R IC H A R D WAG N E R
Palais Theatre 14 – 19 February 2015 1
WELCOME Victorian Opera has turned ten! Tonight your state opera company celebrates this special milestone with a ground-breaking new production that will bring opera into the 21st century. To everyone past and present who has come on this journey, our audience, our supporters, our artists, the State Government of Victoria, our Artistic Director Richard Mills, our Founding Music Director Richard Gill, our board and staff, we give our heartfelt thanks. In 2015, a brave new world of opera awaits. Join us and discover a local company that is redefining opera and helping to build its future. Find your world at victorianopera.com.au
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ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR'S MESSAGE
RICHARD MILLS later), the rocking arpeggios of oceanic unrest, the gesture of harmonically roving chromatic descent which contrast with the harmonic stability of the redemption theme: all following each other in the framework of a concise diagetic song which expresses Senta’s obsession with the Dutchman’s portrait. These gestures (with the addition of the Sailors' chorus music) are the essence of the overture, and the material in the overture generates the music which follows – so that the music grows like a great flowing tree – the parts making a coherent whole and the whole being reflected in the parts. Although, in some ways, The Flying Dutchman resembles a Romantic ‘numbers’ opera, the piece demonstrates highly organised threads of continuity which override any division into set pieces and make a powerfully dramatic continuum which establishes wonderfully strong characters and story telling of great theatrical and poetic truth.
“The figure of the ‘Flying Dutchman’ is a mythical creation of the people and it gives emotionally compelling expression to a timeless feature of human nature. This feature, in its most general sense, is the longing for peace from the storms of life.” – Richard Wagner, A communication to my friends.
We are joined for these performances by the Australian Youth Orchestra – The Flying Dutchman is a fine vehicle for these young musicians at the beginning of their careers. Victorian Opera is thrilled to make music with them.
This is the first Wagner opera that can be said to be in his mature style: most of the features that mark his dramatic technique are present, at least in embryo, in the score. The orchestra is small by Wagnerian standards, but the music contains many of the figurative elements that distinguish his later style and which give his orchestral palette its distinctive colour.
Our other partners in this undertaking, Deakin Motion.Lab, have begun their three year research program with Victorian Opera, by creating a scenography which renders the elemental – responding precisely to the composer's intentions in a fruitful collaboration with Roger Hodgman and his fine creative team. My thanks to all concerned.
It is the compositional methodology of the work, however, which bears the unmistakable stamp of Wagnerian genius. The germs of the work are in Senta’s Ballad in Act II, the ‘Dutchman’ theme of open fourths and fifths (which bears an uncanny resemblance for Brünnhilde’s ‘Ho yo to ho’ of many years
Richard Mills Artistic Director & Conductor
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DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE
ROGER HODGMAN Wagner’s demands for high seas and storms, the Norwegian Daland’s ship and, in particular, the mysterious ‘Flying Dutchman’ and its ghostly crew with the final magical ascent of Senta and The Dutchman are specific and were difficult to achieve in Wagner’s time. He was often disappointed in the results. Deakin Motion.Lab’s expert use of animation provides an exciting solution. The designers, Christina Smith and Matt Scott, and I decided very quickly that the stage design needed great simplicity in order to complement the animations without competing with them and to provide the technically specific requirements of the projections. We chose to set the opera in the period it was written, the 1840's, and in Western Norway. The set is basically a wooden box, echoing the planking of a wooden ship of the time and the houses in western Norway. It is open and demands direct and simple staging – often following Wagner’s very detailed notes to the performers.
The idea of collaborating with Deakin Motion.Lab on 3D imagery was part of the design concept of The Flying Dutchman from the outset. It provided an exciting opportunity to allow the audience to experience the remarkable imagery in Wagner’s libretto. He was inspired by the well-known legend of the ship and its captain condemned to sail the seas for ever and, in particular, by Heinrich Heine’s iteration in which the captain was allowed ashore briefly every seven years to seek salvation in the form of a woman who will be “true to him until death”. In 1839 Wagner, unable to live in his native country because of his debts, took a sea voyage from Latvia to London. He encountered huge storms and heavy seas and the ship had to take shelter in a Norwegian fjord. The idea for the opera was born.
Costume designer, Teresa Negroponte, has complemented the stage design with clothing that suggests the period and place, and is partly influenced by the paintings of Edvard Munch. Christina and Matt developed a story board for the animation, inspired also by Munch and by the German painter Caspar Friedrich and Deakin Motion.Lab have come up with some wonderful images. Roger Hodgman Director
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PERFORMANCE PARTNER'S MESSAGE
DEAKIN MOTION.LAB 3D projection creates a special relationship between audience and image. The image is not confined to the flat plane of a screen, but appears to inhabit a volume that extends behind and in front of the screen. In 3D, objects appear to move on the ‘z axis’ – towards and away from the audience – and this creates a powerful sensory experience as we feel, rather than deduce, the proximity of virtual objects. We perceive the vastness of an open ocean, the looming presence of the Dutchman’s ship, or the closed in comfort of a domestic setting, viscerally as well as visually. Bringing this perceptual experience to The Flying Dutchman has allowed us to realise Wagner’s elemental, symbolic imagery in new ways. Sea and sky, fjord and village, and the ship of the ‘Flying Dutchman’ and its otherworldly crew come to life in a way that is both theatrical and cinematic. I see this process as an opportunity to bring contemporary visual technologies and the cinematic sensibilities and aesthetics they offer, into dialogue with one of the great operatic works that has stood the test of time for over a century.
Digital, animated scenography is a new frontier for the performing arts. While projection has been used for many decades in opera, dance and theatre, dating as far back as the early 1900’s, creating a complete, all-encompassing scenography using the sensory and visual power of 3D projection has rarely been attempted. As Director of Deakin Motion.Lab, I have had the pleasure and the excitement of developing 3D scenography for dance for some years. I am delighted to take this development further through this ground-breaking project in collaboration with Victorian Opera – Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman realized using an allencompassing, full-length, 3D scenography.
Professor Kim Vincs 3D Image Design & Creation Deakin Motion.Lab
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MANAGING DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE
ANDREW SNELL This innovation would not be possible without the other element of our solution for the future; collaboration. This production is the first in a three-year partnership with Deakin University’s Deakin Motion.Lab and is made possible through funding from the Australian Research Council and our technology partnership with CVP. The collaboration doesn’t stop there though. We are extremely proud to be presenting the first ever fully-staged opera featuring the Australian Youth Orchestra and we welcome their musicians, administration and supporters to this performance. This production has also been developed with our co-producers; West Australian Opera and we thank them for their support. We are also excited to be bringing large-scale opera back to the magnificent surrounds of the Palais Theatre, and we thank the theatre management and staff for their invaluable assistance in making this project a reality.
As we embark on Victorian Opera’s 10th Season the operatic landscape has possibly never been more challenging. Across the globe we are seeing companies struggle and in certain cases close. What is clear however, is that in order to survive, opera companies must adapt. Victorian Opera’s solution is to innovate and to collaborate while retaining the inherent elements of our art form. Never has that solution been more demonstrable than in this new production of Wagner’s early masterpiece, The Flying Dutchman.
Finally, our most important collaboration is the one we have with you, our audience. We make every effort to present works that engage you, in ways that challenge and thrill you in equal measure. Welcome to our 10th year, we look forward to sharing the joy of singing with you.
Innovation has always been a key element in Victorian Opera’s productions and for tonight’s performance we are thrilled to present an Australian first – a full length opera with a digital, 3D set. This innovation offers huge potential for theatrical presentation of all types and brings a truly cinematic experience to opera on an epic scale.
Andrew Snell Managing Director
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VICTORIAN OPERA
SEASON 2015 Opera, musical theatre, cabaret or concert – each is a window onto a new world. Find out more victorianopera.com.au
Alice's Adventures in Operaland | 23 May
I Puritani | 2 July
Sweeney Todd | 18 – 25 July
Alice, the White Rabbit, a brand new adventure, the music of Mozart, Rossini. Opera for kids.
Forbidden romance, the English Civil War, breathtaking Bellini and Australia’s Jessica Pratt, star of La traviata.
A murderous Barber, a devious pie maker, the glorious music of Stephen Sondheim, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, and Antoinette Halloran.
Remembrance | 13 August
The Grumpiest Boy in the World | 2 – 4 October
Seven Deadly Sins | 6 November
A moving ANZAC tribute, songs of World War I, with tenor David Hobson, young artists and community choir.
A very grumpy boy, giants and monsters and magical music featuring our talented youth opera. Opera for kids.
Seven wicked new works, cabaret sensation Meow Meow, the music of Kurt Weill and our next generation opera stars.
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THE FLYING DUTCHMAN 14 – 19 February 2015 Palais Theatre
Acknowledgements Simon Barrett, Creative Stage, Norwest, Palais Theatre Management, Resolution X, Show Technology, Show Works, Sounds Solo, Swan Street Bakery & Patisserie.
Composer and Librettist Richard Wagner First performed in 1843, Dresden Running time approximately 2 hours 50 minutes including one interval.
Creative Team
The Flying Dutchman is presented in partnership with Deakin Motion.Lab, with research supported by the Australian Research Council’s Linkage Projects Funding Scheme (project number LP140100742).
Conductor Richard Mills Director Roger Hodgman Set & Visual Design Matt Scott, Christina Smith Costume Design Teresa Negroponte Lighting Designer Matt Scott 3D Image Design & Creation Deakin Motion.Lab Professor Kim Vincs, Daniel Skovli, Simeon Taylor, Kieren Wallace, Peter Divers, Jacob Turoy
Presented in partnership with the Australian Youth Orchestra and West Australian Opera.
Assistant Director Cameron Menzies Victorian Opera acknowledges the wonderful support of Technology Partner, CVP.
Production Manager Darren Cooper Stage Manager Marina Milankovic Deputy Stage Manager Andrea Corish Assistant Stage Manager Meg Deyell Principal Repetiteur & Chorus Preparation Phoebe Briggs
Victorian Opera acknowledges HENKELL BROTHERS Investment Managers for their very generous support of this production.
Associate Conductor Fabian Russell Repetiteurs Phillipa Safey, Simon Bruckard Cast
Warwick Fyfe is proudly supported by The Richard Wagner Society (Vic).
The Dutchman Oksar Hillebrandt Senta Lori Phillips Erik Bradley Daley Daland Warwick Fyfe Mary Liane Keegan Steersman Carlos E. Bárcenas 8
Victorian Opera Chorus
Cello David Moran Principal, Eliza Sdraulig, Caleb Wong, Lauren Jennings, Andrew Leask, Simon Svoboda, Emma Rayner, Monique Bartkowiak
Soprano Lee Abrahmsen, Kate Amos, Kirilie Blythman, Fiona Jopson, Cristina Russo, Diana Simpson, Sophie Viskich, Nicole Wallace
Double Bass Jaan Pallandi Principal, Jonathon Coco, Giovanni Vinci , Jacques Emery, Kinga Janiszewski, Ellen Buckley
Mezzo Kerrie Bolton, Rebecca Bywater, Joanne Carroll, Elizabeth Lewis, Emma Muir-Smith, Ursula Paez, Anna Plotka, Belinda Prakhoff
Flute Rachel Howie Principal, Georgia Williams
Tenor Jonathan Bam, Paul Batey, Paul Biencourt, Irving Dekterev, Toby Glaser, Alister Lamont, Michael Lapina, Jacob Lawrence, Trevor Maitland, Michael Petruccelli
Piccolo Eliza Shephard, Suzanne Sherrington*, Jonty Coy*, Christine Song* Oboe Billy Richardson Principal
Baritone/Bass Daniel Carison, Angus Grant, Jeremy Kleeman, Nathan Lay, Oliver Mann, James Payne, Alex Pokryshevsky, Matthew Thomas, Matthew Tng, Julian Wilson
Cor Anglais Giselle Gabriels Clarinet Oliver Shermacher Principal, Ben Clapin Bassoon Jenna Schijf Principal, Christopher Haycroft
Australian Youth Orchestra
Horn Benjamin Messenger Principal, James Bradley, Aidan Gabriels, Toby Hill, Rebecca Luton, Freya Hombergen*, Thalia Huston*, Trestan McMillan* Nick Mooney*, Emily Newham*, William Nicolson*
1st Violin Lawrence Lee Concertmaster, Sunkyoung Kim, Liam Oborne, Eliza McCracken, Alys Rayner, Tahli Elsner, Hannah Herriman, Liam Keneally, Annabelle Carter, Olivia Bell, Martin Cheng, Molly Collier-O’Boyle, Emma Williams, Seamus MacNamara
Trumpet Orson Paine Principal, Michael Olsen
2nd Violin Rollin Zhao Principal, Johnny van Gend, Ben Spiers, Runa Murase, Marissa Loh, Louise May, Jade Paterson, Lachlan Wilkins, Emma Martin, Eleanor Adeney, Kate Worley, Esther Wong
Trombone Nicolas Thomson Principal, Brendan Champion Bass Trombone Simon Baldwin Principal Tuba Brad Turner Principal
Viola Gregory Daniel Principal, Eunise Cheng, Justin Julian, Beth Condon, Lucas Levin, Anthony De Battista, Robert van Gend, Madeleine Coco, Freya Petersen, Aiden Sullivan
Timpani Tegan LeBrun Principal Percussion Jamee Seeto*, Louis Sharpe* Harp Rowan Phemister Principal *Denotes Banda
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THE FLYING DUTCHMAN
SYNOPSIS Act II Senta has long been obsessed with the legend of the Flying Dutchman whose portrait hangs in her home. She is convinced of her destiny to save him. Her despairing suitor Erik believes she has been possessed by Satan. The Dutchman arrives and he and Senta pledge themselves to each other. Act III The Norwegian sailors and girls are celebrating. They call to the strange and silent Dutch vessel and taunt its crew. The sea begins to heave and, through the howling wind the Dutch crew can be heard lamenting their captain’s futile searches and the curse that dooms them to sail for ever. Erik makes a last effort to save Senta, but the Dutchman believes he has been betrayed and sets sail. Senta, determined to prove her devotion, leaps from a cliff. At once the phantom ship sinks and the Dutchman and Senta are seen together, rising above the waves.
Act I A Norwegian ship takes refuge from a storm in a fjord. Daland, its captain, recognises the place as a bay not far from his home. A ghostly ship with blood-red sails draws alongside, making landfall for the first time in seven years. Its captain is the Flying Dutchman, condemned by his own pride to sail the seas until Judgment Day. His redemption can be achieved only through the love of a faithful woman. Daland, tempted by the Dutchman’s treasure, offers the hand of his daughter Senta in marriage. The weather clears. Interval
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THE FLYING DUTCHMAN
PROGRAM NOTES of a woman, perpetual wandering and the symbolism of water and the sea are all images and ideas that appear again in Wagner’s mature works. Senta and the Dutchman inhabit the realm of dreams – the unworldly. She is obsessed with redeeming the suffering Dutchman, and he is yearning for release from eternal wandering. Daland, Erik, Mary and the others inhabit the prosaic world of a Norwegian seaport. Senta’s frustrated suitor, Erik, catches a glimpse of her dream-world via his own dream in which he imagines her putting to sea with the Dutchman. His account only strengthens Senta’s resolve. In The Interpretation of Dreams, written sixty years after The Flying Dutchman, Freud describes dreams as ‘the royal road to the unconscious’, and concludes that ‘dreams are the disguised fulfilment of a repressed wish’ – which raises interesting questions about Erik and his conviction that Senta has been possessed by the devil.
The Flying Dutchman is a young man’s opera, with strong ideas and vigorous musical treatment. Wagner was just 27 when he drafted the prose scenario; the poem was written in ten days and the music composed in a couple of months (with orchestration completed later). Most of Wagner’s later revisions were fairly minor. However, in 1860 a crucial change was made to the orchestral ending. By that time he had composed the momentous music of Tristan und Isolde and, as he wrote to Mathilde Wesendonck: ‘Only now that I have written Isolde’s final transfiguration have I been able to find the right ending for The Flying Dutchman.’ This is the version that will be performed this evening.
The redeeming quality of a woman’s love is a notion with roots in the Faustian idea of Das Ewig-Weibliche (the eternal feminine), which continued to fascinate Wagner for another forty years. In the music and text there are also links to Beethoven, who was a major source of inspiration throughout Wagner’s life. In addressing the Dutchman in Act Two, Senta uses the words: ‘Wer du auch seist’ (Whoever you are) – the words used by Leonore in the dungeon scene in Fidelio. When Senta tells the Dutchman that she would ease his suffering, he, like Florestan seeing ‘an angel Leonore’ leading him to salvation, tells her that she is an angel.
Although this was Wagner’s first work of genius, it contains a number of ideas that were to reoccur in his later works. Dreams and illusions, nihilism and yearning for death, redemption through the love and constancy
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(as in Heine’s story) to Norway, changed the names of some of the characters, and composed the music. In 1842, the opera was accepted by the Court Opera in Berlin (with Meyerbeer’s assistance) but a counter proposal from Dresden after the hugely successful performances there of Rienzi led Wagner to recover the score. The first performance took place at the Royal Saxon Court Theatre in Dresden on 2 January 1843.
‘The sombre glow that I feel burning here, Should I, wretched one, call it love? Ah no! It is the longing for salvation, might it come to me through such an angel!’. The Dutchman is condemned by hubris to wander perpetually on the sea, mirroring the wanderings of Odysseus. There are also echoes of the story of Ahasuerus, the Wandering Jew, with whom the struggling Wagner identified in Paris in the 1830's and ‘40s. The story was a popular one in the 19th century. Moore’s Dead Man’s Island (1804), Scott’s Rokeby (1813), Marryat’s The Phantom Ship (1839), and Heine’s From the Memoirs of Herr von Schnabelewopski (1834), which Wagner used, are amongst literary works that drew on the legend.
Originally Der fliegende Holländer was conceived in a single act, but after Wagner’s scenario was rejected in Paris he elaborated it in three acts, to be played without a break. The 1843 Dresden performances were given in three discrete acts. The first performance without intervals was at Bayreuth after his death. It is often performed – as it is this evening – with a single interval after the first act.
Wagner’s original intention had been to offer his prose sketch (in French) to Meyerbeer’s librettist Eugène Scribe to be turned into a libretto for which he expected to be invited to compose the music. The management of the Paris Opéra promised to ‘audition’ three numbers, but although these were composed, the auditions never took place. Eventually, Wagner sold his sketch to the Opéra for 500 francs. The director, Pillet, then commissioned two librettists and the composer Pierre-Louis-Philippe Dietsch to dramatize the legend. The result was Le Vaisseau fantôme (The Phantom Ship) which vanished after eleven performances and, today, reappears only as a curiosity.
© Peter Bassett
Wagner restructured and expanded his prose sketch, prepared his own libretto in German, moved the location from Scotland
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Credit: Fondazione Pergolesi Spontini © Foto Binci
THE FLYING DUTCHMAN
BIOGRAPHIES
RICHARD MILLS Conductor
ROGER HODGMAN Director
MATT SCOTT Set, Visual & Lighting Design
Richard Mills is one of Australia’s most prolific and internationally recognised composers. He pursues a diverse career as a composer, conductor and artistic director. He has held numerous prestigious posts, and received many scholarships, fellowships and awards including an AM, in 1999. He is currently Artistic Director of Victorian Opera, was Artistic Director of the West Australian Opera 1997 – 2012, Director of the Australian Music Project for the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra 2002 – 2008 and Musica Viva’s Composer of the Year in 2008. Richard regularly conducts the leading orchestras and opera companies of Australia and has an extensive discography of orchestral works including his own compositions.
Roger has directed over a hundred plays, musicals and operas in Australia and internationally and many hours of television drama. He was Artistic Director of MTC for twelve years. In the last three years Roger has directed Grey Gardens (Helpmann Award for Best Director), episodes of Packed to the Rafters and the first episode of A Place To Call Home (Seven Network), the Green Room Award winning production of Nixon in China (Victorian Opera). the National tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Sydney Critics Award for Best Musical), Don Pasquale and Rigoletto (Opera Australia) As You Like It (Black Swan Theatre Company) and the stage adaptation of Mother and Son.
For the past 20 years Matt has lit over 200 productions for theatre, opera and dance. His most recent work includes The Riders for Victorian Opera/ Malthouse; Don Pasquale and Rigoletto for Opera Australia; Jumpy for Melbourne Theatre Company; The Red Shoes for Expression Dance Company; La traviata for SOSA and NZ Opera; As You Like It and A Streetcar Named Desire for Black Swan State Theatre Company. He has been nominated for and received numerous awards. He received a 2005 Helpmann Award for his lighting on Urinetown for Melbourne Theatre Company which followed his 2003 Helpmann Award win for The Blue Room, also for the Melbourne Theatre Company.
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CHRISTINA SMITH Set & Visual Design
TERESA NEGROPONTE Costume Design
PROFESSOR KIM VINCS 3D Image Design & Creation
Design credits include The Turn of the Screw, Marriage of Figaro (costumes) and Così fan tutte (Victorian Opera), La traviata (NZ Opera, SOSA, Opera Queensland), Madame Butterfly (NZ Opera), Elling, Clybourne Park, A Behanding in Spokane, Boston Marriage, Blackbird, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Clean House (MTC), A Streetcar Named Desire, Other Desert Cities, Rising Water, The Year of Magical Thinking (Black Swan State Theatre Company), Porn.Cake, Black Medea (Malthouse Theatre), Troupers (STC), Mother Courage and her Children (QTC), Ruby Moon (Playbox). Other design projects: Scenic Elements designer, Tim Burton exhibition (ACMI), 2006 Commonwealth Games Ceremonies design team.
Teresa is a set and costume designer working in theatre, film and television. A NIDA graduate, Teresa received the 2010 NIDA/ Sydney Grammar School Fellowship. Recent designs include costumes for Jumpy (Melbourne Theatre Company) and Tosca (Opera Australia). Teresa’s theatre credits include The Dream (Bell Shakespeare); Dreams in White (Griffin Theatre Company); Boundary Street (Brisbane Festival/Black Swan Theatre Company); Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (James Anthony Productions); Doctor Zhivago (Gordon Frost Organisation); Go! (Sydney Dance Company); Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Catholic School Girls (Darlinghurst Theatre Company); Dirty Butterfly (Belvoir B-Sharp). Television credits include Costume Designer for the ABC and the Seven Network.
Kim Vincs is the Director of the Deakin Motion.Lab, Deakin University’s motion capture studio and performance technology research centre, which she established in 2006. She has been a choreographer for over twenty years, and has focused on interactive dance technology for the last ten. Recent works include The Crack Up, Coopers Malthouse, and Multiverse, with Garry Stewart and Australian Dance Theatre. Kim has five Australian Research Council projects in dance, technology and science, and numerous industry collaborations in motion capture, movement analysis and digital art. She has commercial motion capture credits for computer games, television commercials and film, including the Cannes Silver Lion winning Nocturnal Migration.
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THE FLYING DUTCHMAN
BIOGRAPHIES
DANIEL SKOVLI 3D Image Design & Creation
SIMEON TAYLOR 3D Image Design & Creation
KIEREN WALLACE 3D Image Design & Creation
Daniel has been working as Deakin Motion.Lab's Motion Capture Supervisor and Technical Director since 2008. He has a passion for programming and has a background in 3D Animation. Daniel is also a graduate of the university; during this time he has been responsible for several big budget visual effects projects from 7UP, Australian Dance Theatre and the Hollywood blockbuster I, Frankenstein. His work has been key to the stereo environments and visual effects in many immersive performances with companies such as Victorian Opera. As Technical Director, he shares his diversity of skills from animation, programming, and projecting rigging. Some of his work can currently be seen in Alicia Frankovich’s Defending Plural Experiences now showing at the Australian Centre of Contemporary Art.
Simeon has extensive experience in gaming, film and television, having worked in these industries for over a decade. He graduated with an Engineering degree at the University of Western Australia and has worked for now defunct Atari Melbourne House. He was a Technical Assistant (Motion Capture Department) for the films Happy Feet and Happy Feet II and a 3D Artist for Foxtel. He has also worked as a freelance 3D Artist, working on numerous projects in Sydney and Melbourne. Simeon currently shares his passion for 3D computer graphics at Deakin Motion.Lab, teaching the next generation of industry relevant students. He is excited at the opportunity to research the use of 3D graphics in the performing arts industry.
Kieren Wallace is passionate about realtime graphics programming and the mechanics of network synchronisation and has been working with technology and animation for over five years. Graduating from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology with Distinction in Games Design, Kieren has taken his digital practice to games and to artistic endeavors since joining Deakin’s Motion.Lab in 2013. Working for companies such as Dropbear Games and Team Robot, Kieren programs and collaborates on the elaborate graphics giving The Crack Up the immersive experience that it does. He is also the winner of the National 2008 National Model Solar Vehicle competition.
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CAMERON MENZIES Assistant Director
CARLOS E. BÁRCENAS Steersman
BRADLEY DALEY Erik
Cameron has worked with Opera Australia, Victorian Opera, Malthouse Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company, Short Black Opera Company, MSO, ANAM, VAMFF, Oper Köln and the Deutsche Oper, Berlin, DivaOpera UK. He received the 2011 Berlin New Music Opera Award, 2008 Bayreuth Opera Award, Opera Foundation Australia and DAAD, The Besen Family Artist Program (Direction), Malthouse Theatre. In 2014 Cameron made his international debut with the critically acclaimed Don Giovanni for DivaOpera UK, and returns in 2015 to direct Lucia Di Lammermoor and The Marriage of Figaro. This year he will direct Victorian Opera’s The Grumpiest Boy in the World and Seven Deadly Sins.
Born in Colombia. Bachelor of Music Performance and Master of Music (Opera Performance) at Conservatorium of Music, University of Melbourne. His work for Victorian Opera includes Hansel and Gretel, La traviata and Games of Love and Chance (2014); The Magic Pudding – the opera, Miller in Puss in Boots and as a soloist for Opera on a White Night (2013); Gala Concert (soloist) and Master Peter’s Puppet Show in 2012, and Sing Your Own Opera soloist in 2011. Other companies include King Alexander (Il Re Pastore) with Melbourne Lyric Opera (2008), Don Jose (Carmen) with In Opera in Good Company (2010) and Michael in Deborah Cheetham’s new opera Pecan Summer with Short Black Opera (2010 & 2011).
Since making his debut with the English National Opera as Rodolfo in La bohème, Bradley Daley has worked with Opera North, Welsh National Opera, English National Opera, Holland Park Opera and CoOpera Ireland. Most recently, in Australia, Bradley has been performing major principal roles such as Dick Johnson in La fanciulla del West, Canio in Pagliacci, Don José in Carmen, Florestan in Fidelio, Curley in Of Mice and Men (Green Room Award), Narraboth in Salome, Mao Tse-tung in Nixon in China (Green Room Award) and Rodolfo. He also took on the title role in Otello for the first time in 2014 – for State Opera of South Australia.
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THE FLYING DUTCHMAN
BIOGRAPHIES
WARWICK FYFE Daland
OKSAR HILLEBRANDT The Dutchman
LIANE KEEGAN Mary
Renowned for his performances in such roles as Rigoletto and Falstaff, Warwick Fyfe is one of the finest baritones Australia has produced. Most recently, he triumphed as Alberich in Opera Australia's Der Ring des Nibelungen in Melbourne – for which he received the Helpmann Award as Best Male in an Operatic Featured Role. Warwick's roles for other companies have included Rigoletto, Tonio and Taddeo in New Zealand, Fasolt in Adelaide and Bartolo in Hong Kong. Performances in 2014/2015 include the title roles in Rigoletto and Falstaff and Amonasro in Aida for Opera Australia and Leporello in Don Giovanni for New Zealand Opera.
Kammersänger Oskar Hillebrandt studied in Cologne with Kammersänger Professor Josef Metternich. He has been engaged at the world’s most important opera houses, such as: Milan, Rome, Florence, Paris, London, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Vienna, Zurich, Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Oslo, Copenhagen and the Bolschoi Opera in Moscow, Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, Tokyo and New Zealand as well as in Montreal and Ottawa, Cleveland and Carnegie Hall, New York. Furthermore, Oskar Hillebrandt has contributed to numerous international festivals such as the Bayreuther Festspiele, where he sang Telramund under the baton of Giuseppe Sinopoli and Antonio Pappano.
Liane Keegan was born in Australia and studied Voice at Melba Memorial Conservatorium of Music. Her extensive career has been divided between leading roles in Australia and in Europe. She has performed for Victorian Opera (Opera on a White Night); State Opera of South Australia (Erda, First Norn and Waltraute: Der Ring Des Nibelungen, Azucena: Il Trovatore); Opera Australia (Ulrica: Un ballo in Maschera); English National Opera (First Norn: The Twilight of the Gods); Theater Hagen (Klytämnestra: Elektra, Mistress Quickly: Falstaff and Leocadja Begbick: Aufstieg und fall der Stadt Mahagonny) and Deutsche Oper Berlin (Anna: Les Troyens, Emilia: Otello, Marcellina: Le Nozze Di Figaro, Adelaide in Arabella.
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LORI PHILLIPS Senta American dramatic soprano Lori Phillips is widely acknowledged as possessing a “full-throated and beautifully expressive” voice with “richly colored vocalism” (San Francisco Chronicle). Ms Phillips is establishing herself as an exponent of the most difficult heroines of the dramatic soprano repertoire: Brünnhilde, Senta, Elektra, Turandot, Marie, and Minnie. Lori Phillips recently created a sensation at Seattle Opera as Brünnhilde in Der Ring des Nibelungen, a role she also covered at the Metropolitan Opera in the new Robert Lepage production. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Senta in Der fliegende Holländer which was broadcast live on Sirius Radio. Other important engagements for Ms. Phillips included Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana with Amarillo Opera. 19
AUSTRALIAN YOUTH ORCHESTRA
AYO P R O F I L E Geoff Brown of The Times, said of the AYO’s performance at The BBC Proms in 2010: A succulent refinement of tone and touch, an adult grasp of emotions and cultural worlds usually thought beyond any teenager; in any hemisphere. The Australian Youth Orchestra has worked with some of the world’s leading conductors and soloists including Sir Charles Mackerras, Christoph Eschenbach, violinist Joshua Bell, Sir Mark Elder, Simone Young, and soprano Lisa Gasteen. AYO is also committed to access and innovation. Its pioneering AYO Digital Connection Initiative developed in partnership with Accenture, connects musicians in remote and regional Australia with masterclasses, live-streaming of concerts and online auditions.
Since its first performance in 1957, the Australian Youth Orchestra has performed in some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls and festivals, fulfilling the role of cultural ambassador for Australia on no fewer than 21 international tours across Europe, Asia and America.
Today, more than 65% of musicians working in Australian orchestras are AYO alumni and countless AYO alumni are members of the finest professional orchestras worldwide.
Orchestra members are selected through a highly competitive annual audition process and represent the best young musical talent in the nation. The orchestra regularly attracts superlatives from the ranks of the international music press, confirming its high standing throughout the world.
AYO is grateful to its many donors, sponsors and supporters whose generosity helps to discover, train and inspire the next generation of Australian musicians.
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VICTORIAN OPERA
SUPPORT US Ahoy there! Victorian Opera is committed to building a sustainable artform built upon excellence and driven by innovation, accessibility and collaboration. On stage, we enthral audiences with beautiful singing and captivating productions. We are the only opera company in Australia to commission, workshop and perform new work annually, providing opportunities for artists, performers and audiences to experience opera in new ways. “Phenomenal! The Riders was one of the best theatrical evenings we've had in many a year. Congratulations to all concerned for supporting a major piece of Australian music theatre to life.” Audience Member. Off stage, our Education and Community Engagement program connects with audiences of all ages through regional performances, workshops in schools, and access programs. “Please keep VOYCE running so I and many other young adults can have their lives changed by music.” Victorian Opera Youth Chorus Ensemble participant.
With your support, we can continue to exhilarate and enrich the cultural life of Victoria. To make a tax deductible donation, please use the donation form overleaf. Get on board and support Victorian Opera today! To find out more, visit victorianopera.com.au/support or contact Caroline Buckley, Philanthropy Executive on 03 9012 6659 or email carolineb@victorianopera.com.au.
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VICTORIAN OPERA
D O N AT I O N FO R M I wish to get on board and support Victorian Opera today! Title
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Address Phone Email Please acknowledge my donation in Victorian Opera publications as
I would like to remain anonymous I would like to make a donation of $ I would like to schedule my donation in twelve (12) equal monthly instalments Cheque (Payable to Victorian Opera Public Fund) Credit Card
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Please sign me up to Victorian Opera E-news Please send me more information about becoming a Victorian Opera Patron
Post your completed form to: PO Box 524, CARLTON SOUTH, VIC 3053
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VICTORIAN OPERA
PAT R O N S If you would like to get more involved in the work of Victorian Opera through our individual giving program please contact Catrionadh Dobson, Individual Giving Manager on 03 9001 6405 or catrionadhd@victorianopera.com.au Founding Patrons The Late Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE Lady Potter AC
Diamond Patrons ($10,000+) Betty Amsden AO Henkell Brothers Investment Managers Anonymous (2)
Patron in Chief The Honourable Alex Chernov AC QC, Governor of Victoria
Platinum Patrons ($5,000+) Neilma Gantner Greg Shalit & Miriam Faine John & Elisabeth Schiller
Victorian Youth Opera Patron Betty Amsden AO
Gold Patrons ($2,500+) Joanna Baevski Bruce Curl Laurie Bebbington & Elizabeth O’Keeffe Craig D'Alton & Peter Sherlock Bob Garlick Murray Gordon Peter & Jenny Hordern Sue Kirkham Kaye E Marion Judith Rodriguez Tim & Lynne Sherwood
Living Bequest Susan Harley Artistic Directors Circle ($10,000+) Deanne Bevan & Guy Russo Rob & Caroline Clemente William J Forrest AM John & Diana Frew Mrs Jane Hemstritch Hans & Petra Henkell Peter & Anne Laver Lady Southey AC Anonymous (1)
Silver Patrons ($1,000+) Dr Rosemary Ayton & Dr Sam Ricketson Ian Baker & Cheryl Saunders Professor Simon Bell & Dr Jennifer Coghlan-Bell Kirsty Bennett Beth Brown & Tom Bruce AM Buckett Family David Byrne Terry & Christine Campbell Tanya Costello & Peter Costello AC Deidre Cowan Mary Davidson & Frederick Davidson AM
Education Syndicate ($5,000+) Betty Amsden AO Hans & Petra Henkell Dr John & Elizabeth Wright-Smith New Work Syndicate ($5,000+) Beth Brown & Tom Bruce AM Marian & Ken Scarlett OAM Joy Selby Smith Felicity Teague
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Caroline Travers OAM Liz & Peter Turner Catherine Walter AM Andrea Walton Earl & Countess of Wilton Anonymous (5)
John Drury & Dianne Reilly Drury AM Stephanie Dundas Gareth & Merran Evans Greig Gailey & Geraldine Lazarus John & Gaye Gaylard Brian Goddard Nance Grant AM MBE Anthony Grigg & Paul Williamson Stewart & Denise Jackel Simon L Jackson & Brian Warburton Stuart T Jennings David C Jones AO OBE KSJ Rod & Daniele Kemp Ian Kennedy AM & Dr Sandra Hacker AO John & Lynne Landy Kwong & Joanne Lee Dow Anne Lierse Peter Lovell John & Kerry Lovering Margaret Mayers & Marie Dowling Douglas & Rosemary Meagher Duncan & Lorraine McGregor Melbourne ADFAS I. F. Merrylees Dr Ken & Mrs Lesley Muirden Ruth & Tom O’Dea Jillian Pappas Jane Patrick & Robert Evans Dimity Reed Judith Robinson & Michael Robinson AO Elžbieta & Tomasz Romanowski Joseph Sambrook & Mary-Jane Gething Graeme Samuel AC & Jill Davies Aubrey G Schrader Phillip Schudmak Bernadette Slater Andrew Snell Helen & Chris Trueman
Bronze Patrons ($500+) John & Nancy Bomford Pam Caldwell Catrionadh Dobson & Charles Windeyer Dr M Elizabeth Douglas Jean Dunn Lesley Griffin Jill & Robert Grogan April Hamer Angela Kayser David & Barbara McSkimming Greg Noonan Patrick O'Duffy John Rickard Mary Ryan John & Thea Scott Mr Sam Smorgon AO & Mrs Minnie Smorgon Liz & Hugh Taylor Russell Waters & Marissa Barter-Waters Ian A Watts Anonymous (12)
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1 O TH A N N I V E R S A R Y
PARTNER WITH US ‘Sofitel Melbourne loves the If you are looking to extend the boundaries of hospitality and bring true meaning to long term corporate partnerships, call Victorian Opera today.
involvement with Victorian Opera and admires the way they have engaged with Victorian audiences – always pushing the boundaries.’ Clive Scott, GM Sofitel Melbourne
WHAT WE CAN OFFER • New audience markets that can extend your brand
• Unique & memorable experiences
• An alternative to sport hospitality & entertainment
• A visible community connection to the Performing Arts sector
• Creative brand & marketing stories
C O N T A C T D E T A I L S sponsor@victorianopera.com.au | Corporate Partnerships | 03 9001 6408 28
VICTORIAN OPERA
STAFF Conductor Emeritus
Finance and Administration
Richard Gill OAM
Finance & HR Manager Darren O'Beirne Finance Assistant Claire Voumard
Victorian Opera Board
Administration & Project Coordinator Kate Bailey
Chairman Jane Hemstritch Deputy Chairman Greig Gailey Francis Ebury, Earl of Wilton
Development and Marketing
Ross Freeman
Corporate Partnerships Manager Paul Shea
Anne Gilby
Development Manager Lynette Gillman
Professor the Hon Barry Jones, AC
Development & Marketing Coordinator Nichole O'Duffy
Siobhan Leninhan
Individual Giving Manager Catrionadh Dobson
Penny Stragalinos Catherine Walter AM
Philanthropy Executive Caroline Buckley Marketing & Communications Manager Kanesan Nathan
Executive Artistic Director Dr Richard Mills AM
Marketing & Communications Coordinator Lisa Wallace
Managing Director Andrew Snell Executive Producer Libby Hill
Media & Communications Scott Whinfield
Artistic, Engagement & Production
Victorian Opera 2015 Season Staff
Head of Music Phoebe Briggs
Audio Jim Atkins
Repetiteur Phillipa Safey
Head Mechanist David Worthy
Artistic Administration Coordinator Kate Stephens
Deputy Head Electrician Daniel Gosling
Artistic Administration Assistant Jack Fowles
Surtitle Operator Timothy Mallis
Education & Community Engagement Manager Melissa Stark
Assistant Buyer Debra Hallam
Wardrobe Supervisor Isaac Lummis Costumiers Marushka Blyszcak, Miranda Brodie, Jo Foley, Elizabeth Maisey, Tirion Rodwell, Sue Skinner, Madeleine Somers
Production Manager Darren Cooper Technical & Operations Coordinator Peter Darby
Costume Coordinator Kim Bishop Wigs and Makeup Linda Cowell
Production Coordinator Luke Hales
Millinery Phillip Rhodes
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VICTORIAN OPERA
PARTNERS Victorian Opera is supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria. Victorian Opera would also like to acknowledge, with great appreciation, the contribution of the partners listed on this page. Government Partners
Foundation Partner
University Partner
Regional Partner
Supporting Partners
Education & Access Partners
Sylvia Fisher Foundation
Gailey Lazarus Foundation
The Marian & E.H. Flack Trust
William Angliss Charitable Fund
Performance Partners
Technology Partner
Victorian Opera creates tailored partnerships to enable businesses to meet their strategic priorities. For a discussion about how your business can benefit from a partnership with Victorian Opera, please contact Paul Shea, Corporate Partnerships Manager on (03) 9001 6408 or pauls@victorianopera.com.au
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