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Melbourne Opera

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Melbourne Opera was founded in 2002 as a charitable not-for-profit company dedicated to producing opera and associated art forms in Melbourne, Australia. With philanthropic assistance[1] it has also toured to outer-suburban and regional Victorian theatres, as well as to Canberra and Hobart interstate. Despite receiving no government funding since its foundation,[2][3][4] the company mounts between three and five main stage productions each year. Its principal rehearsal and performance home is the Athenaeum Theatre.

Melbourne Opera logo

Melbourne Opera is the business and trading name of South East Regional Touring Opera Ltd.[5] The corporate name was changed on 1 June 2007 to reflect the company's much expanded geographical scope.

History

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Melbourne Opera's inaugural season consisted of La traviata directed by Blair Edgar, a new production of Bizet's The Pearl Fishers using Bizet's restored 1863 score, and Mozart's The Magic Flute, directed by Caroline Stacey. A proposed merger with Melbourne City Opera, in 2005, did not proceed.[6] In 2006 the company's first large scale tour commenced with a production of Don Giovanni travelling to Ballarat, Benalla, Frankston, Geelong, Hobart, Plenty Ranges, Sale, Warrnambool, and the Theatre Royal, Hobart. From 2010 to 2018 the company partnered with Monash University to bring performances to its Clayton Campus. In 2017 Melbourne Opera established the Richard Divall Emerging Artists Programme [7].

Bendigo Ring

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In 2020 the company announced that it was embarking on a four-year project to perform Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, commencing with Das Rheingold. This production was postponed due to the global outbreak of COVID-19[8] and was premiered in early 2021.[9] Die Walküre, the second in the four Ring operas was premiered in 2022. Both Das Rheingold and Die Walküre were performed in Melbourne and in Bendigo, the regional Victorian city where the full Ring Cycle would eventually be performed. The third Ring opera Siegfried was first given a concert performance in Melbourne in 2022. The company presented three full Ring Cycles in Bendigo at the Ulumbarra Theatre in 2023, with Siegfried receiving its staged premiere, followed by the company's premiere of Götterdämmerung. It was the first independent production of Der Ring des Nibelungen to be staged Australia in over 100 years, critically acclaimed and attracting audiences from Melbourne, interstate and from overseas.[10] The cast included: Warwick Fyfe as Wotan, Sarah Sweeting and Dimity Shepherd as Fricka, Antoinette Halloran and Zara Barrett as Brunnhilde, Simon Meadows as Alberich, James Egglestone as Loge and Siegmund, Lee Abrahmsen as Freia, Steven Gallop as Fafner, Robert Macfarlane as Mime, and Deborah Humble as Erda. [11]

Productions[12]

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* Australian premiere ** World premiere Concert performance

Governance

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Melbourne Opera is charitable company[5] governed by a board; the current chair is David Pitt.

Patrons

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Patron-in-Chief: Lady Potter AC CMRI
Patron: Maestro Richard Bonynge AC CBE
Founding Patrons: Sir Zelman Cowen AK GCMG GCVO KStJ QC, Prof Richard Divall AO OBE, Sir Rupert Hamer AC KCMG, Lady Hamer, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE, Dame Joan Sutherland OM AC CBE.

Orchestra

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The Melbourne Opera Orchestra was founded in 2003 and has developed into an ensemble in its own right. In December 2015/January 2016, and December 2016/January 2017 the orchestra undertook a concert tour of China.[35]

Conductors

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Greg Hocking AM is Melbourne Opera's conductor-in-residence and Raymond Lawrence is Head of Music. Guest conductors include John Dingle, Richard Divall, Patrick Burns, Ben Hudson, David Kram AM, Armando Krieger [es], Anthony Negus, Aldo Salvagno, Warwick Stengards and Matthew Toogood.[36]

Stage Directors

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Directors who have worked with the company include: Bruce Beresford, Greg Carroll, Suzanne Chaundy, Blair Edgar, Hugh Halliday, Plamen Kartaloff, Robert Ray, and Caroline Stacey.[37]

Richard Divall Program

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The Richard Divall Emerging Artists Program was created to honour the memory of Maestro Richard Divall AO OBE, supported by a bequest made by Melbourne born soprano, Sylvia Fisher. Upon her death, Fisher made this bequest to ensure the continuing support of the development new artists of operatic excellence in her hometown, Melbourne. Divall was closely involved in the planning and creation of this program before his death in 2017. The first intake of performers was in 2018.[38]

References

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  1. ^ "Henkell Family Fund – Support". henkellfamilyfund.com.au.
  2. ^ "The opera wars". The Age. 25 September 2004.
  3. ^ "OperaChaser: From Melbourne Opera, intellectual and visceral strength greet the long overdue Australian premiere of Donizetti's Roberto Devereux". 12 November 2017.
  4. ^ Quinn, Emily (3 August 2005). "New Melbourne Opera Company Will Reap Benefits of Australian Government Funding". Playbill.
  5. ^ a b "South East Regional Touring Opera Company Limited". acnc.gov.au. 6 May 2021.
  6. ^ Quinn, Emily (16 May 2005). "Merger of Melbourne Opera Companies Called Off". Playbill. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  7. ^ Richard Divall Program accessed 18 Oct 2024
  8. ^ "Wagner's das Rheingold | Regent Theatre". Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Das Rheingold Melbourne Opera". Limelight Magazine.
  10. ^ "Das Rheingold (2021)". 2021.
  11. ^ Bendigo Ring (2023)
  12. ^ "Past productions", Melbourne Opera
  13. ^ "La traviata – Melbourne Opera". australianstage.com.au.
  14. ^ Gérard Schneider (13 October 2009). "Tosca: Melbourne Opera". visual.artshub.com.au. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  15. ^ "opera-offers-a-merry-opening". Herald Sun. Retrieved 11 May 2021.[dead link]
  16. ^ a b "faust-is-short-on-vocal-stature". Herald Sun. Retrieved 11 May 2021.[dead link]
  17. ^ "Carmen – Melbourne Opera". australianstage.com.au.
  18. ^ "La bohéme – Melbourne Opera". australianstage.com.au.
  19. ^ Shmith, Michael (9 December 2013). "Melbourne Opera's performs Rienzi, a lumpish curiosity piece not one of Wagner's best". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  20. ^ "Der Freischütz – Melbourne Opera". australianstage.com.au.
  21. ^ Holdsworth, Rob. "The Barber of Seville (Melbourne Opera)". australianbookreview.com.au.
  22. ^ Holdsworth, Rob. "Mary Stuart (Melbourne Opera)". australianbookreview.com.au.
  23. ^ Selar, Paul (4 February 2016). "Opera review: The Abduction from the Seraglio, Melbourne Opera". Herald Sun.
  24. ^ Shmith, Michael (15 August 2016). "Tannhäuser review: Grand, romantic new production a great leap forward for Melbourne Opera". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  25. ^ "Melbourne Opera's HMS Pinafore is a handsome, spit and polished production". Herald Sun.
  26. ^ "Lohengrin (Melbourne Opera)". Limelight.
  27. ^ Zwartz, Barney (12 November 2017). "Melbourne Opera – Roberto Devereux: Helena Dix imbues work with real credibility". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  28. ^ "Tristan and Isolde (Melbourne Opera)". Limelight.
  29. ^ Davies, Bridget (13 August 2018). "Opera gets a Donald Trump makeover". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  30. ^ "Otello (Melbourne Opera)". Limelight.
  31. ^ "The Flying Dutchman review – Theatre in Melbourne". Time Out Melbourne.
  32. ^ "Norma review". Time Out Melbourne.
  33. ^ Davies, Bridget (6 February 2020). "Melbourne Opera in superb voice for Beethoven's magnificent Fidelio". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  34. ^ "Macbeth Melbourne Opera".
  35. ^ "Melbourne Opera Orchestra". National Centre for the Performing Arts (China).
  36. ^ "About". Melbourne Opera. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  37. ^ "About". Melbourne Opera. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  38. ^ "Singers selected for Melbourne Opera's Richard Divall Emerging Artists Program". Limelight.
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