Category: OPERA

Melburnian opera singers dominate the annual Mazda in the Domain, Sydney

Opera Domain 1

Their voices soar so high, you can hear them from Circular Quay. And that’s the way we like it. Sydney’s annual Opera in the Domain has been going strong for 19 years now and doesn’t show any signs of stopping. They say 30k people come to hear some of the world’s most impressive voices belt out tunes up-to 300 years old. It’s quite the spectacle. Overtaking Sydney’s famed Domain public grounds, right next to the Sydney Harbour, singers primarily from Melbourne as well as around the world like mezzo soprano Sian Pendry (Melbourne), soprano Stacey Alleaume (Melbourne), soprano Anna-Louise Cole (Melbourne), tenor Shanul Sharma (Melbourne), tenor Diego Torre (Mexico) and baritone Jose Carbo (Argentina-Australia) performed beautifully, pieces by Puccini, Bizet and Rossini and many more. It even made the first large-scale public presentation of vocal clarity for two young up-and-comers, Anna-Louise Cole and Shanul Sharma, both of whom made their big-stage debut at the Sydney event. Mazda Australia is in its 16th year of sponsoring the Opera in the Domain as their way of enriching Australia’s cultural scene. By giving back to a community that has continued to support them and their business, Mazda is happy to support something quite unique for opera and quite unique to the rest of the world, right here in Australia. “An appreciation for art in its many forms is deeply embedded in Mazda’s DNA. From world class musical spectacles to groundbreaking gallery exhibits, we pledge support to a vast range of art initiatives, to help make these culturally enriching… Read More

4 biggest songs to hear in La Boheme by Opera Australia

You can be a veteran opera-goer or a first-timer, the effect of La Boheme (Puccini) are always the same: complete transfixation. There’s something to be said for the opera’s ability to suck everyone in with the tale of fragility, love and untimely death that draws-out the inner emotion from us all. Puccini was known to have put big stories into the lives of little people with simple tales told well, and the one of his timeless classic, La Boheme, does that all too well. Complete with an international mixing pot of cast this spring-summer season of opera by Opera Australia, that includes the likes of Joyce El-Khoury (Mimi, Maija Kovalevska (2, 4, 9, 11, 21, 23, 31 Jan; 2 Feb–28 Mar)), the Australian production company has turned out another seat-filler of a presentation. Here are the four biggest songs of La Boheme to listen out for in this season’s production… Che gelida manina ‘What an icy little hand’ The first arias of many between protagonists Rodolfo (Ivan Magrì (Jan 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 17, 19 Jan, and Diego Torre (2, 4, 9, 11, 21, 23, 31 Jan; 2 Feb–28 Mar)) and Mimi, it’s the moment the two characters fall in love as they fumble around for a lost house key. Quando m’en vo When I go along (Musetta’s Waltz) Musetta is Marcello’s occasional girlfriend, who in a club in Paris one night, sings about her apparent irresistibility. She’s stunning, and tries to reclaim the attention of Marcello and kicks her husband out of the bar. Si, mi chiamo Mimi Yes, my name is Mimi Mimi’s song is a feeble one that… Read More

Joyce El-Khoury has joined Opera Australia in 2019 for La Boheme

Mimi sings for Rodolfo in La Boheme

Maria Callas is back! Well… not really, but, she may as well be if any of the articles out there about Canadian-Lebanese soprano, Joyce El-Khoury are anything to go by; she’s one of the most exciting new additions to Opera Australia this spring-summer season of 2019. Opening the season with Puccini’s classic La Boheme, El-Khoury will pick-up the role of Mimi, the innocent little bird who’s swept-up into the drama of the Bohemians in the thick of winter. Joyce headlines the cast of this season’s production, which has fast-proved to be an international explosion of some of the world’s finest singers. In addition to her debut to the Australian opera scene, Latvian soprano Maija Kovalevska will partner with El-Khoury on the role of Mimi, while Italian and Mexican tenors Ivan Magri and Diego Torre will shine in their portrayals of Rodolfo, the poet and male lead. With experience at The Met (NYC), Handa Opera (Sydney Harbour), Royal Opera House Covent Garden (London), The Bolshoi and Teatro Colon (Buenoa Aires) between them all, this production’s cast will leave large shoes to fill. Read more about how Diego Torre did something not many others can. This season’s production comes off the back of last season’s which culminated in a magical production of La Boheme at the Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour. Complete with snow and actual cars, the production was one for the memory books, only surely to be met in quality and transcendentalism with the addition of these stunning new international singers. See more and get your tickets… Read More