Lucia di Lammermoor, a tale with as much drama and death as Romeo and Juliet, is the latest masterpiece presented by West Australian Opera showing at His Majesty’s Theatre. Lucia (Emma Pearson) promises herself to Edgardo (Aldo di Toro) but her brother Enrico (Samuel Dundas) sends him away...
1984 may be many things but it is not a love story. There is no happy ending. It may feature love, hope, and rebellion but it is not a tale that leaves you satisfied and warm-hearted. 1984 is not enjoyable, at least in the sense of ‘joy’. 1984,...
1984. It’s one of those novels that everyone seems to have an opinion about. George Orwell’s well-known dystopian hall-mark of literature, ‘1984’ has recently been re-created as a stage production for an Australian tour during a time where some might say we need it most. Directed and...
Opera is a diverse and captivating genre. It often gets a bad reputation as mere melodrama but opera needs to be experienced to be understood. There’s no way of understanding the depths of a novel without cracking open the book and, with opera, you really need to...
If you’re looking for a fun night out, that will leave you in stitches, look no further. The Play That Goes Wrong is guaranteed to be a great night out, you will howl with laughter, and be completely unprepared for the hilarity happening onstage. Genuinely the best...
People often state that whenever someone makes something look easy, it’s often much, much harder than it looks. Truth is, the individual has found a way to refine their skill to such a level of expertise, it now looks seamless and effortless. The same could be said...
Tosca, West Australian Opera’s lasted show to grace His Majesty’s Theatre, is a whirlwind of romance, jealousy, and grief. To briefly explain: Floria Tosca (Antoinette Halloran) finds herself in danger’s way after her lover Maria Cavaradossi (Paul O’Neill) helps Cesare Angelotti (Wade Kernot) hide from the police, lead...
Wade Kernot [playing Cesare in the to-be-performed Puccini’s TOSCA] is no stranger to the opera world. With an enviable career and married to the ever talented Emma Pearson (who recently performed at the 50th Anniversary – Opera in the Park), it seems as though he lives and...
When I sat with Sam Robert-Smith (lead actor & opera singer, playing Zurga), he informed me that there were various songs within Bizet’s “The Pearl Fishers”, that were in his words “extremely emotional”. In one scene between Zurga and love interest Leila (played by Emma Matthews), he...
Let’s be honest – My affiliation with ‘opera singers’ in general is very limited. It’s not that I have anything against the profession – quite the contrary – but rather that I haven’t had the proper opportunity. We can firstly say that as Sam Roberts-Smith entered the...
What is it about good opera that we love? What compels us to watch a performance in another language, supported only musically without spoken dialogue? I find the opera is an art form in celebration of the ‘heightened’. Everything within it is in an heightened form –...
Walking into the theatre the curtains were already open. A large screen faced us, static flashing in and out, fog seeping onto the stage. Lonely trashcans sat either side of the screen, power lines hanging overhead. The lights dimmed and the screen flashed to Lee Lin...
Brent Hill (fabulous home-grown WAAPA talent) finds himself in a leading role of the latest production to grace His Majesty’s Theatre. Cast as Seymour Krelborn, he plays an endearing and “heart on his sleeve” florist, who yearns for love and companionship, however, finds himself experiencing...
Cult classic comedy rock musical, Little Shop of Horrors, is opening this Thursday at His Majesty’s Theatre for a limited run. Created by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, the Little Shop of Horrors musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film of the same name,...
The Elixir of Love sounds like a tale worthy of Tristan and Isolde but it was not the tragic tale I had expected. Instead, the curtain opened to reveal a farming town in the Australian outback visited by a travelling doctor. The show spotlighted on the tale...
