Curtain up to our term 2! We have a new focus, on contemporary Australian opera, generously supported by Victorian Opera.
During this term, we'll view in class and discuss the three Vic Opera productions available by digital subscription, as well as other operas by the same artists. And amazingly, all the members of our class will be able to view each of the full operas in their own time because Vic Opera has organised complimentary digital subscriptions for every member who had not already subscribed. It's an extraordinary benefit - we won't be restricted to understanding an opera by what can be crammed into snippets shown in class!
Our grateful thanks to the company for this assistance.
We start our term as Vic Opera started its season, with a double bill of recent Australian works about ancient myths centred on themes of power and gender (how contemporary!) Both are commissioned by VO, which this year offers the world premiere of four new Australian operas. (Richard Mills says: “A commission is a promise to the future. It is a demonstration of faith in the creative and particular faith in the creatives invited to make the new work.") More information about these productions and the others in the season is on the VO website. You can download the 2021 season brochure here.
Four of the new works will be our digital fare: Cassandra (Simon Bruckard), Echo and Narcissus (Kevin March) and Parrwang Lifts the Sky (Deborah Cheetham AO). We'll finish our term with Richard Meale’s Voss.
Reinterpreting Cassandra
This week, it's the first of the opening double bill - Cassandra. There's a trailer and introduction to the young Australian creators of this opera here.
Remember Cassandra? The age-old story of vulnerable woman and powerful man, but with a shocking twist. The young princess was gifted by Apollo (aiming to seduce her) with prophecy, then cursed, (when she rejected him), never to be believed. She went on to predict (without being believed) inter alia the contents of that wooden horse gifted to Troy and the murder of Agamemnon.
Composer Simon Bruckard and librettist Constantine Costi have taken the story into a current scene, presenting it starkly in modern discourse, inviting reflection on its current relevance, and setting it to contemporary music, lit cleverly. The constraints on orchestra size gave Bruckard a chance to create dramatic sound with unusual combinations. - four musicians do it with two grand pianos and two Saxophones (alto and baritone) as well as a formidable array of percussion.
And the lead part? Cassandra is played by Shakira Dugan, whose career with both VO and OA was rudely interrupted in 2020. Want to know more about this young mezzo from Gippsland who has already starred in VO productions? There’s a 15min interview with her during lockdown here. And a briefer but much less entertaining interview here.
The opera - and its stablemate Echo, won enthusiastic praise in reviews. Here's Barney Zwartz in SMH. . Here's an account of the impact of the opera from the Limelight review.
Mezzo Shakira Dugan’s Cassandra is an assured modern woman who resists tenor Samuel Sakker’s entitled, sleazy Apollo. His response to rejection is a powerful man’s smug, casually cruel revenge. Priam is interpreted by baritone Simon Meadows as a man-child with serious mood swings. They all ably tackle this opera’s technically demanding sung-spoken, atonal style, but it’s what Bruckard has written for the itty bitty orchestra that’s really compelling. His score for two pianos, a baritone saxophone and array of percussion, including several from the xylophone family, oscillates between darkly moody to vigorous, sometimes violent energy.
Lyn, 6 May 2021.