Thrills, fireworks, excitement: Summer season of opera has something for everyone

Opera Australia's summer season opens with our New Year's Eve performance of La boheme

The New Year's Eve Opera Gala

The silly season is in full swing: Santa is putting in appearances at wine bars and kiddies’ parties, festive frocks are being hauled out for end-of-year functions, and queues for taxis are getting longer and longer. In Melbourne Opera Australia is performing the final nights of its spring season before heading back to Sydney for what promises to be a blockbuster summer.

For the first time in Company history, the season opens on New Year’s Eve at the Opera House. As OA Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini explains: “We wanted to start a new tradition, like the one at La Scala where the season always opens on the first night of the Sant’Ambrogio Festival. The idea is that all over the world people will come to associate New Year’s Eve in Sydney with thrills, excitement, fireworks and the opening of Opera Australia’s summer season at the Opera House.”

Thus, on 31 December this year opera lovers will be able to celebrate the advent of 2013 with the first night of Gale Edwards’ runaway success production of La bohème.

A Masked Ball: Coming to both
Sydney and Melbourne in 2013

The production boasts a talented young cast of singing actors: rising star Nicole Car is performing her first Mimì, and handsome Gianluca Terranova, who was Alfredo in Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour La Traviata earlier this year, is Rodolfo, the young artist who falls in love with her. Later in the season, Diego Torre, one of the world’s great young tenors, will take over from him. Lorina Gore is the loveable flirt, Musetta, and audience favourite Taryn Fiebig returns from overseas to reprise the role later in the season. “For newcomers to opera, this production is ideal,” Terracini says.

In January opera buffs have their own treat when OA’s exciting new co-production of Verdi’s A Masked Ball, the first of a trio of Verdi operas commemorating the composer’s 200-year birthday anniversary, opens at the Sydney Opera House. “I’ve been watching the set of this production by La Fura dels Baus being built in Workshop, and it’s going to look stunning,” Terracini says. Star tenor Diego Torre is Gustav III, Tamar Iveri makes her OA debut as Amelia, and OA stalwart José Carbó, everybody’s favourite Barber of Seville, makes his Verdi debut as Ankarström, a lyrical baritone role perfectly suited to his voice.

Falstaff

For newcomers to opera, the Verdi festival offers the revival of Elke Neidhardt’s Il trovatore production. Daria Masiero, whom audiences loved as Liù in Turandot, is Leonora, and Arnold Rawls, the ‘King of the High Cs’ who recently sang the role at New York’s Met, is Manrico. Terracini says: “When the tenor sings those stirring high Cs at the end of ‘Di quella pira’, it’s great fun for the audience.” Most people will also know the ‘Anvil Chorus’ from radio commercials or from singing it in a concert.

The grande finale of the Verdi Festival is the revival of Simon Phillips’production of Falstaff, an ensemble piece in which another OA stalwart, baritone Warwick Fyfe, stars in the title role.

Summer at the Opera House ends with a treat for everyone: Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld directed byJonathan Biggins. “The production will be very different from the last time we saw it: expect a Broadway show; expect to laugh a lot and to have a great time,” Terracini says. Comedienne Rachelle Durkin, whom audiences adored as Violetta in Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour - La Traviata, is returning from New York to strut her stuff as Eurydice.

Rinat Shaham, who will star
as Carmen in Handa Opera on
Sydney Harbour in 2013

When the Opera House season closes, it is time for the highlight of summer: eighteen nights of balmy outdoor opera on Sydney Harbour. Carmen on the harbour is already selling like hotcakes, and part of the attraction is the return to Sydney of sultry Israeli mezzo-soprano Rinat Shaham, now recognised as one of the world’s great exponents of the role. Russian tenor Dmytro Popov makes his Covent Garden debut right before coming to Sydney to sing Don José, a role that he will share with Adam Diegel, who has been singing Don José at New York’s Met. And local rising star David Corcoran will also be singing a couple of Don Josés. 

“We cast these fabulous singing actors because in a production that attracts so many first-time opera goers – this year 61 percent of the audience had never been to an opera before – you need artists who are able to communicate powerfully with a large audience,” Terracini says.

A spectacular set is another essential, and Brian Thomson, who came up with the idea of the chandelier in Traviata, has created another dramatic design for Carmen. “Brian has been under tremendous pressure to top his set for La Traviata, and we think he’s done it.”

Orpheus in the Underworld

As for the weather: it drove the entire opera company to distraction last March/April, but Terracini, who has four different weather apps on his iPhone, is confident that 2013 is going to be a piece of cake. “The farmers will hate me for saying this, but it’s an El Niño period, which means drought,” he grins.

Of course, there could be a thunder storm on opening night. “We are always under pressure and I think it’s a good thing. People expect OA to do something special, and it’s our job to live up to that.”

Creating the mother from hell: Jacqui Dark on singing Strauss' Herodias

Jacqui Dark as Herodias in Salome

Jacqui Dark

On stage Jacqui Dark, the wicked Herodias in Gale Edwards’ new production of Strauss’ Salome, now on at Arts Centre Melbourne, is a force of nature who keeps audiences enraptured as she totters about in sky-high heels and an even higher wig.

Off-stage she’s charmingly undiva-like, agreeing to do an interview at short notice, on a Friday night, at the tail-end of her dinner, with her five-month-old son Xander gurgling in the background.

One cannot help but wonder: how does a new mother so obviously in love with her baby and the idea of motherhood, play the role of a woman who makes Cruella de Vil look like a kindergarten teacher? Dark laughs at the notion “Oh isn’t she a monster?” she says, pleasantly.

“And yes, preparing the role was very tricky, as by the time Sydney rehearsals had started (in October this year), my son was three months old and I was full of the milk of human kindness, yet at work I had to be this dreadful mother who basically turns her daughter into a raving maniac.”

She could never have done it without huge input from Edwards. “Gale forced me to delve deep into Herodias’ character, which was exhausting. Frankly, I don’t know how anyone could be that hideous in real life – it would just be too tiring!”

Yet towards the end of the Sydney run of Salome, Dark was relishing the role. “That’s completely to Gale’s credit,” she says. “She pushed me and pushed me. I’d do what I thought was evil, and she’d say, ‘You’re not going far enough’.  I’d say, ‘I don’t have more to give, I don’t know what else you want from me!’ And then I’d do more, and she’d say, ‘OK, so there was more, now I want more again’. Gale pushes you as far as you can go within the confines of having to sing and occasionally look at the conductor.”

Jacqui Dark as Herodias with
John Pickering as Herod

Crucial to creating the character was establishing the motivation behind Herodias’ actions. Dark says: “A big part of it is jealousy; Salome is just coming into her sexual prime. But there’s also a strong sense of guilt, as Herodias is allowing her daughter to be preyed upon by a paedophile. Of course, she was part of a Royal Court and if she walked out she’d probably have been killed, or been killed by Herod’s enemies. She needs Herod’s protection to survive. But she must wake at 4am some mornings and think, ‘Oh my God, what have I done?’ Her greatest hatred would be of herself.”

Dark has a natural upright posture and her instinct was to play the queen as regal and stately. It came as a shock to discover, on the first day of rehearsals, that Edwards had something completely different in mind. “She wanted my body to mirror Herodias’ soul, which meant that it had to become contorted, angular, pointy – something resembling a tarantula. It was really hard to get used to singing in that twisted frame.”

Herodias has considerable help from the wig and make-up departments. Dark laughs when recalling her journey with the wig, which could be described as a giant nun’s wimple, made of hair and ending in three points, one on top of Herodias’ head and one on each side of it. “At one stage during rehearsals I was going to lie back in my chair bored, rolling my eyes, but the wig was so heavy that it hurt my back to lean back.” 

And all that top-heaviness has to be negotiated on a pair of perilously high heels. Dark says: “It’s difficult, but I just love the wig and the heels.”

Then there’s make-up, which initially took 45 minutes to apply, but by the beginning of the Melbourne run had shrunk to half an hour. “We tried out several looks before settling on the final one, which is gorgeously evil, with defined eyes and loads of glitter.  Wearing that make-up really helps to channel the character.”

Finally, there’s the music, which Dark describes as “an incredible challenge”.  “Strauss doesn’t give you a hint of pitch, and rhythmically the music is very hard too. Trying to concentrate on those two elements while acting this ogre and negotiating a huge, heavy wig on a pair of stiletto heels...you really have to have your brain switched on every second of the night.”

Jacqui Dark and Kanen Breen in costume
with baby Xander

Next year is big for Dark, with roles in Falstaff, Albert Herring and the Melbourne Ring cycle coming up, and parenthood keeping her very busy too. So perhaps it’s just as well she’s such a bundle of energy. She laughs when this is put to her. “Now I know why you’re meant to have a baby when you’re 20!”

Juggling caring for her son with performing and learning new roles is made possible by the solid support of friends. She describes her son as “a good-natured little thing whom everyone loves to mind”. Then bursts out laughing: “Or so they tell me!” Very often when he has stayed with friends he comes home in a new outfit. “I’m so lucky to have such amazing people in my life.”

Becoming a parent has taught her to use her time more efficiently. “You become really adept at using even the smallest units of time. I was having a little meltdown the other day, with thousands of words to learn for Falstaff, and Kane [tenor Kanen Breen] said, ‘Right, two days this week I’m going to take the baby out for a couple of hours’. So I had two blocks of two hours, and in that time I learned half the show. Thank goodness I’m a quick learner.”

And that she is, well, a force of nature. Who would want it any other way?  

Salome is showing at Arts Centre Melbourne until Saturday 15 December 2012. Click here for more information and tickets.

The Operative Word with John Bolton Wood

John Bolton Wood as Benoit in La boheme

John Bolton Wood

Why do you do the job that you do? I have the voice to sing opera, which I love, and the ability to entertain, which is my passion.      

Who has influenced you most professionally? The late Max Speed was the crucial influence in my life; he taught me voice production, which equipped me with the ability to sing the music I love. 

Is there any other profession that you would have liked to have followed? The stage has been my lifelong passion; I could perhaps also have embraced teaching, especially English and History. 

What is your idea of perfect happiness? To be inspired by the music of great composers and to appreciate their genius.   

If you could have dinner with a historical figure, who would it be? Sir John Monash – he had extraordinary abilities as a military leader, was an engineer of great accomplishment and a great lover of opera and theatre. He was also a great Australian. 

What is your greatest extravagance? Motor cars. I love driving a well-made car. 

John Bolton Wood as Dr Bartolo with
Michael Martin as Count Almaviva in
The Barber of Seville 2004

One thing you regret is… Being unable to give awards to all the young people who compete in singing competitions where I have adjudicated.  

If you could have any opera character as a friend, who would it be, and why? Padre Guardiano in La forza del destino, as he embodies compassion, knowledge, understanding and wisdom. I’d be proud to have him as a friend and mentor. 

Who or what is the love of your life? Opera. It has dictated my every move.  

What are you optimistic about? The future of opera in Australia. With young people doing so well, I am certain Australia will become a world centre of opera to which people will come from all parts of the world. 

You would like to devote more time to… Mentoring and teaching the younger generation of performers what has been taught to me and what I have gained from practical experience. 

What is your favourite food? Chicken roast with baked potatoes, two veg and some ice cream and fruit to follow.  

What is your most treasured possession? My pictures of my parents and sister and a signed picture of Enrico Caruso. 

John Bolton Wood as Major General Stanley
in The Pirates of Penzance 2006 

Which is the opera that got you hooked? Faust, performed by a visiting Italian company in 1956. It was my first opera and an inspiring experience that opened the world of opera and singing to me. 

Which opera do you never need to hear again? There are many operas that are not close to my heart, but none that I would not want to hear again. 

If there’s one quote that really speaks to you it’s… One from my father: The truth never has to be established, it establishes itself and all you need is the patience to allow that to happen. 

What is your idea of misery? Being unable to hear the music and singing I love. 

You still hope to… For as long as I am drawing breath to be of service to the profession I love. 

Which characteristics do you most admire in others? I admire people who work hard to achieve something that is worthwhile; I admire honesty in performers. 

You feel guilty when you think about… I feel guilty when for some reason I have been unable to do my best for the audience. 

What type of holiday do you most enjoy? Any holiday that allows me to leave my music behind; it is good to relax completely and re-energise. 

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I would like to be taller so that I could stand still, hold a sword and sing an aria. As a short fatty and character artist, I am always on the move. 

John Bolton Wood as Judge Turpin in
Sweeney Todd 2007

Who is your favourite band? No favourites; I respect all musicians for their ability and achievement. 

You spend too much money on… Books and recordings; I have 65 boxes of them in storage. 

Your greatest achievement has been… Being the son of the most wonderfully supportive parents a man could have, and being able to fulfil the faith they had in me.  

The book everyone loved but you could not finish was... The Bible. It is a very long work and demands concentration and understanding. I mostly find a chapter, a page or a verse can be sufficient to nourish my mind. 

What is your favourite kitchen appliance? My Crock-Pot. I chop up the ingredients in the morning, put them in the pot and a good meal awaits me when I get home from rehearsal.  

How do you stay up to date with new technology and trends? By listening to younger people and not thinking that there is nothing more for me to learn. 

Who is your favourite heartthrob? Enrico Caruso. 

John Bolton Wood stars as Benoit in La bohème, showing on New Year's Eve and continuing its summer season presentation from 5 January 2013.

Chorus creates Bohème of many layers

The children's chorus at Cafe Momus in La boheme 2011

Members of the women's chorus in Act II

When Gale Edwards’ runaway-success production of Puccini’s La bohème opens at the Sydney Opera House on New Year’s Eve, audiences will be treated to fabulous singing. They’ll also be bowled over by the production’s many striking tableaux. To create these seemingly spontaneous scenes, Edwards encourages each chorister to take on an individual role.

As long-time chorister Tom Hamilton, who has worked with Edwards in Bohème, Salome and Sweeney Todd, says: “Gale likes you create a character with a journey; you may work out a family for yourself, a reason why you’re in the story, and what happens to you after the end of the opera. In doing so you become someone who always reacts in line with who he or she is.”

Edwards begins her chorus briefings by talking about the world she’s creating, showing film clips, playing music and offering cultural references in support of that vision. In Bohème, for example, she evokes Berlin between the wars. “She showed us a few film clips from Weimar Berlin and talked about the ways in which society was crumbling,” Hamilton says. “This informed especially Act II, where people meet in a frenzy of hedonism at a club where Nazis enter at the end of the evening.”

Once the big picture has been established, Edwards encourages choristers to add layers. “When the Nazis come in, she’d say, ‘What do you think about them? Do you hate them? Like them? Want to be one of them? Make a choice, and then show it on your face.’ Because there’s nothing worse than an unintended blank face on stage.”

Hamilton’s Act II character is Santa Claus, who mans the bar. “The scene takes a dig at Christmas in Weimar Berlin – Santa is a drunk surrounded by nudity and prostitution and fascism.” In creating the character, Hamilton made him a drug addict who staggers in to work, drinks the bar dry and possibly spits in customers’ food. “You could just walk from point A to point B, then sit down and think of your shopping list. Or you could spend your time on stage lurching and belching and inhabiting the person you’ve created,” he says.

The men's chorus in Act III

Besides their own input, choristers also use Edwards’ suggestions to add meaning to scenes. Hamilton says: “For example, in Act II there’s a pile of chairs at the centre of the stage, and I’d be walking past it and Gale would say, ‘Go and sit on the chair at the bottom of the pile, then stagger off and do your work at the bar.’” This simple gesture focuses the audience’s attention on the pile. “And you ask yourself, ‘Is it a pile of chairs? A pile of books? The burned books? Bodies after the Nazi Holocaust?’” 

Thus, a rich, multi-layered tableau is created. “The magic of what Gale creates is that her pictures are so full of detail. That’s why people come back to see her productions a second and third time: there’s so much going on, so much else to see.”

Principals say that a fully in-character chorus inspires them to greater heights. The reverse is also true. “Every time a different principal walks on stage, it’s a different show. We bounce off them and if a principal is not interested in interacting, it’s up to us to carry the torch.”

Among choristers, many of whom have known each other for years, on stage there are no friendships, only characters. “Once you pass the sign that says ‘Silence please’, you leave one world and enter another. An energy is unleashed. A light comes on.” 

La bohème is showing at Sydney Opera House on New Year's Eve and continues its season from 5 January to 23 March 2013.