Category: CITIES

Superstars in Sydney for Opera Australia’s ‘The Marriage of Figaro’

Marriage of Figaro Sydney Opera

It was in 2019 when Melbourne-born superstar soprano Stacey Alleaume took to the stage in Opera Australia’s The Marriage of Figaro as Susanna alongside Paolo Bordogna, tenor. It’s now in 2022 that the illustrious Australian opera company is bringing back the legendary tale – with Stacey in the role she performed all-too-well – that brought us its renowned overture from 27 January to 18 February 2022 at the Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. With three vocal talents that comprise some of the world’s finest singers, the production this summer won’t be one to miss. A regular on the stage of Milan’s Teatro alla Scala and opera houses around Europe, impressive Italian baritone Mario Cassi will debut as the Count, a role he has perfected in Liege and Dresden. Stellar Russian soprano Ekaterina Morozova will debut as the Countess, a role she performed at the Bolshoi in late 2021, and rising star Venetian bass-baritone Tommaso Barea debuts, as Figaro himself, opposite celebrated Australian soprano Stacey Alleaume as clever servant Susanna. Based on a play that was initially banned for its anti-aristocratic undertones, this sharp cat-and-mouse comedy that heroes the underclass will delight and entertain audiences as it has done since its 1786 debut in Vienna. The Marriage of Figaro is a lovable tale that has brought us such recognisable tunes as the one above and the beautiful, floaty Sull’Aria, sung by two characters Countess Almaviva who dictates to Susanna (Stacey Alleaume) the invitation to a tryst addressed to the countess’ husband in a plot to expose his… Read More

Floating bar and restaurant in Southbank: Yarra Botanicals Melbourne

Yarra Botanicals Melbourne

Opening in March 2022, there’s a new bar and restaurant in town a floating botanical garden oasis on the Yarra River offering casual pub-style eating and drinking with stunning views of the Melbourne city skyline. The new outdoor pontoon bar and eatery will span across two levels with Melbourne’s cityscape as the backdrop and has been created with year-round weather conditions in mind. With a dedication to nature and sustainability, Yarra Botanicals has been designed to be installed with minimum impact on the environment. The venue will brimming with native plants and indigenous aquatic vegetation, including climbing vines, native trees, planter boxes, herb gardens and edible plants that focus on the integration of gin botanicals. With the full range of cocktails, wines, local beers, ciders and premium spirits people expect from their favourite pub, Melburnians and tourists can relax water-side under market umbrellas, gather their group in a comfy booth, pop bottles on a day bed, enjoy a boozy brunch session, listen to the regular live music and DJS or retreat to the Upper Storey and sip on a cocktail as the sun goes down. Find out more and make a booking at Yarra Botanicals website

Best Drag bottomless brunch Sydney

Drag bottomless brunch Sydney,

If there’s one thing we Sydney-siders do well, it’s brunch. Whether venues are slinging mimosas or sangria, cheese boards or tacos, if it’s bottomless, then sign us up! On the lookout for the booziest way to cure your boredom this weekend? This guide to Sydney’s best bottomless brunches will leave your social calendar fully booked, and your mouth watering. Henrietta Charcoal Chicken View this post on Instagram A post shared by Henrietta Charcoal Chicken (@henrietta.chicken) Surry Hills eatery, Henrietta, introduces ‘Henrietta’s Hot Girl Summer’. A boozy brunch with all your favourite Middle Eastern flavours. Feast on charcoal chicken, chips, sides and salads, tastefully accompanied by bottomless beer, wine and cocktails. Not hot enough? Try a Fiery Kiss, Henrietta’s own apple juice x Fireball slushie. The best part is, if you have other brunch commitments, Henrietta is going bottomless all-day and all-night. The only venue in Sydney where you can ride the brunch wave to dinner and beyond. When: Weekends, 12pm (15th January – 27th February) Price: Banquets start from $49pp Untied Barangaroo Calling all vegetarians, vegans, and plant-based eaters, Untied presents their Vegan Bottomless Brunch. This three-course menu features the likes of pumpkin dip and scrambled tofu, with everything 100% vegan and 100% delicious. Drinks-wise, expect fruity cocktails and Untied’s signature Frozé, as well as various wines and beers to choose from. When: Sundays, 11am or 2pm seatings Price: $69 pp Prince of York CBD When you combine drag, disco and boozy brunch, how could anyone refuse? The Disco Baby Bottomless Brunch at Prince of… Read More

Share your Sydney Harbour Bridge story and celebrate its 90th birthday

Sydney Harbour Bridge complete whole ferry

The world renowned Sydney Harbour Bridge is turning 90 on 19 March 2022 and it’s time to celebrate. BridgeClimb Sydney – the company that operates and cares for the monument – is throwing open the doors to celebrate and wants to hear your untold stories of the bridge through it’s iconic life since 1932. Whether you or someone you know worked on the construction or maintenance of the Bridge, own a unique piece of Bridge memorabilia, or hold a special memory involving the Bridge, all submissions are welcome and can be submitted at their dedicated website. Nicknamed ‘the Coathanger’ because of its arched design, the 1,149m-long, 48.8m-wide structure is the world’s tallest steel arch bridge – measuring 134m from the top to the water below. It’s also the sixth longest spanning-arch bridge in the world. Get involved and help celebrate the milestone of one of our country’s most famous, beloved and practical icons! For more, head to the BridgeClimb website

Heading to Wespac Openair Cinema? Swing past the Hendrick’s Gin Garden

Westpac Openair CInemas

Westpac’s Openair Cinema’s back – now that we’re allowed – and that means two things: good movies and an excuse for good drinks. So, if you’re going, consider finishing the night off with Hendrick’s in their latest Gin Garden instalment. Sydney’s iconic 350-square-metre movie screen has once again risen from the harbour at Mrs Macquaries Point in the Royal Botanic Garden. From now through to February 22, Sydneysiders will be able to enjoy much more than the latest James Bond flick at Westpac Openair Cinema – before your movie starts, swing by Hendrick’s Gin Garden at The Point!  Directly north of the cinema seating, the pop-up bar will be serving crisp Hendrick’s Gin and Tonics, “oddly infused” with rose and cucumber gin. The gates to the cinema open at 6pm (the movies start after nightfall, usually between 8pm and 8.45pm) meaning you’ll have plenty of time to have a drink or two before taking their seat.  Tickets are now on sale, find more event details and book at the website

Melbourne Midsumma: queerest celebration of all things LGBTIQA+ this summer

Carnival Midsumma black woman in rainbow

After the fucking nightmare we’ve endured over the past better part of two years, it’s time to party. And where better to do it in the park, surrounded by friends, lovers, potential lovers, queens, queers and their friends? It’s time for the annual Melbourne Midsumma Festival in Alexandra Gardens from 23 January to 13 February 2022. Midsumma Carnival welcomes-in the celebrations for a whole 11 hours, so slip, slop, slap and strap in. In its 34th year, the Festival shines a spotlight on queer arts and cultural festivities, showcasing national and localartists. An impressive 195 events over the 3-week Festival will span across 119 venues, with over 500 culture-makersinvolved in events around metro Melbourne and regional Victoria. Celebrating LGBTQIA+, diverse journeys, culture makers and communities, Midsumma?will present161 open-access events made for, and by queer communities who live with shared experiences around diverse genderand sexuality, as well as a specifically curated program, Midsumma Presents, which will show 34 events highlightingthe unsung heroines and unheard voices of queer intersectional communities of this time. For more and to put together a plan, head to the Midsumma website

Edinburgh: celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee at Holyroodhouse

Holyroodhouse exhibition

In Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year, a major exhibition showcasing some of the finest paintings in the Royal Collection will be staged at The Queen’s Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse. Queen Elizabeth has reigned for 70 years and amongst the massive celebrations planned for Her Majesty, this exhibition will put on a show befitting royalty. Displaying more than 30 spectacular works by artists such as Rembrandt, Rubens, Claude, Artemisia Gentileschi and Van Dyck, it’s an exhibition that’s worth the journey if you’re coming from afar. The exhibition provides a unique opportunity to view these world-renowned paintings afresh in a modern gallery setting, away from the historic interior of the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace, where they can usually be seen as part of the annual Summer Opening of the State Rooms. Masterpieces from Buckingham Palace is at The Queen’s Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse, 25 March – 25 September 2022. For more information and to book tickets, head to the Royal Collection Trust’s website

Jonas Kaufmann one if the world’s best tenors does Lohengrin at Melbourne Arts Centre

Jonas Kaufmann

When Jonas Kaufmann was last in Australia, he toured Parsifal in 2017 and Andrea Chenier in 2019 with Opera Australia. He left audiences’ mouths agape and sent them off with the tale in their hearts and now, he’s back to give audiences a glimpse into the world of Wagner’s Lohengrin, in a partnership between Opera Australia and Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie. Rarely performing outside Europe these days, this is the first time the German tenor will perform in a fully staged opera anywhere in the entire South East Asia region, let alone Australia. It‘s a tremendous thrill that one of the greatest tenors alive is coming to Melbourne to perform in his first opera in Australia, and singing, arguably, one of his finest roles. He will be joined by a cast of powerhouse singers: Emily Magee, Elena Gabouri, Marco Vratogna, Daniel Sumegi and Warwick Fyfe. Opera Australia’s Head of Music Tahu Mathesonwill conduct Wagner’s romantic opera, featuring a huge chorus. Needless to say, it’s a performance not to be missed. Get tickets and find out more information at the Opera Australia website.

Sydney Opera: this January Turandot returns to Joan Sutherland

Yonghoon Lee Calaf Turnadot Opera 1

The last time Turandot was such a spectacle, it was the title performance of Handa’s Opera on Sydney Harbour and made for a light, sound and experiential spectacular that had to be experienced. Fast forward to 2022 and it’s taking over the Joan Sutherland Theatre in the Sydney Opera House, offering audiences members the moment, again, to hold their breath as Yonghoon Lee – an OA favourite – hits that famous Vincero note (I will will) at the end of Nessun Dorma (No one will sleep). It’s an especially exciting way to kick of the new year of music after almost two years of music deprivation around the world thanks to the pandemic. We’re aching for the angelic voices of Yonghoon Lee (Calaf), Karah Son and Mariana Hong (Liu) and a spread of other renowned Opera Australia talent. Not to mention, as OA Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini is pleased to announce that rising star Australian sopranoAnna-Louise Cole will share the title role. “Anna-Louise has been a member of our Young ArtistProgram and is ready to tackle these big roles. It is really exciting that she will make her role debutas Turandot so audiences in Sydney can hear what her voice can really do. What’s Turandot about? A fantasy opera of poetry and myth, Turandot transports audiences to an exotic world where fearand love go hand in hand. Viewers will be on the edge of their seats as suitors answer riddles atthe risk of death in an attempt to win the hand of the ice princess… Read More

Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb does drinks in an unusual way with Hendricks

burrawa climb

If top views and stunning blue skies have your name on it this January, then the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb is where you should head. Especially because they’ve got a unique Burrawa Climb these days, which celebrates Australia’s roots and highlights aboriginal stories and landmarks across the Harbour. But particularly because they’ve partnered with Hendricks gin to establish a post-climb gin bar for weary legs and tired climbers. For the month of January, all 18+ climbers that scale the iconic arches of the Sydney Harbour Bridge after 1:00 pm will receive a complimentary refreshing summer drink post-climb at the Celebration Bar. The perfect way to complete your journey with a Hendrick’s Gin and Fever-Tree Tonic, garnished with the iconic cucumber of course.   Here’s how to secure access to the Celebration Bar:   1.       Select a climb between the 3 – 31 January 2022   2.       Choose a climb that departs from 1pm onwards  3.       Book your climb  4.       Climb then cheers!   Book your climb to secure access at the Celebration Bar here.