OUR SECOND JULY EVENT - ON SUNDAY 28 JULY 2024

 

Michael Scott-Mitchell & Nick Schlieper


12.00pm:
DVD - The Ring without words
Lorin Maazel/Berlin Philharmoniker

2.00pm:
On the 20th anniversary of the SOSA Ring,
a conversation with Michael Scott-Mitchell (set designer)
& Nick Schlieper (lighting designer)
about the 2004 Adelaide Ring
 
Venue:
The Goethe Institut, Event Hall (upstairs),
90 Ocean Street (cnr Jersey Road), Woollahra
 
 
 
Or pay at the door.
 

ABOUT MICHAEL SCOTT-MITCHELL (SET DESIGNER)
 

Michael Scott-Mitchell is one of Australia’s leading set designers and a prolific artist working across theatre, opera, dance, film, television, events and exhibition design within Australia and internationally. He has established himself as a formidable force within the arts, designing a raft of highly acclaimed productions and events across a broad spectrum of theatrical and architectural genres: drama, opera, musicals, dance, Olympic and National Ceremonies, restaurants, hotels, exhibitions, film and television. He is also a highly regarded educator, holding significant teaching and academic positions.

 

His collaboration with Elke Neidhardt (director), Nick Schlieper (lighting and associate set designer) and Steven Curtis (costumes) on the 2004 Adelaide Ring received worldwide acclaim and continues to be held in high regard as one of the landmark productions of Wagner’s epic work. A monumental design challenge requiring more than 20 set models; the process spanned 4 years and was a huge undertaking. The production received 11 Helpmann Awards in 2005, an unprecedented number for any production to date, with Michael being awarded Best Scenic Design.

 
 
ABOUT NICK SCHLIEPER (LIGHTING DESIGNER)
 

Nick Schlieper has designed for all of the major performing arts companies in Australia and works regularly in Europe and the USA. He is one of Australia’s most highly awarded designers having received six Sydney Critics Awards (two for set design and 4 for lighting design), six Melbourne Green Room Awards and 5 Helpmann Awards. He has lit many productions for Opera Australia and was lighting and associate set designer for the first Australian production of The Ring Cycle in Adelaide.

He has designed the lighting for over 100 shows at the Sydney Theatre Company. His international work includes productions for the Salzburg Festival, the Hamburg State Opera, the Bavarian State Opera and Royal Shakespeare Company, plus work for musical theatre on Broadway.

 

ABOUT THE DVD: THE RING WITHOUT WORDS - LORIN MAAZEL/BERLIN PHILHARMONIKER
 
A unique synthesis of orchestral music from Wagner’s Ring cycle. Arranged by Lorin Maazel, the work was designed to be free flowing (no breaks) and chronological, beginning with the first note of Rheingold and finishing with the last chord of Götterdämmerung. All the music is Wagner’s, and even the transitional material is drawn from the original scores. To convey the breadth and scope of the entire work, Maazel also excerpted material from each opera in proportion to the whole cycle. The result is a 75-minute symphonic journey through Wagner’s four great operas. With its huge orchestras, sprawling mythological plot, and intense musical drama, the Ring changed the world of music. Orchestrally, they are probably the most complex operas in history, and only the most intrepid of orchestras are up to the challenge. One of the world’s greatest ensembles, the Berlin Philharmonic, has built an unparalleled reputation in the music of Wagner and his contemporaries. This synthesis by conductor Lorin Maazel includes all the standard Ring orchestral excerpts such as Ride of the Valkyries and Siegfried’s Rhine Journey, as well as most of the leitmotifs known to exist in the score. The result is a unique and innovative symphonic suite (played without interruption) performed by one of the world’s most esteemed orchestras.