Opera (and Musicals) for the Masses.
Opera Australia should have the largest audience in history in 2012 – announcing a series of blockbuster productions that will tour Australia.
Included are fireworks on the harbour, English translations of popular classics and a taste of Broadway.
Teddy Tahu Rhodes (pictured) stars in the award-winning Lincoln Center Theatre’s production of South Pacific, that will run for four weeks at the Sydney Opera House before heading off on a national tour.
It’s the first season under the artistic leadership of Lyndon Terracini.
“South Pacific is a ground-breaking musical. It is full of romantic and uplifting show stoppers,” he said.
It’s part of a series of initiatives to widen the audience reach of Opera Australia.
For the first time in 20 years the company will stage main-stage productions in Brisbane, as well as its seasons in Sydney and Melbourne.
The Sydney season will open with a new English translation of The Magic Flute directed by Julie Taymor (of Lion King and Spider-man fame). It will be seen also in Melbourne and Brisbane.
The biggest spectacle will be on Sydney Harbour, with La Traviata staged on a 50 metre stage and adorned by a nine metre chandelier – with The Opera House as a backdrop.
Other classic operas with general public appeal include productions of Turandot, The Marriage of Figaro, Cosi fan tutte, The Pearl Fishers, Salome, Madam Butterfly, Aida and Lucia di Lammermoor.
There is only one production which could be described as testing audiences. Bruce Beresford will direct a production of the 20th century opera Die tote Stadt by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The orchestra will perform outside the Opera Theatre, allowing the audio to be pumped in surround sound. Above the Opera pit will be a digital media display.
The announcement of the 2012 season was made in a spectacular launch in the Opera Theatre (Tuesday August 9) in front of a live audience.
It comprised an assortment of Opera hits, including the most popular aria of them all Nessun Dorma.
The national company reported its second successive operating loss, of $500,258 this year.
This program should go a long way to turning it around.
Images (top) Opera Australia's The Marriage of Figaro; Teddy Tahu Rhodes; Opera Australia's The Magic Flute © Cory Weaver for Metropolitan Opera 2009.
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