In a final two-week season at the Capitol Theatre, Opera Australia is farewelling one of the most beloved productions in its history – Moffatt Oxenbould’s Madama Butterfly. Someone who is very well acquainted with Butterfly is Opera Australia soprano Hyeseoung Kwon! This will be the fourth year you take to the stage as Cio-Cio-San with…
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Michael Ball. Alfie Boe. Together live in concert. Review done. For what more really needs to be said? This is an incredible concert with two incredible theatre superstars, and it is truly an unmissable experience. The evening opens with the “Somewhere” overture from West Side Story before Ball and Boe take to the stage. The…
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Sondheim, as always, has to make things difficult. If it’s not in his chords then it’s the subject matter of his musicals. However Assassins, one of the more rarely performed of the Sondheim repertoire, finds itself locked and loaded in good hands with Dean Bryant at this latest production at the Hayes. Superb casting all…
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The sands of Coolangatta Beach will transform into the Egyptian shoreline when Opera Australia presents Griffith Opera on the Beach – Aida this month. We caught up with mezzo-soprano Milijana Nikolic , who will be sharing the role of Amneris, to discuss this unique opera setting! So, Opera on a Beach! How will you have to adjust your voice…
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Dementia is a truly terrifying condition, one that attacks the very sense of self. It affects not only the sufferer but also those closest to them in the most distressing of ways. In Sydney Theatre Company’s production of The Father this distress is both portrayed and felt keenly, even when the play itself deliberately makes…
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Originally an Australian theatre review site, StageMilk has now become one of the world’s largest acting websites. Its founders, WAAPA graduates Andrew Hearle and Luke McMahon have now added an online drama school to the site’s offering- one that is now attracting the attention of actors from all over the world. We caught up with…
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I speak from personal learnings when I say that most people are probably unaware that One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was a play on Broadway before it was that classic film starring Jack Nicholson. That the play has even starred the likes of Danny DeVito (who went on to reprise his role in the…
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What happens when one of the biggest names in musical theatre and Britain’s most popular tenor come together? They create an album together of course! Quite literally for Michael Ball and Alfie Boe, whose album “Together” quickly became the best-selling album in the UK in 2016. The album features some of the greatest hits of…
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One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and its boisterous, ribald and ultimately devastating story of a psychiatric clinic and its inhabitants has long been considered amongst the great pieces of literature, theatre and film. This August Sport for Jove are bringing Cuckoo’s to the stage once more. We caught up with Stephen Madsen (who will play Ruckly,…
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Scandalously funny, thought-provoking and heartbreaking, Cloud Nine is an enduring theatrical masterpiece. However, after seeing it last week we had some questions… and who better to answer them then someone close to the heart of it all? Cue Matthew Backer, who takes on the dual roles of Joshua and Gerry in the production, and who has managed to dish…
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In a bleak midwinter comes forth STC’s Cloud Nine– surprising, hilarious, shocking and magnificent. The staging bespokes a Kip Williams production in its minimal design, allowing focus to solely rest upon its carefully selected cast. A layer of dirt covers the ground, upon it a glass box to which the actors retire occasionally to be…
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Known for her award-winning role as Miss Honey in the recent Australian tour of smash-hit musical Matilda, Elise McCann has now taken her love and knowledge of Dahl’s work one step further- creating an album that draws upon and inspired by the magical works of one of the world’s most beloved authors. We caught up…
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I was a week late to the game on seeing this one, as I was overseas during opening week, and try as I might I couldn’t help watching as the glowing reviews went up one by one. I mean really, with the likes of Hayden Tee and Matthew Backer I knew Hayes was on another winner,…
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Australian cruisers will be amongst the first to see the newest show by Oscar®, Grammy® & Tony Award®-winning composer Stephen Schwartz. His first musical production (which showed on Emerald Princess during its six month season cruising out of Sydney last summer) Magic to Do– combined his lifelong fascination with magic with some of his most famous…
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Only Heaven Knows is a beloved musical set in the 1940s and 1950s, telling the story of one young man’s discovery of love and life in Sydney. Having just finished his critically acclaimed Puck in STC’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Sydney Opera House, Matthew Backer will now make his Hayes Theatre Co. debut as Alan in Only Heaven Knows….
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Only Heaven Knows is a beloved musical set in the 1940s and 1950s, telling the story of one young man’s discovery of love and life in Sydney. Playing the dual role of Lea/Lana is Hayden Tee. This will mark Hayden’s return to Australia after his multi award-winning performance of Javert in Les Misérables, which he reprised on Broadway and will soon be…
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While Aled Jones was recently in Sydney we decided that, in the theme of his new album One Voice, we would ask him to do a couple of surprising duets. Of course, nothing could be as surprising as singing with your 15 year old self… but we think we found him some good ones! So, may we…
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If you’ve never seen an opera before and if you’re unsure you want to dedicate a few hours out of your night to what could potentially be something not for you, then an operetta may be the perfect choice! An “Opera Starter Pack” as it were. Opera Australia’s latest production of Two Weddings, One Bride…
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The Concert Hall was adorned with garlands of flowers last night as the Sydney Opera House presented the Academy of St Martin in the Fields led by Joshua Bell. A picturesque premise to an evening of truly beautiful music. This is the renowned orchestra’s first tour to Australia, and there’s definitely something special about listening to them live. One…
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Not too often can you honestly say that a smaller independent production of a musical is undeniably better than a full-scale Broadway production, but Big Fish at the Hayes Theatre has surely got to be one of those times. The signature intimate theatre and the sincerity of the performances gives this musical the biggest of…
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Kinky Boots stalked onto the stage last night for its Sydney Opening Night and we loved every sparkling moment! If you’re not quite convinced you need to see this dazzling musical yet, here are our five reasons why you really ought to strap on your heels and get to it- The absolute party that Kinky…
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Aled Jones was recently in Australia promoting his brand new duet album One Voice- a unique concept, as the album is a collection of songs with Aled dueting with his none other than his younger self! We caught up with Aled in Sydney to talk about the album, the chance discovery of these youthful recordings…
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White Rabbit Red Rabbit describes itself as “a lively, global sensation that no-one is allowed to talk about”. There are no rehearsals, no director, a different actor each night, and a script that waits in a sealed envelope on the stage. Iranian writer Nassim Soleimanpour has created a most intriguing theatrical experience, and it’s currently…
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After another successful season in Sydney, the Melbourne Opera Australia season will be kicking off from the 4th May at the Art Centre Melbourne. One of the productions on offer is Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci, a double opera of interweaving tragedy and drama. We caught up with José Carbó ahead of the new season to discuss his dual…
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CARMEN. Big block letters spell out the opera in fierce red against the backdrop of Sydney Harbour, an outline of a bull back to back with the lettering. Nothing takes away from the thrill of gazing upon the stage at Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour each year and seeing the cityscape stretch behind, but this…
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Diary of a Wombat is an Australian classic. I doubt there’s an Aussie kid born after 2002 who hasn’t read the charming picture book, or had it read to them! The story follows a rather rotund and determined wombat called Mothball who causes all sorts of trouble for a couple of humans after she discovers that…
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In its opening moments Chimerica greets us with the back of its full cast, each in the vise of the iconic image “Tank Man”. Together they move, whipping their shopping bags in defiance. It is the precursor to the essence of this play: the enigma that is the Tank Man and his shopping bags. It is…
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When I heard Kate Mulvany’s casting in the lead of Bell Shakespeare’s latest adaption of Richard 3 my first thought was “cool- genderbend Shakespeare!”. But as it turns out that’s not really what the casting was about at all. This casting was about the right person to play the twisted villainous role, and Mulvany was absolutely the…
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In Opera Australia’s latest production of Tosca the period is transformed into Nazi-occupied Rome. A decision director John Bell explains “A tyrannical regime, resistance fighters hunted down, women forced to give sexual favours in order to protect a loved one — these things are still happening, and always have been, during war.” At the head of…
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In John Bell’s latest production of Tosca for Opera Australia we are transported into a troubling Nazi-occupied Rome, combining all the elements of this most tragic opera into a frighteningly real presentation. And above it all soars Puccini’s magnificent music- nothing compares to the works of this master of the operatic art. Scrawled across the…
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