this is a very different production, a different interpretation with magnificent sets and costumes. Maestro Christian Badea knows this music better than anyone. He’s conducted over 160 performances of this opera alone at The Met – this is a piece he loves doing.
In Verdi’s bicentennial, we are resurrecting Moshinsky’s gorgeous production of La Traviata. It’s a particularly wonderful setting for Emma Matthews, who made a magnificent role debut as Violetta in Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour last year. The young and very talented Patrick Lange will conduct. There’s a lot of excitement about this production: hearing Matthews and Polish tenor Arnold Rutkowski and José Carbó sing these roles for the first time.
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| John Cox's seminal production of Albert Herring will be revived this season. Photo: David Parker |
Last but not least is Britten’s witty Albert Herring, the opera in which I made my debut as a principal for the company, way back in 1976 when the Company performed for the queen. This is a really finely crafted production, with an outstanding cast led by the brilliant comic pairing of Jacqui Dark and Kanen Breen.
Lots of the singers that are debuting or returning for Opera Australia this winter aren’t household names. But they are some of the greatest singers in the world. Once audiences hear them sing, I think they will understand.
These new productions are vital additions to the repertoire of a serious opera company. We have fantastic singers coming from all over the world, first-rate conductors and directors, guest artists we’re bringing back to Australia, as well as some tremendous local singers.
There aren’t many people in the world that can sing this kind of repertoire really well. When you hear people that can, it’s a magnificent experience. It’s what the experience of opera should be about. We’re thrilled to have so many extraordinary artists working as artists, conductors and directors, designers and musicians.
It’s an exciting time to be creating opera in this country.