OzOpera's Greetings from the Gong

The OzOpera touring team in Mullaley

This blog entry was written by OzOpera cast member and Opera Australia baritone Luke Gabbedy

Finally the tour has found some warmer weather after four weeks of cold.

It’s about this time during a tour when the novelty begins to fade, friendships begin to show signs of strain and patience isn’t the most present virtue.  Luckily however, the sun, beach and warmer weather here in Wollongong seems to have washed all of the above away!

Luke Gabbedy as Don Giovanni with
Katherine Wiles as Donna Elvira

I was just about to mention that after sickness went through a large portion of the touring party and we were all finally well again, Samuel Dundas (who sings chorus... OK, he also sings Don G!) found me writing this blog and informed me he has just started to feel unwell.

The other reason that spirits have lifted, is that most of the company live in Sydney and we get to go home for a week after Wollongong as we have performances in Penrith and Parramatta.  Some of us haven’t been home since the end of March.

So, what’s happened this week?

Monday: After a cold weekend in Bathurst we travelled north to the country music capital of Australia, Tamworth. The drive was long but we had the two most enjoyable stops along the way. The first was the gorgeous town of Mudgee, where some of us warmed our feet in front of an open fireplace and had a delicious pub lunch. The second, and my personal favourite so far, was the picturesque little pub and petrol station at Mullaley. Sitting outside in the sun, but still cool, enjoying a beer in the middle of nowhere was magical.

Adrian Tamburini as Leporello with
Luke Gabbedy as Don Giovanni

Tuesday: Breakfast at The Bell Tower was enjoyed by a number of tourists.  I believe a couple of energetic souls jogged up to the Oxley lookout. Well done guys! This was Oz Opera’s first ever performance in Tamworth. We weren’t sure how the audience would respond to classical opera, but the Bellini cast gave a wonderful performance and the locals lapped it up.

Wednesday: A long day on the bus from Tamworth, all the way to Wollongong. Let’s just describe the day as... “We arrived eventually”!

Thursday: We woke up to sunny skies, warmer temperatures and for some, balconies with ocean views.  We love Wollongong! I’d never been to the Gong before and I was very pleasantly surprised.  Lovely beach, shops, cafes and restaurants, it feels like we’re on holiday here. My fellow Campari cast members began the first of three nights in Wollongong. The singers are really beginning to appreciate how hard our fantastic conductor, Brett Weymark, and all of the orchestra work.  The singers perform their principal role one night, then perform chorus the next.  Brett and the band perform every show.  It’s an extremely long and difficult score for them to play but they sound amazing every show.  Even with just nine musicians, Mozart’s score still sounds fabulous.  Well done all!

Well that’s enough for now.  It’ll soon be time to start packing to go back home. Even for a week, it’s going to be wonderful to see families again and be able to sleep in our own beds.