Dido & Aeneas | Opera Queensland & Circa
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Dido & Aeneas | Opera Queensland & Circa

I found that the inclusion of movement added so much to the experience of this work. The acrobats were able to bring the more abstract, mystical, violent, grotesque, glimmering elements of Dido and Aeneas’ world to life. Each and every member of the company (both acrobat and singer) brings a level of virtuosity to their work that reminds one why these forms have lasted the test of time.

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Pacific Harmonies | Opera Queensland
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Pacific Harmonies | Opera Queensland

One hour with Pinkasova could have easily been many; her voice, her stories, her presence were all so enchanting. The way she connects her personal history and the history of the pacific and to song is masterful; just like her vocals.

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Macbeth in Concert | Opera Queensland & Queensland Symphony Orchestra
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Macbeth in Concert | Opera Queensland & Queensland Symphony Orchestra

Macbeth in Concert is an object lesson in what is possible when a group of people who have trained to do something exceptionally their entire lives gather in a room together and do that something exceptionally. The orchestra, led by conductor Umberto Clerici, is truly a wonder to behold. Their work in combination with Opera Queensland’s company meant the sheer sonic power of a number of sequences left with me chills, in particular the full-company scene that takes place after King Duncan is murdered.

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The Call & The Human Voice | Opera Queensland
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The Call & The Human Voice | Opera Queensland

The Call and The Human Voice presents two deeply emotional, well connected stories about women who lose themselves and meet very different ends through the power of a single phone call. The latter a classic that is given a new life and a new weight in the age of social media and the other an ambitious new Australian work that while a lovely experience could have used a dramaturg on its creative team to make it a lovelier work of art as well.

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La Traviata | Opera Queensland   
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La Traviata | Opera Queensland  

What does it mean to choose love when it always ends (either in death or heartbreak)?

What is it to truly connect with people in a world obsessed with the immediacy of pleasure?

Why do men still feel entitled to scorn and humiliate women when they live in authentic ways?

Why must women only be one thing? Why can’t they decide to change? Why does society still berate them for their multitudes?

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La Serenata | Opera Queensland
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La Serenata | Opera Queensland

Wang himself is charming in the humblest of ways. He captures us with his talent and endears himself to us immediately after with his sweet demeanour. This charm is enhanced immensely by his technical prowess. Wang sings with every fibre of his being.

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Songs of Love & War | Opera Queensland & Chrysalis Projects
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Songs of Love & War | Opera Queensland & Chrysalis Projects

Opera is not the snooze-fest many think it to be. It possesses the same drama, romance, and impassioned violence of the modern soap or young-adult drama. Imagine a Riverdale musical episode but if the singing was superb and the show was well-written. If held regularly, intimate and more financially accessible events like this might help improve my generations’ perception of this delicious artform.

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Songs My Aunties Taught Me | Heru Pinkasova & Dr Rhythm
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Songs My Aunties Taught Me | Heru Pinkasova & Dr Rhythm

Wow wow wow. I feel like my eardrums have just been given a delightful, melodic pounding. Songs My Aunties Taught Me is part opera, part beatboxing, part comedy, and one hundred percent remarkable. This first collaboration between songstress Heru Pinkasova and the beatboxing, drumming Dr Rhythm is a melodious fusion of two very different art forms, which tells the stories of influential women in Heru’s life; both her mother and aunties, and the great women of colour who sang before her.

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Songs My Aunties Taught Me | Heru Pinkasova & Dr Rhythm
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Songs My Aunties Taught Me | Heru Pinkasova & Dr Rhythm

The interactions between Aunty Heru and Jonny Drama brings out a humorous side to the show and the chemistry between them is endearing as it feels like they have both known each other for a long time and that they have toured lengthy with this show despite it being their first. As talented as Heru is with her voice, Jonny’s beatboxing skills are similarly impressive.

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