Melbourne City Opera
Encyclopedia
Melbourne City Opera, based in Melbourne
, Australia, was formed in 1997. It was the successor of Globe Opera, and the intention is to carry on with those traditions, objectives and achievements.In 2007 the company began performing at the BMW Edge, a 450 seat indoor amphitheatre located in Federation Square
.
Initially the company made its home at the National Theatre, Melbourne
, the Comedy Theatre, Melbourne
and later at the Melbourne Athenaeum, and featured Suzanne Steele, Ronald Dowd, Margaret Nisbett
, Maureen Howard, and Ron Stevens in productions of La bohème
, Faust
, Carmen
, Pagliacci
, Cavalleria rusticana
, Madama Butterfly
, The Merry Widow
, Die Fledermaus
, The Student Prince
, and many others.
The 2007 season began with productions of Verdi's Il corsaro
, Attila
and The Pavarotti
Story, devised and narrated by director Joseph Talia and conducted by Erich Fackert. In 2008 the season commenced with a concert production of Beethoven's Fidelio
at Melba Hall, University of Melbourne
. The company presented The Puccini Story in honour of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Giacomo Puccini
. This program was an analysis of how Puccini's personal characteristics impacted on the creation of his characters and the composition of his music. In March 2009, the company staged Verdi's Ernani
.
Melbourne City Opera staged Verdi's Luisa Miller
in September of 2009 and Andrea Chénier
in June 2010 at the BMW Edge.
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia, was formed in 1997. It was the successor of Globe Opera, and the intention is to carry on with those traditions, objectives and achievements.In 2007 the company began performing at the BMW Edge, a 450 seat indoor amphitheatre located in Federation Square
Federation Square
Federation Square is a civic centre and cultural precinct in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
.
Initially the company made its home at the National Theatre, Melbourne
National Theatre, Melbourne
The National Theatre is a 783 seat Australian theatre and theatrical arts school located in the Melbourne bayside suburb of St Kilda, on the corner of Barkly and Carlisle Streets...
, the Comedy Theatre, Melbourne
Comedy Theatre, Melbourne
The Comedy Theatre is a 997 seat theatre in Melbourne. It was built in 1928, and was built in the Spanish style, with a Florentine-style exterior and wrought-iron balconies. It is located at 240 Exhibition Street, and diagonally opposite Her Majesty's Theatre, it is a part of the Marriner Theatre...
and later at the Melbourne Athenaeum, and featured Suzanne Steele, Ronald Dowd, Margaret Nisbett
Margaret Nisbett
Margaret Nisbett, MBE, is an Australian coloratura soprano.-Biography:Margaret Nisbett was born in Preston, Victoria. She had an older sister, Coral , now deceased....
, Maureen Howard, and Ron Stevens in productions of La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
, Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
, Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
, Pagliacci
Pagliacci
Pagliacci , sometimes incorrectly rendered with a definite article as I Pagliacci, is an opera consisting of a prologue and two acts written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It recounts the tragedy of a jealous husband in a commedia dell'arte troupe...
, Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...
, Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
, The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow is an operetta by the Austro–Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband – on an 1861 comedy play,...
, Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
, The Student Prince
The Student Prince
The Student Prince is an operetta in four acts with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Dorothy Donnelly. It is based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster's play Alt Heidelberg. The piece has elements of melodrama but lacks the swashbuckling style common to Romberg's other works...
, and many others.
The 2007 season began with productions of Verdi's Il corsaro
Il corsaro
Il corsaro is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, from a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on Lord Byron's poem The Corsair...
, Attila
Attila (opera)
Attila is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the play Attila, König der Hunnen by Friedrich Ludwig Zacharias Werner. Initially, Verdi had enlisted Francesco Maria Piave to prepare the libretto, after Verdi's own scenario...
and The Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
Story, devised and narrated by director Joseph Talia and conducted by Erich Fackert. In 2008 the season commenced with a concert production of Beethoven's Fidelio
Fidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
at Melba Hall, University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
. The company presented The Puccini Story in honour of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
. This program was an analysis of how Puccini's personal characteristics impacted on the creation of his characters and the composition of his music. In March 2009, the company staged Verdi's Ernani
Ernani
Ernani is an operatic dramma lirico in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Hernani by Victor Hugo. The first production took place at La Fenice Theatre, Venice on 9 March 1844...
.
Melbourne City Opera staged Verdi's Luisa Miller
Luisa Miller
Luisa Miller is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play Kabale und Liebe by Friedrich von Schiller. The first performance was given at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on December 8, 1849...
in September of 2009 and Andrea Chénier
Andrea Chénier
Andrea Chénier is a verismo opera in four acts by the composer Umberto Giordano, set to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. It is based loosely on the life of the French poet, André Chénier , who was executed during the French Revolution....
in June 2010 at the BMW Edge.
External links
- Melbourne City Opera, official website
- "Opera rivalry hits hip-pocket nerve" by Robin Usher, The AgeThe AgeThe Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
(Melbourne), 14 May 2004. Retrieved 18 October 2009. - "Communal dreaming" by John Sloavin, The Age (Melbourne), 30 December 2003 (Account of the Melbourne FestivalMelbourne International Arts FestivalMelbourne Festival is a celebration of dance, theatre, music, visual arts, multimedia, outdoor and free events held for 17 days each October in a number of venues across Melbourne, Australia.-History:...
) - Puccini 150 years Review of The Puccini Story by The Opera Boys
- Erich Fackert blog, Conductor Melbourne City Opera 2006–2008
- Interview with founder Dr. Joseph Talia about The Puccini Story, 4 August 2008