Views & Reviews

Reflections

By Cameron Menzies

Introduction
“Theatre Genius”, “Melbourne’s Enfant Terrible”, “Artistic Leader”, “Visionary”, “Perfectionist”, are
a few quotes that have been used to describe Cameron Menzies. He has taken on many roles in his career some of which are Artistic Director, Creative Director, Writer, Designer, Associate Artist and Stage Director of Opera, Music Theatre, Cabaret and Theatre.

View: Too big to fail

By Antony Ernst

So here we are, either in isolation, or in preparation for isolation, or, in some cases, compulsively buying toilet paper for when the – respiratory - virus hits. All over the world, normality has been suspended. Governments are trying to deal with a phenomenon which is threatening the foundations of society.

Review: Bayreuth 2019

Bayreuth

By Rhodri Bradley Jones and Dr Lourdes st George

“This was my first time at Bayreuth and it didn’t disappoint. The beauty of the theatre itself, the exquisite sound of the orchestra, the intensity of the audience and the class and style of everything were exceptional. And such a very powerful sense of history too. (Not all of it by any means good.)

Review: 'Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg' in Beijing: A great experience marred by political correctness, 2018

Meistersinger in Beijing 2018


By Colin Mackerras

The Production and Conception

The whole concept of the work has been adjusted for this production. The story is set in the twentieth or twenty-first century, not the sixteenth. The focus is not the Mastersingers of Nuremberg but a contemporary club of Mastersingers.

Review: Triumphant reprise of the Stemme/Skelton 'Tristan und Isolde' in Hobart, Tasmania, November 2016

Tristan und Isolde, Hobart 2016


By Colleen Chesterman

On the night of 19 November 2016, a packed audience in the Federation Concert Hall in Hobart heard Swedish soprano Nina Stemme and Australian tenor Stuart Skelton perform an abridged concert version of Wagner’s magnificent Tristan und Isolde under the baton of Marko Letonja, conducting the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.

Review: The Longborough Ring, 2013

The Longborough Ring 2013

By Terry and Julie Clarke
I have written before about performances of Wagner’s works in small private opera houses in the English countryside. For the past ten years Lizzie and Martin Graham have pursued the almost impossible dream of mounting a full Ring Cycle at their home in Longborough in the beautiful Cotswolds Hills west of Oxford.

Review: 'Tannhäuser' Und Der Sängerkrieg Auf Wartburg, June 2010

By Richard Mason

Vienna Staatsoper – 16th June 2010 [opening night of a new production]
Johan Botha [Tannhäuser], Anja Kampe [Elisabeth], Michaela Schuster [Venus], Christian Gerhaher [Wolfram], Ain Anger [Landgraf], Gergely Németi [Walther], Alexandru Moisiuc [Biterolf], Marcus Pelz [Reinmar], Alois Mühlbacher [Shepherd]; Production: Claus Guth, Christian Schmidt; Lighting: Olaf Freese; Movement: Konrad Kuhn; Conducted by Franz Welser-Möst

Review: A Polished Vienna Ring, 2009

By Jan Bowen

Given the current global financial crisis, Wotan’s difficulties in coming up with the ready to pay for Valhalla almost certainly struck a chord with many modern day cash- strapped members of the audience. The enduring relevance of Wagner’s magnum opus was strikingly evident in the Vienna Staatsoper’s recent Ring Cycle if for no other reason than its timing.

'Parsifal' - A personal view, 1984

By Trevor O'Brien

[Trevor O’Brien’s meditation on the music-drama is a sensitive introduction to ways of responding to this somewhat enigmatic work - Editor]

Is it that Wagner is hard to comprehend, or is it that only at times when one can relate personally to the emotions and experiences of which Wagner wrote that a clear understanding of his work evolves? Personal interaction with Wagner’s operas at various moments in our own development seem to expand the understanding and give a clear insight into our own lives.