Lyric Opera of Melbourne

2012 Season

2011-11-11T18:20:00.003+14:00

After the success of the Zarzuelas this year, we are thrilled to announce our 2012 season

Iphigenie en Tauride – Gluck (April 2012)

A Gala Concert - (February 2012)

Opera in Concert (October 2012)

Applications to audition are now open.

Audition information

A General Audition will be held for principal and minor roles as well as ensemble.

The Productions

The Gala Concert will be held on 15th February 2012 and showcase repertoire from the Light Opera, Operetta and Zarzuela.

Gluck’s masterwork, Iphigenie en Tauride (sung in French), will be performed Saturday 21^st April – Saturday 28^th April 2012 at Chapel off Chapel.

Auditions

Wednesday 30 Nov and Sunday 4^th December

Auditionees must prepare
1. Two arias or art songs, preferable in French or English, which display your musical and dramatic abilities. (Recitative and Aria / Contemporary repertoire is acceptable)
An accompanist will be provided (although you are welcome to provide your own). You must provide clear, legible sheet music in the correct key (single sheets or unbound copies are not acceptable)

2. You will be asked to talk for 2 minutes about either a challenging or inspiring moment in a production that you have taken part in. No preparation is required for this but we will be looking at your ability to communicate an idea, what gets you thinking creatively and what type of theatre compels you.

3. Please also bring a CV and a recent photograph of yourself

Contact Nathan Gilkes on 0408 441 232 or nategilkes@hotmail.com for more information.

Auditions can be booked electronically. To book an audition time please log onto http://www.doodle.com/h9sb6cavpcpekt6b and register your name, preferred time and contact details.

Zarzuela Double Bill

2011-05-17T16:33:00.007+14:00

Lyric Opera of Melbourne presents a bold new production. 'La Verbena de la Paloma' and 'Bohemios', presented as a double bill. These beautiful Zarzuelas capture the soul of the city and its colourful, bohemian residents.

This entirely new production, performed in English, will present these Zarzuelas at their bohemian best. La Verbena de la Paloma by Tomas Breton is a raucous street party in the heat of a Madrid summer. On the eve of the festival, we follow Julian and Susana - young, passionate, enthusiastic (and not always successful) lovers. Bohemios, or the Bohemians by Amadeo Vives and based on Henri Murger's novel, Scènes de la vie de Bohème, is a story of a love-struck young musician with a soft spot for the beautiful and talented girl next door.

We're excited to bring these rarely staged gems to Chapel off Chapel, and to showcase some of this city’s most talented performers.

This outstanding cast features Michael Lapina, Tim Reynolds, Jessica Yeo, Nicole Wallace, Andrea Carcassi, Alex Matthew, Kerrie Bolton, Josh Perillo, Ernst Ens, Trevor Maitland, Angela Hogan, Kirilie Blythman, John Clancy and Christina Jonas

Viva la Bohemia!

THE TEAM

Conductor – Pat Miller : Director – Nathan Gilkes : Set and Lighting Design – Rob Sowinski : Costume Designer – LOZ : Production Manager – Katelyn B : Producer – Claude Ullin

SHOW TIMES

Friday June 3 - 7.30pm

Sunday June 5 - 2.00pm

Tuesday June 7 - 7.30pm

Thursday June 9 - 7.30pm

Saturday June 11 - 7.30pm

Chapel Off Chapel – 112 Little Chapel St, Prahran

Tickets $48 adult/ $38 concession (plus transaction fee)

Bookings (03) 8290 7000 or www.chapeloffchapel.com.au

'Merrie England' is Open!

2010-05-03T16:43:00.004+14:00

Lyric Opera Melbourne opened it's first show for the 2010 Season. 'Merrie England' by Edward German.

Bringing the style of English light opera made famous by Gilbert and Sullivan, Edward German's patriotic pageant opera is set in England during the reign of Elizabeth I, and tells the tale of the love affair between the famous courtier, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Bessie Throckmorton, one of the Queen's Ladies in Waiting. Merrie England was very popular in the early 1900’s but has since fallen into relative obscurity. Its songs, however, still survive, including a well known song for the Queen O peaceful England and the stirring The Yeomen of England, which was performed at Queen Elizabeth II’s Jubilee celebrations in 2002.

Tickets are on sale at http://www.chapeloffchapel.com.au/ or Phone 8290 7000

We are pleased to announce a Mother's Day Matinee! Sunday May 9th 3pm, Mum's Grand partents and the kids all are welcome, contact Chapel off Chapel for your tickets!

LBH review by Simon Parris from Theatrepeople

2009-08-25T17:37:00.002+14:00

La Belle Helene

Presented by: Lyric Opera of Melbourne

Venue: Chapel off Chapel, Prahran

Reviewer: Simon Parris

Date Reviewed: 21^st August, 2009

With Gilbert and Sullivan increasingly emerging as the lone survivors of the operetta catalogue, it is a delight to see Lyric Opera of Melbourne present the Offenbach classic La Belle Hélène. Gorgeous melodies and camp humour combine for an entertaining evening of listening pleasure.

Director Greg Eldridge has collaborated with Frederica Cunningham in the ambitious task of writing a new translation of the text for this staging. Their efforts have been a splendid success, with cute modern references perfectly complementing the comic style of the original. The fourth wall is torn down, welcoming the audience in to share the fun with the cast.

After judging a beauty contest on Mount Idol, the gods have chosen Helen, most beautiful woman in the world, as a reward for Paris, Prince of Troy. Helen is all too happy to be wooed, despite the unfortunate presence of her husband King Menelas. Disguises and surprises ensue before the lovers happily sail away to Troy.

The chief strength and attraction of this production is the glorious singing of the company. Presented acoustically with the orchestra upstage, the quality is vastly superior to ‘miked’ sound previously heard in this venue. The harmonies and volume produced by the ensemble are an absolute pleasure to hear. The diction is also first rate. Conductor Katharine Parton, with support from experienced music advisor Alan Barker deserves high praise for her stellar work with both the singers and the orchestra.

As droll high priest Calchas, Cameron Lukey gets the best lines and makes the most of them with his deadpan delivery. It is a shame that, as Calchas bemoans, he is ‘principal bass but doesn’t even get an aria’ as it would have been great to hear his singing voice as well. Kirilie Blythman is an enchanting Helen. Radiantly attractive, her strong but sweet soprano voice is a joy. As Paris, Irving Deketrev moves somewhat awkwardly but is never better than when singing in his strong, clear tenor voice, which has a tonal quality pleasantly reminiscent of David Hobson.

Other standouts in the large company include a cheeky Rose Nolan singing up a storm in the ‘pants’ role of Prince Oreste. Trevor Maitland is a jolly Menelas and Oliver Mann brings gravitas to Agamennon.

With around 15 named roles, it is a credit to Eldridge that all the characters are established so distinctly. Great help in this regard has come from Costume Designer Hannah Cuthbertson and her team. When the full company assemble for the act one finale, the effect is quite impressive. Beginning with the traditional robes, togas and military garb of Ancient Greece, Cuthbertson adds to the fun with modern, but deliberately tacky, beachwear for the seaside setting of act three. Set design, however, does not match the effort put into the costumes.

While a company of this size has obvious budget constraints compared to the powerhouse arts bodies, there is an infectious enthusiasm and enjoyment emanating from the stage that all the money in the world cannot buy. Lyric Opera of Melbourne should feel proud of their musical achievements here. Future successes are anticipated.

La Belle Helene plays selected dates until 29^th August. Closet operetta fans should come out to hear this one. www.chapeloffchapel.com.au

LBH review by Simon Parris from Theatrepeople

2009-08-25T17:37:00.000+14:00

La Belle Helene

Presented by: Lyric Opera of Melbourne

Venue: Chapel off Chapel, Prahran

Reviewer: Simon Parris

Date Reviewed: 21^st August, 2009

La Belle Helene plays selected dates until 29^th August. Closet operetta fans should come out to hear this one. www.chapeloffchapel.com.au

La Belle Helene - review for The Age by Barney Zwartz

2009-08-25T17:35:00.001+14:00

Ducks to water

August 25, 2009

OFFENBACH: LA BELLE HELENE
Chapel off Chapel, August 21
Reviewer Barney Zwartz

A RARELY seen satirical opera that punctures both the classics and contemporary society, combined with Offenbach's charm and sophistication, is an extremely welcome if ambitious programming by Lyric Opera. A young team - from designer Greg Eldridge and conductor Katharine Parton to the orchestra and singers - provides a great deal of pleasure.

Opening night began nervously, with the singers exercising great care, but from the first ensemble it grew wings and took off. The ensemble scenes are excellent, full of verve and wit.

Irving Dekterev as Paris and Kirilie Blythman as Helen are extremely promising singers who bring plenty of character, as does Anna Lucy Whitehead (Bacchis). Cameron Lukey as the acerbic high priest holds the action together.

Hannah Cuthbertson has great fun with the costumes, and the spartan set (consisting of three sideboards used as altars, a bed, then bathing huts) is effective.

Eldridge's direction is clever and deft, but the adapted libretto is rather mixed - some funny lines and fine interaction, and some clunky bits that don't scan and are hard to sing.

The main disappointment is the undersized orchestra, which certainly works hard but cannot produce the opulence or elegance Offenbach demands and is sometimes a bit four-square.

Offenbach's comic operas are the epitome of Gallic charm, and must be light, effervescent and secure. Like a duck apparently floating serenely, the hard work has to be unseen. If Lyric Opera could not manage this consistently, its production is huge fun - and that's really what matters.

Shots for upcoming production of La Belle Helene

2009-08-05T19:38:00.003+14:00

Top:

Clockwise from front left:

Kirilie Blythman as Hélène, Irving Dekterev as Paris, Anna Whitehead as Bacchis, Nicole Patsika as Venus and Frederica Cunningham as Minerva.

Centre:

Clockwise from front left:

Kirilie Blythman as Hélène, Irving Dekterev as Paris, Anna Whitehead as Bacchis, Nicole Patsika as Venus and Frederica Cunningham as Minerva.

Bottom:

Front to back:

Irving Dekterev as Paris, Kirilie Blythman as Hélène, Frederica Cunningham as Minerva, Anna Whitehead as Bacchis and Nicole Patsika as Venus.

La Belle Helene showing from the 21-29 August at Chapel off Chapel

2009-08-04T17:15:00.006+14:00

Lyric Opera of Melbourne looks to the Gods for its final production of 2009, with Offenbach’s masterpiece La belle Hélène.

Offenbach’s beautiful and melodic piece, La belle Hélène is filled with stunning music, including Le Judgement de Paris, the classic tenor showpiece and the moving prima donna aria Amours divins.

Originally written to mock the Second Empire of Napoleon, this glorious opera bouffe is set in ‘an unlikely Ancient Greece’, where Queen Helen of Sparta – the most beautiful woman in the world – is anxious to hear news of Paris the Trojan Prince who has recently judged a Divine beauty contest. In return for choosing her as the winner, Venus gifts Helen’s heart to the young Prince.

Directed by Greg Eldridge and Conducted by Katharine Parton with performances by some of Australia’s most talented emerging artists, this quick-witted production will make use of an entirely new English adaptation penned specifically for Lyric Opera of Melbourne. Featuring Alan Barker as our Music Consultant, previously Music Director of the New Zealand Ballet and Artistic Director of the New Zealand Opera, Associate then Principal Conductor for ABT (American Ballet Theatre), Music Director of the Scottish Ballet (1992-2004) and Music Director for the Greek National Ballet with his work taking him around the world.

“Take a walk through the forest. Birds singing. Sun shining. Godesses fighting.

All in a day’s work for Paris, the handsome Prince of Troy, who is asked by the Goddess of Love to judge a literal “Miss Universe Contest”

The prize? The heart of the most beautiful woman in the world – Helen of Sparta.

Lovely, dashing, sweet… MARRIED!”
(Greg Eldridge, Director)

With plenty of fun to be had gently mocking the institutions of marriage, fidelity and religion, Lyric Opera of Melbourne again produces an opera that promises to be full of characters as bright and as colourful as the music.

21^st – 29^th of August 2009

At Chapel off Chapel

Friday August 21 7.30pm

Sunday August 23 3.00pm

Tuesday August 25 7.30pm

Thursday August 27 7.30pm

Saturday August 29 7.30pm

Proudly supported by

The Alice Amy McDonald Trust

Arts Hub review of Dido & Aeneas by Ronald McCoy

2009-06-27T19:54:00.001+14:00

Published on Arts Hub Friday, May 15, 2009

Dido and Aenas - Lyric Opera: Chapel off Chapel

Lyric Opera has assembled a fine cast of young singers for an evening of early music culminating in a fine performance of Purcell’s masterpiece opera, Dido and Aeneas.
Presenting Dido always raises the challenge as: what shall we put on with it? The opera itself, while a masterwork, is quite short as far as operas go, and there is usually a one act opera before hand or some other work, and this always presents a challenge for programmers.
Lyric Opera aims to provide a platform for up and coming young singers, and for this reason came up with the wonderful idea of using the first half of the show as an opportunity for young singers to perform individually and in ensembles. This also set the musical tone for the opera that was to follow.

While the quality of the individual performances in the first half varied, there were some special moments. My take home message was that those singers that memorised their music – that is, performed it off book – invariably sang better. Many classical singers think that memorisation is unnecessary, but the quality of such singers Jessica Harris in Sweeter than roses, and Cameron Luke’s Ombra mai fu, clearly demonstrated this.

For me, the personal highlight of this first part was the rare opportunity to hear a madrigal of the wonderful Flemish composer Cipriano di Rore, which well suited to the singers’ voices and musicianship. This was music as it should be sung: pure delight from beginning to end.
While the standard of the first half varied, the Dido that followed was a joy from beginning to end. This opera is well suited to young voices and was a great choice for Lyric Opera.
Under the musical guidance of the brilliant David Kram directing baroque instruments, this was a delight to the ears from beginning to end. The minimalist direction used the space to the maximum, so that the production was never visually boring.

The success of Dido and Aeneas relies on its Dido, and soprano Angela Hogan came through with flying colours. Crystal clear diction, impeccable intonation, and a clear and pure line all perfectly balanced, made her performance a true pleasure. It’s worth going to this production just to hear her.

Poor Aeneas’s role is not a good one, and so he always comes off looking bad. I hate reviewing poor Aeneas, as everyone in the audience ends up hating him. However, Lukey did a very fine job of this thankless task, and I’d like to see him in a meatier role some stage, as I think he has a fine future as a singer.

The wonderful thing about Dido, is that there while there are many small roles for the other singers, these roles are quite meaty and give a chance for a singer to really strut their stuff, such as Paul Bentley, Anna Lucy Whitehead, and Frederica Cunningham as the Sorcerer and the witches. A real surprise for me was young Joachim Coghlan, who really showed how to get the maximum out of something small. In the very short solo role of the sailor, his singing and phrasing were terrific, combined with that special indiscernible “something” in his acting that reached across the aisles of the audience, proving that there really is no such thing as “a small role”.

I think that this production of Dido and Aeneas will especially appeal to young audiences. As the opera is in English, use it as an opportunity to introduce young people to opera – I’m sure they’ll really enjoy it.

The Age review by John Slavin of Dido & Aeneas

2009-05-12T17:47:00.002+14:00

Purcell's young love on a shoestring
May 11, 2009
DIDO AND AENEAS Lyric Opera,
Chapel Off Chapel, May 8. Until May 16
Reviewer John Slavin

THIS is a simple affair. No big sets. No special effects. The musicians sit upstage between Ionian columns, five players directed by David Kram.

You can immediately tell that Lyric Opera is running on the thinnest of budgets that tests the ingenuity of director Cameron Menzies. Its young dedicated performers who filled the first half with songs by Purcell are green in experience and for the most part lack musical expressiveness.

This year marks the 350th anniversary of Purcell's birth and there have already been concerts in his name. But this is the first offering of his short opera on the tragic love affair between Dido, queen of Carthage, and the man of destiny, Aeneas, prince of Troy.

Purcell may be seen as the 17th century equivalent of Mozart. This is an elegiac work with some beautiful choruses and the great "Dido's Lament" to close the drama. It was originally written for an all-girls boarding school to perform.
Menzies and his young cast give it a ritualistic simplicity that foregrounds its classical purity. The chorus sings with youthful enthusiasm. A sorcerer (Paul Bentley) and two witches nicely encourage the dark forces of fate.

But it is the lovers who hold centre stage. Cameron Lukey makes a somewhat wooden Aeneas. Angela Hogan's Dido, however, is a pleasure to listen to and behold. A distinctive soprano with dramatic presence and an undertone of nobility she enters like a silent movie star, all eyelashes and lame. In the death scene, she sings touchingly, then dies like a yellow pumpkin flower collapsing in on itself.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/arts/purcells-young-love-on-a-shoestring/2009/05/10/1241893842945.html

Half Tix are offering Dido & Aeneas

2009-05-08T17:48:00.001+14:00

Dear readers,

Half Tix are offering half price tickets on the day of the show. You book in person and pay in cash at:

Swanston Street side of
Melbourne Town Hall
cnr Swanston and Collins Streets
Melbourne

Opening Hours:
Mon 10am-2pm
Tues-Thurs 11am-6pm
Fri 11am-6.30pm
Sat 10am-4pm

Note: they are not open for the Sunday matinee show, however, all tickets are at concession price.

No show Sunday the 10th at 7pm

2009-05-08T17:46:00.001+14:00

Dear readers,

Due to the fact that the singers need a break, there was a mistake in the initial dates and we only have a 3pm matinee on Sunday the 10th, and no show at 7pm.

Gorgeous images for Dido & Aeneas - starts this Friday!

2009-05-06T19:06:00.004+14:00

In grey dress:

Angela Hogan as ‘Dido

Pink with horns:

Paul Bentley as ‘Sorceress’

And

Frederica Cunningham as ‘Witch 2’

Dido and Aeneas tickets HERE!

2009-04-17T16:25:00.002+14:00

You can now get your tickets from the Chapel off Chapel website here

Dido and Aeneas - arriving this May

2009-04-02T15:53:00.003+14:00

Lyric Opera Of Melbourne Season 2009 presents

Dido and Aeneas
By Henry Purcell
Director: Cameron Menzies
(Winner of the 2008 Bayreuth Opera Award)

Lyric Opera presents another dynamic double bill. The first half of this exquisite evening contains an hour in concert of early music which then explodes in the second act into a colourful and vivid presentation of Purcell’s triumph Dido and Aeneas.

Dido and Aeneas is classified as England’s oldest opera - its first performance being in 1689 at a girls’ school in Chelsea. Unfortunately neither the original, nor any 17th century copy of the score survives. As this was originally scored for an all female cast, we might assume that the tenor and bass parts in the chorus were added at a later date.

Originally adapted from part of Virgil’s Aeneid, Dido and Aeneas tells of the Queen of Carthage falling in love with Aeneas, who has fled to Carthage after the defeat at the Trojan War. It has been prophesised that Aeneas will be the founder of the Roman Empire. On his departure from Carthage, Dido, broken hearted, sings one of the most moving laments in opera.

Cameron Menzies’ production of Dido and Aeneas is sure to delight and challenge you.

Tickets on sale now.

8 May - 16 May 2009

May 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 at 7pm
May 10 at 3pm
Tickets: $48 Full, $38 Concession
Bookings: 03 8290 7000 or www.chapeloffchapel.com.au
Chapel Off Chapel
12 Little Chapel St
Prahran
Melways: Map 2L Ref J10

Welcome

2009-03-31T19:18:00.002+14:00

Lyric Opera will be listing their 2009 season and upcoming shows on here shortly. We thank you for your patience and look forward to seeing you all at our shows on Chapel Off Chapel SOON!