"As Cherubino Hannah Fraser showed an earthy vocal quality in her two arias especially in “Voi Che Sapete,” where voice relished in the long lines Mozart gives this character. She played the character with a timidity and it almost seemed as her Cherubino was always uncomfortable. Of course, there was a flirtatious nature as Fraser’s constantly gave winks toward the Countess and Susanna"
- OPERAWIRE, Prague
WEIHNACHTSFREUDE - BACH AKADEMIE
Christ Church St Laurence
812 George Street, Sydney
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2020
6:15 PM
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2020
8:15PM
Join us for a program of Christmas Joy in the beautiful surrounds of Christ Church St Laurence to celebrate the coming Christmas season which will be all the more meaningful for us all after the events of 2020. The music of J.S. Bach once again provides endless inspiration and hope. We are so thrilled to finally be able to perform in public once again, especially with our wonderful vocalists who will feature in Bach's motet 'Lobet den Herrn', and his ebulliant cantata for Christmas, 'Ich freue mich in dir'.
Neal Peres Da Costa will shine in the fiendishly difficult but joyful Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, as will tenor Richard Butler and alto Hannah Fraser in two beautiful arias from Part II of Bach's Christmas Oratorio.
MOZART AT ANGKOR – A CAMBODIAN MAGIC FLUTE
Mozart at Angkor–A Cambodian Magic Flute, under the auspicious patronage of His Majesty Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia, is being presented in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts of Cambodia, the Ministry of Tourism, APSARA National Authority, UNESCO and the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh. It is produced by the Cambodia Film Commission and FROLIC inc.
Mozart at Angkor is a symbiosis of two stories, the Cambodian Ramayana (known in Cambodia as the Reamker) and Mozart’s Magic Flute, featuring Cambodia’s finest performance artists, a pinpeat ensemble, a Mozart orchestra, Australia’s premiere youth choir Gondwana Chorale and extraordinary soloists from all over the world. The flute’s magic has the power to turn sorrow to joy. It accompanies the journey of darkness to light, self-discovery and enlightenment. It celebrates the national pride of Cambodia and the revival and regeneration of the performing arts.
Premiere 18 November 2020 for an exclusive VIP audience
three public performances at the 12th century Chau Say Tevoda Temple in the Angkor Archaeological Park.
Papageno: Giorgio Caoduro
Pamina: Simone Eisinger
Queen of the Night: Livia Rado
Third Lady: Hannah Fraser
Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Aaron Carpene
Stage Director: Stefano Vizioli,
BACH'S SECULAR CANTATAS - BACH AKADEMIE
Bach's Secular Cantatas
FRIDAY, 21 AUGUST, 2020
7PM Concert, Venue TBC
SUNDAY, 23 AUGUST, 2020
2pm concert, Holy Name Church Wahroonga
BACH'S EASTER ORATORIO - BACH AKADEMIE
Garrison Church, the Rocks
Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Penrith
2:00PM, Holy Name Church, Wahroonga
VOCAL DETOUR RESIDENCY
Four-day Vocal Detour, regional education residency Armidale, NSW. Work confirmed with three local Ensembles.
28 - 31 March, 2020
BEETHOVEN MASS IN C - ST JAMES SYDNEY
Sunday 26 January, 2020, 10 am
Director: Warren Trevelyan-Jones
St James Choir
Soprano: Amy Moore
Mezzo Soprano: Hannah Fraser
Tenor: Richard Butler
Baritone: Andrew Oconnor
2:30PM The Crisp Galleries
Adults $45 Children $20 (afternoon tea included)
www.trybooking.com/BGTBR • (02) 67781233 • hfraser@vocistupende.com • also available at the door
28234 Hume Highway, Bowning NSW
SATURDAY DECEMBER 14, 2019
3:00PM Blackheath Uniting Church
Adults $35 Children $20
https://www.trybooking.com/BGVSE • (02) 67781233 • hfraser@vocistupende.com • also available at the door
43 Govetts Leap Road, Blackheath, NSW
Experience the power and sensitivity of these artists, as Italian pianist, director and composer; Alessio Nelli joins
mezzo-soprano Hannah Fraser to perform an intimate recital of not only opera, but a splash of other things too!
This dynamic musical collaboration began in Puglia, Italy, after Hannah Fraser and Alessio Nelli first shared the stage in Festival della Valle d’Itria’s highly acclaimed productions of ‘The Barber of Seville’
Witness, as these breathtaking journeys unite under one spotlight
MASSENET • MEYERBEER • SAINT-SAËNS • BIZET • HANDEL • QUILTER • AZNAVOUR
OPERA & A DASH OF CHRISTMAS
SYDNEY, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13
7:30PM, Christchurch Lavender Bay
CANBERRA, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8
1:30PM, All Saints Anglican Church, Ainslie
From their own arrangements of traditional folk songs to the soaring melodies of opera’s most loved arias & duets. Each musician with an independently remarkable journey, united under one spotlight
Soprano: Susannah Lawergren
Mezzo Soprano: Hannah Fraser
Pianist: Alessio Nelli
This will be a varying and musical feast not to be missed!
• MONTEVERDI • MASSENET • MEYERBEER • BIZET• SAINT-SAËNS • OFFENBACH • DELIBES
COMFORT AND JOY - CANTATAS FOR CHRISTMAS - BACH AKADEMIE
7:30 PM, Christ Church St Laurence, George Street, Sydney
7:30 PM, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta
2:00PM, Holy Name Church, Wahroonga
The story of Christmas with its imagery of angels, shepherds, children, peace on earth and goodwill to mankind has inspired many a great composer throughout the centuries, however none more so than J.S Bach. This theme gave his genius free rein to compose music which continues to comfort, inspire and exult all who hear it.
Bach Akademie Australia presents his tender Cantata BWV 151 'Süsser Trost' (Sweet Comfort), followed by Part 2 of his famous Christmas Oratorio featuring his sublime pastoral Sinfonia. Also in the program is the virtuosic Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor with baroque flautist Mikaela Oberg. Finally, crowning our celebration of the season is Cantata BWV 191 ‘Gloria’, his only cantata set in Latin, later used by Bach so brilliantly in his B minor Mass.
BWV 151 Süsser Trost
Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor BWV 1067
BWV 248 part I/2
BWV 191: Gloria
VOCI STUPENDE CHRISTMAS CONCERTS, 23 & 24 NOVEMBER 2019
November 23, 2019 - Blessed Sacrament Church
Clifton Gardens, Sydney
59 Bradleys Head Road
7:30PM
November 24, 2019 - Roseville Presbyterian Church
28 Lord Street, Roseville, Sydney
2:30PM
The program will be an operatic feast!
Soprano, Chloe Lankshear
Soprano, Georgia Melville
Mezzo Soprano, Hannah Fraser
Mezzo Soprano, Stella Hannock
Tenor, Hamish James
Baritone, Henry Wright
Baritone, Jared Lillehagen
Accompanist, Benjamin Burton
GRANDEZZE & MERAVIGLIE
Director: Fabio Missaggia
Cantanti vincitori XIII concorso di Musica Antica – Premio Fatima Terzo
Soprano: Cristina Fanelli
Alto: Hannah Fraser
PROGRAM: Stabat Mater, Vivaldi
Stabat Mater, Pergolesi
Modena, Italy
October 5, 9PM, 2019
Chiesa di S. Agostino
Via Sant'Agostino, 6, 41121 Modena MO
October 6, 5PM, 2019
Palazzo Leoni Montanari
Contrà Santa Corona, 25, 36100 Vicenza VI
Monday, May 6, 2019
6:30 PM - 8:05 PM
Fitters' Workshop
11 Wentworth Avenue, Kingston, ACT, 2604
Bach never wrote an opera but realised the perfect music drama with his superlative Passion according to John. First performed in 1724, the work propels the drama through a vivid narration of the Evangelist and inspired musical dialogue between the main characters offset by reflective chorales and memorable arias. Led by Andrew Goodwin as Evangelist and Jeremy Kleeman as Jesus, this superb ensemble of singers and musicians are directed by Korneel Bernolet.
A cry from the soul. Bach’s matchless music drama from 1724.
PROGRAM
J.S. Bach (1685-1750), Passio secundum Joannem BWV 245
ARTISTS
Bach Akademie Australia led by Madeleine Easton
Susannah Lawergren and Amy Moore, sopranos
Hannah Fraser and Anna Fraser, alti
Andrew Goodwin and Richard Butler, tenors
Jeremy Kleeman and David Greco, basses
Directed by Korneel Bernolet
Sunday, May 5, 2019
11:00 AM 12:35 PM
Fitters' Workshop,
11 Wentworth Avenue, Kingston, ACT, 26
In 1705, twenty-year old Bach walked almost 400km to hear the ageing Buxtehude play the organ. A year later, when the post became vacant, the condition of marrying the master’s daughter did not appeal. Bach moved to Mülhausen instead. He never travelled to Italy, but Italian music did land on his desk, inspiring numerous concerti and organ transcriptions. This concert features the music that Bach himself was drawn to, above all Pergolesi’s timeless Stabat Mater.
PROGRAM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741), Violin Concerto RV 208 ‘Grosso Mogul’
Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707), ‘Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin’
G.B. Pergolesi (1710-1736), Stabat Mater
ARTISTS
Bach Akademie Australia directed by Madeleine Easton
Anna Fraser, soprano
Hannah Fraser, mezzo-soprano
Susannah Lawergren, soprano
Andrew Fysh, bass
Directed by Roland Peelman
Alziamo La Voce - Elio e Rocco Tanica
Teatro Comunale di Belluno
Thursday 31 January
EVENTO BENEFICO CON I 50 ARTISTI BELLUNESI DEL PROGETTO "BELLUNO ALZA LA VOCE".
CON LA STRAORDINARIA PARTECIPAZIONE DI:
ELIO e ROCCO TANICA
e con 38 Chordae (Laura Valente e Andrea Pozoli feat.Filippo Mango), Domenico Menini, Andrea Moro, Alessio Nelli, Lelio Morra e Hannah Fraser
OPERA IN THE GARDEN - WOMENS PLANS FOUNDATION
Celebrate Christmas with rising opera star, Hannah Fraser,
accompanied by Alessio Nelli and enjoy drinks and canapés in the garden
Address: 3 Madeline Street, Hunters Hill
Date: Friday 7 December 2018
Time: 5.30 – 8.00pm
Tickets: $80 pp ($50 concession)
PayPal / credit card: http://womensplans.org/support/womens-plans-foundation-events
Cheque to: 3 Madeline St, Hunters Hill NSW 2110
Please consider making your Christmas donation now.
Contact: WomensPlansFoundation@bigpond.com
or Alice Oppen 98175175 / 042
Operatic favourites by Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Offenbach, Delibes, Mozart and more...
Each musician has an independently remarkable journey...Opera with it’s thrilling highs, exotic beauty and ingrained traditions, demands above all, courage and commitment
Experience the power and sensitivity of these artists, as Italian pianist, director and composer; Alessio Nelli joins soprano Michelle Ryan & mezzo-soprano Hannah Fraser to perform an intimate recital of operatic favourites
These two young opera singers moved to Sydney from rural NSW to study at The Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
After performing together on many memorable occasions through appearances with reputable groups; Song Company; Voci Stupende, Cantillation & Pinchgut Opera, they went on to conquer Europe, debuting in operas throughout Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and Italy.
Yet another dynamic musical collaboration began, after Hannah Fraser and Alessio Nelli (pianist and assistant director of the ‘Orchestra della Notte della Taranta), first shared the stage in Festival della Valle d’Itria’s highly acclaimed productions of Rossini’s ‘The Barber of Seville’
Witness, as these breathtaking journeys come together under one spotlight, enriched with experiences gained from European and American industry professionals Sherrill Milnes, Richard Bonynge AC, CBE, Sesto Quatrini, Fabio Luisi and more...
Sat December 15 | St Peters Cathedral Parish Centre, Armidale | 7:30pm
Buy your tickets today: https://www.trybooking.com/427290
Sun December 16 | Presbyterian Church, Walcha | 2:00pm
Buy your tickets today: https://www.trybooking.com/427291
Wed December 19 | Maclean Anglican Church, Maclean| 6:30pm
Buy your tickets today: https://www.trybooking.com/433581
FAURE REQUIEM - SONG COMPANY
A 75TH BIRTHDAY CONCERT FOR ROSS EDWARDS WITH AN INTIMATE CHAMBER PERFORMANCE OF FAURÉ’S PERENNIAL REQUIEM
Sat 1 Dec | Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music | 3pm
Gabriel Fauré claimed that his “Requiem wasn’t written for anything – for pleasure, if I may call it that!”
This version for vocal and instrumental consort brings new clarity to Fauré’s vivid harmonies and is surrounded by the elemental soundworld of Ross Edwards, one of Australia’s most distinguished composers.
ONE EQUAL MUSIC - SONG COMPANY CONCERT SERIES
ONE HUNDRED YEARS SINCE THE ENDING OF THE GREAT WAR WE SING OF A PEACE AT ONCE UNATTAINABLE AND EVERLASTING, CULMINATING IN A RADIANT NEW WORK BY ROSS EDWARDS.
Tues 30 Oct | Yellow House Sydney | 7.30pm
Thur 1 Nov | Newcastle Conservatorium | 7pm
Sat 3 Nov | Blackheath Uniting Church | 3pm
Thur 8 Nov | Berry School of Arts | 2pm
Fri 9 Nov | Wesley Uniting Church, Canberra | 7.30pm
Sat 10 Nov | Wollongong Art Gallery | 3pm
Fri 16 Nov | Deakin Edge Federation Square, Melbourne | 7.30pm
Thur 22 Nov | St James’ King Street, Sydney | 7.30pm
The poetry of 17th-century metaphysician John Donne and the late playwright Douglas Muecke form the twin doors to a world of remembrance and resurgence in a program framed by newly-commissioned music by three Australian composers: Ruth McCall, Ella Macens, and in his 75th year, Ross Edwards. One century ago in Compiègne the world witnessed the end of the “war to end all wars”, hoping that humankind would not undergo again such an overwhelming catastrophe. Composers have long tried to imagine a world without war and suffering, and in luminous harmonies touch on that state beyond conflict and without end – Donne’s own vision of eternal life centres on perfection and freedom from the earthly imbalance and disorder so familiar to us in the here and now – “no noise, nor silence, but one equal music”.
Program includes:
Settings of Douglas Muecke by Ruth McCall and Ella Macens (WP)
Ross Edwards new work (WP)
Settings of George Herbert and John Donne
Viktor Kalinnikov Nïñe Otpushcháyeshï
MOORAMBILLA VOICES GALA CONCERTS
Friday 28 September 2018, 7pm
Saturday 29 September 2018, 2pm
Saturday 29 September 2018, 7pm
Experience the amazing choirs of Moorambilla Voices as they celebrate 13 splendid years in the iconic MOORAMBILLA GALA CONCERT, to be held in Dubbo over two days on Friday 28th & Saturday the 29th September. This 80-minute concert will leave you mesmerised and uplifted. Feel firsthand the power of the Japanese Taiko drums, listen to the beauty of the angelic voices of the Moorambilla Regional Girls and Boys Choir and the MAXed OUT Company as they join with International Taiko percussionist – Anton Lock, sound artist Roger Lock, a Chamber Orchestra, professional vocalists Hannah Fraser & Richard Black, Visual Artist Genevieve Huard and choreographer Jacob Williams all lead by Founder and Artistic Director Michelle Leonard OAM as they celebrate the beauty and capacity of the region.
These concerts bring to life in magnificent choral music, dynamic dance and powerful percussion the stories and landscape of Byrock Water Holes and Brewarrina Fish Traps, written by leading and emerging Australian composers Chance, Barker, Howes, Walker and Gibson.
Led by Artistic Director and Founder Michelle Leonard OAM, this year’s concert also features digital visual and sound artists from the region and beyond giving this year’s performance a truly contemporary edge. Magnificent fire sculptures and lanterns under the night sky after the 7pm concerts on Friday and Saturday evenings end an evening not to be missed.
Be prepared to be amazed by the passion and creativity of this region’s children and youth. This is Moorambilla Voices 2018!
VOCI STUPENDE
September 15, 2018
Burrawang School of Arts
35 Hoddle Street, Burrawang, NSW 2577
7PM
Meeting with resounding success and acclaim in recitals over numerous regional centres, Voci Stupende is an opera troupe with a difference. Made up of young, dynamic performers graduated from around Australia they will take you on a superbly crafted musical journey. Voci Stupende continues to assimilate fledgling operatic talent and since 2013 has taken on more than 35 young singers and accompanists.
The program will be an operatic feast!
Soprano, Katherine Allen
Soprano, Georgia Melville
Mezzo Soprano, Hannah Fraser
Mezzo Soprano, Rebecca Hart
Tenor, Ryan O'Donnell
Baritone, Henry Wright
Accompanist, Benjamin Burton
FIGARO SU, FIGARO GIÙ...! - ROSSINI
Rossini and the Barber: Everything a different story!
21 and 23 July 2018, 9:00 PM Martina Franca - Atrio dell’Ateneo Bruni
3 August 2018, 9:00 PM Otranto - Fossato del Castello, Porta a Mare
Libera rivisitazione da Gioachino Rossini
Progetto drammaturgico di Francesco Micheli
In collaborazione con Gianmaria Aliverta
Adattamento musicale di Daniele Durante
Il Conte d’Acquaviva David Ferri Durà
Don Bartolo Marco Filippo Romano
Rosina Maria Aleida
Figaro Daniele Terenzi
Don Basilio Peter Kellner
Berta Hannah Fraser*
Ambrogio, detto “lo svegliato” Davide Gasparro
With the participation of the extraordinary Elio
Direttore Giuseppe Grazioli
Regia Gianmaria Aliverta
Aiuto regia Davide Gasparro
Progetto scenografico Benito Leonori
Costumi Sara Marcucci e Francesco Bondì
Luci Luciano Novelli
Realizzazione luci Carlo Piatti
Orchestra Popolare e Ensemble “La Notte della Taranta”
Maestro collaboratore Liubov Gromoglasova
Maestro alle luci Alessandro Seggioli
Maestri di palcoscenico Annarita Semeraro, Angela Zaccaria
Assistente del direttore d’orchestra e maestro alla tastiera Alessio Nelli
Scenografia Fondazione Carnevale di Putignano
Attrezzeria Laboratorio Festival della Valle d’Itria
Costumi The One S.r.l, We We Wardrobe
In coproduzione con la Fondazione La Notte della Taranta e in collaborazione con la Fondazione Carnevale di Putignano
*Allieva dell’Accademia del Belcanto “Rodolfo Celletti”
Libera rivisitazione da Gioachino Rossini
Progetto drammaturgico di Francesco Micheli
Adattamento musicale di Daniele Durante
Il Conte d’Almaviva, David Ferri Durà
Don Bartolo, Marco Filippo Romano
Rosina, Maria Aleida
Figaro, Davide Terenzi
Don Basilio, Peter Kellner
Berta, Hannah Fraser
IGOR STRAVINSKY & ROSSINI CONCERT
Chiostro di San Domenico, 1 August, 2018
9:00 PM
Gioachino Rossini
Soirées musicales
For voice and piano
Igor Stravinsky
Three Songs from William Shakespeare
for mezzosoprano, viola, flute and clarinet
Viola Maurizio Lomartire
Clarinet Giovanni Marinotti
Flute Alessandro Muolo
Soprano, Kim-Lillian Strebel
Soprano, Yukie Ishioka
Mezzo Soprano, Hannah Fraser
Tenor, Antonio Mandrillo
Baritone, Patrizio La Placa
Pianists, Anastasia and Liubov Gromoglasova
In collaboration with l’Accademia del Belcanto “Rodolfo Celletti”
CONCERTO ORA SESTA...!
29 July 2018, 12PM
Chiesa di San Francesco da Paola
Frescobaldi, Gesualdo, Nenna, Pasquini, Provenzale
Students dell'Accademia del Belcato "Rodolfo Celletti"
Soprano, Federica Livi
Soprano, Yukie Ishioka
Mezzosoprano, Hannah Fraser
Mezzosoprano, Suzana Nadejde
Baritone, Patrizio La Placa
Pianoforte Jacopo Raffaele
“ROMEO, PERCHÉ SEI TU ROMEO?”
“ROMEO, PERCHÉ SEI TU ROMEO?”
Bellini, Vaccaj, Zingarelli
Students dell’Accademia del Belcanto “Rodolfo Celletti"
Chiostro di San Domenico, 5 PM
July 28, 2018
Pianoforte, Vincenzo Rana
Soprano, Kim-Lillian Strebel
Soprano, Yukie Ishioka
Mezzo Soprano, Aiko Miyamoto
Mezzo Soprano, Hannah Fraser
Mezzo Soprano, Ana Victoria Pitts
Tenor, Antonio Mandrillo
"C'ERA UNA VOLTA... CENERENTOLA!" - ROSSINI
ONCE UPON A TIME ... CENERENTOLA!
Festival della Valle d'Itria 2018
25 July, 2018
With the singers of the Academy of Belcanto "Rodolfo Celletti"
Angelina, Hannah Fraser
Don Ramiro, Antonio Mandrillo
Dandino, Hao Wang
Don Magnifico, Maura Lamantia
Clorinda, Magdalena Hinz
Tisbe, Aiko Miyamoto
Pianist, Vincenzo Rana
Project and direction, Marco Bellocchio
Musical preparation, Angela Lacarbonara
Choir of Voci Bianche "Festival Junior"
ALL'ORA SESTA
15 July 2018, 12:00PM
Martina Franca - Chiesa di Sant'Antonio ai Cappuccini
Byrd, Dowland, Purcell, Sweelink
Students of the Accademia del Belcant "Rodolfo Celletti"
Pianist, Jacopo Raffaele
OPERA, ITALY
Wednesday 4 July
8 PM, 2018, Chiesa di San Domenico, Martina Franca, Italy
Soprano, Magdalena Hinz
Soprano, Jessica Harper
Mezzosoprano, Hannah Fraser
Bass, Dielli Hoxha
Organ, Ettore Papadia
RAVEL, DEBUSSSY, FAURE & CHAUSSON, ITALY
Singers of the Belcanto Academy will come together to perform a selection of French songs by Ravel, Debussy, Faure & Chausson
Friday June 29, 2018
Martina Franca, Basilica di San Martino
8:30 PM
Soprano, Jessica Harper
Mezzo Soprano, Hannah Fraser
Baritone, Hao Wang
Pianist, Liubov Gromoglasova
Pianist, Anastasia Gromoglasova
BELCANTO CONCERT, MARTINA FRANCA, ITALY
Singers of the Belcanto Academy will come together to perform a selection of solos and ensemble pieces
Thursday June 21, 2018
Martina Franca
Soprano, Kim Lillian Strebel
Soprano, Jessica Harper
Mezzo Soprano, Hannah Fraser
Mezzo Soprano, Ana Victoria Pitt
Baritone, Patrizio La Placa
Baritone, Hao Wang
BELCANTO CONCERT, MARTINA FRANCA, ITALY
Friday June 15, 2018, 8PN
Aeronautica Militare, Comando 16° Stormo
Concert of Belcanto with the artists dell’Accademia “Rodolfo Celletti”
Soprano, Rachel Jane Birthsiel
Soprano, Federica Livi
Soprano, Kim-Lilian Strebel
Soprano, Lorena Zaccaria
Mezzosoprano, Erica Cortese
Mezzosoprano, Hannah Fraser
Mezzosoprano, Aiko Miyamoto
Mezzosoprano, Suzana Nadejde
Mezzosoprano, Ana Victoria Pitts
Baritone, Patrizio La Placa
Baritone, Giuseppe Tafuro
Baritone, Hao Wang
Bass, Dielli Hoxha
Al pianoforte i Maestri Liuba Gromoglasova e Giorgio D'Alonzo.
LA FONDAZIONE PAOLO GRASSI ANNIVERSARY CONCERT
April 27, 2018
7 PM
Location- il Park Hotel San Michele, Martina Franca, Italy
La Fondazione Paolo Grassi and Lions Club Martina Franca will host a concert of Bel Canto repertoire to introduce the new class of the Rodolfo Celletti Academy for 2018
Soprano, Rachel Jane Birthsiel
Soprano, Federica Livi
Soprano, Kim-Lilian Strebel
Soprano, Lorena Zaccaria
Soprano, Magdalena Hinz
Mezzosoprano, Erica Cortese
Mezzosoprano, Hannah Fraser
Mezzosoprano, Aiko Miyamoto
Mezzosoprano, Suzana Nadejde
Mezzosoprano, Ana Victoria Pitts
Baritone, Patrizio La Placa
Baritone, Giuseppe Tafuro
Baritone, Hao Wang
Bass, Dielli Hoxha
Al pianoforte i Maestri Liuba Gromoglasova e Giorgio D'Alonzo.
In the program arias have been chosen from operas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gaetano Donizetti, Claudio Monteverdi, Luigi Cherubini, Gioachino Rossini e Giuseppe Verdi.
DARKNESS INTO LIGHT
Parish of Our Lady of the Way
St Mary’s Church North Sydney
Wednesday 21 March, 2018
8.00pm
‘DARKNESS INTO LIGHT’
A Service of Reflection, Music & Light
GLORY AND POWER: HANDEL’S MESSIAH
The Choir of St James’ and BachBand@St James’ return to City Recital Hall to perform one of the greatest choral pieces in western classical music repertoire, Handel’s Messiah. First performed in Dublin at Eastertide in 1742, the oratorio’s librettist Charles Jennens draws on biblical texts to trace Christ’s journey from prophecy and birth, to death and resurrection. Soloists include Amy Moore, Sally-Anne Russell and Richard Butler.
Thursday 22 March, 2018
7:00 pm
City Recital Hall
ARTISTS
The Choir of St James’ and BachBand@StJames’
ST JAMES ORCHESTRAL MASS: HEILIGMESSE, Haydn
Joseph Haydn wrote the Missa Sancti Bernardi von Offida in 1796 to commemorate Bernard of Offida, a Capuchin monk who had devoted himself to helping the poor. It is known as ‘Heiligmesse’ because of the use of a popular Austrian tune ‘Heliig’ in the Sanctus.
Sunday 28 January 2018 at 10am
at St James' Church, King Street, Sydney
ST JAMES ORCHESTRAL MASS - Pēteris Vasks
ORCHESTRAL MASS NO. 2: PETERIS VASKS ‘MISSA’
Sunday 21 January 2018 at 10am
at St James' Church, King Street, Sydney
Pēteris Vasks (b. 1946) is a Latvian composer, the son of a Baptist pastor. He initially trained as a violinist and double-bass player, and played in several Latvian orchestras before entering the State Conservatory in Vilnius in neighbouring Lithuania. He become known outside Latvia in the 1990s and is now one of the most influential and praised European contemporary composers.
Vasks has forged an original musical style, which commentators have described as spiritual, powerfully evocative, and richly expressive. He wrote: “Most people today no longer possess beliefs, love and ideals. The spiritual dimension has been lost. My intention is to provide food for the soul and this is what I preach in my works”.
MISSA ARTHURUS PATRIS - ANDREW HOWES
Missa Arthurus Patris
Premiered December 12th, 2018 at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta.
Commissioned by Ars Musica Australis, for the Song Company.
LULLY LULLA - SONG COMPANY
ROCKING THE CRADLE OF HISTORY
November-December 2017
THE PAGEANT OF THE SHEARMEN AND TAILORS ...IT’S BEGINNING TO SOUND A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS.
The final program in the Song Company season The Attraction of Opposites is set within the narrative framework of mediaeval English verse, with seasonal music old and new that touches both on the joy of a young mother giving birth to the King of the Ages, and on the hard-hitting realities of exile, refugee status, and the ‘slaughter of the innocents’. The ‘Coventry Carol’ Lully, lulla is one of three songs (transcribed, arranged, or composed by Thomas Mawdycke in 1591) from the Shearmen and Tailors’ Pageant and is justly famous for its chillingly evocative tale of Herod’s rage. Woven into The Song Company’s telling of the story are new Australian and English carols, as well as a Gloria in excelsis from the first part of the 15th century with upbeat syncopations and happy harmonies that could have been written yesterday.
LE NOZZE DI FIGARO - MOZART - PRAGUE SUMMER NIGHTS FESTIVAL
Prague - St. Simon & Jude Church
Monday July 3rd, 2017– 7:00pm
Tuesday July 4th, 2017 – 7:00pm
Music Director: John Nardolillo
Stage Director: Sherrill Milnes and Maria Zouves
Salzburg - Stiftung Mozarteum Große Saal
Sunday July 9th – 3:00pm, 7:00pm
Music Director: John Nardolillo
Stage Director: Sherrill Milnes and Maria Zouves
OPERA SCENES BY SINGERS FROM THE PRAGUE SUMMER NIGHTS FESTIVAL
Friday June 30, 2017
7:30 PM
Martinů Hall, Lichtenstein Palace – Prague
Conductors: Michelle Di Russo, John Paul Jennings, Jotaro Nakano
Stage Directors: Darya Zholnerova and Joachim Schamberger
Rafael Gordillo, Marcello Cormio, Scott Rednour & Justina Lee, piano
ART SONG RECITAL TABOR
Thursday, June 22, 2017
7:00 PM
Divadlo Oskara Nedbala -Tábor
Singers of the Prague Summer Nights Music Festival
Marcello Cormio, Scott Rednour, Rafael Gordillo & Justina Lee, piano
HANNAH FRASER & FRIENDS FAREWELL GALA
OPERATIC FUNDRAISER CONCERT
FRIDAY MARCH 31, 2017, 8PM
Hannah is flying to Europe in April to further her operatic studies in Italy, Prague, Salzburg & Tabor. To celebrate please join us for a beautiful evening of operatic repertoire! Hear solos, duets & trios from some of our favourite composers; Mozart, Bellini, Puccini, Delibes, Schubert and many more.
Performers
Katherine Allen (soprano)
Hannah Fraser (mezzo)
Damian Arnold (tenor)
Kaine Hayward (tenor)
Jared Lillehagen (baritone)
Benjamin Burton (accompanist)
Address:
Sydney Unitarian Church
15 Francis St, Darlinghurst
OPERA BY THE LAKE 2017
Saturday March 4, 2017
The Rotary Club of Great Lakes and the Great Lakes Creative Network will come together to bring you an afternoon full of culture by the beautiful Wallis Lake - an Opera Gala to remember with arias and ensembles from the world's most adored operas. For 2017 Voci Stupende and other talented String Musicians will provide the pre show entertainment in the beautiful setting of Tuncurry's John Wright Park. This operatic celebration is presented on the open air stage in the park & fully seated - this will be one not to miss, with wine & food also on offer. Join us in the glamour and gorgeousness of Opera in the great outdoors!
Sopranos: Rebecca Moret, Katherine Allen & Michelle Ryan
Mezzo Soprano: Hannah Fraser
Tenor: Damian Arnold
Baritone: Jared Lillehagen
Handel's second last oratorio and favourite work, Theodora has come to be recognised in the last twenty years as Handel's masterpiece. A succession of the most beautiful arias and choruses, Theodora is a profoundly moving experience and a tale from ancient Rome that speaks to our hearts, here and now. Innocence, love, faith and courage bloom strong and full of promise, only to be struck down by blind hatred and the thirst for power.
Theodora by George Frederic Handel
libretto by Thomas Morrell
Performances
Wednesday, 30 November 2016, 7pm
Thursday, 1 December 2016, 7pm
Saturday 3, December 2016, 7pm
Sunday 4, December 2016, 5pm
Tuesday 6, December 2016, 7pm
Glories stream from heaven afar – a sumptuous programme of carols with Georgian, Greek, and other connections. The traditional Christmas story is not just about one transfigured night in Bethlehem, but stretches from the Annunciation some nine months earlier, to the visit of the wise men and Herod’s subsequent attempt to wipe out the rival boy-King – by then possibly a year or two old.
Arvo Pärt and John Tavener’s music is well-known for its iconic beauty; that of Ivan Moody and Artistic Director Antony Pitts also draws on the resonant solemnity of the Orthodox liturgy, while the more earthly and rousing carols bring the celebrations home.
Program
Arvo Pärt:
Magnificat
Jonathan Pitts:
Hark the Herald Angels sing!
Ivan Moody: The Manger:
A Carol for Christmas
Antony Pitts:
O Holy of Holies
John Sheppard:
Reges Tharsis
John Tavener:
The Lamb
plus a seasonal selection from The Naxos Book of Carols
Full tour schedule
Blackheath, Saturday 12th November, 3.00pm Blackheath Uniting Church
Sydney, Thursday 3rd November 7.30pm St James' Church
Canberra, Friday 4th November, 6.00pm Wesley Music Centre Canberra
Wollongong, Sunday 6th November, 3.00pm Wollongong ART Gallery
Newcastle, Thursday 10th November, 7.00pm Christ Church Cathedral
Sydney, Sunday 13th November, 3.00pm Independent Theatre North Sydney
CALLAN PARK, BY ANDREW HOWES
12pm and 4pm on 23rd October
Leichhardt Espresso Chorus, alongside one of Australia's premiere vocal ensembles Song Company, will perform a thought-provoking and emotive work by young Australian composer Andrew Howes that was commissioned by the chorus back at the beginning of 2016.
The work celebrates one of our local landmarks, Callan Park. Andrew writes:
“I have been privileged, this year, to write a piece about Callan Park. I grew up on a street that ends with the park, and spent much of my youth cycling or walking beneath the willows, cypress and pines. And the stories of its history gave the place a strange, somber air – something that I have strived to capture in this piece.
There are two central themes in this work: despair and optimism.
Despair comes from lives lost, lives lived and lives forgotten, within Callan Park. Of the stories on which I’ve focused, all deal with despair in different ways – Louisa Lawson, who lost a child, and later her mind, and George McQuay, who lost all memories to shell shock. But the central, imperative balance to despair, optimism, shines through as well, if only in a peace to find at the end of all stories.”
Program
Green Mosaic: Kezia Yap
From Hell to Heaven: Andrew Howes
Artistic Director Michelle Leonard will host a conversation at the start of the concert with the composer and leading authorities on Callan Park’s history to set the scene for this remarkable new work.
Leichhardt Town Hall
107 Norton St, Leichhardt NSW 2040
CANOWINDRA BAROQUE FESTIVAL
OPERATIC RECITAL
October 2016 will see the 2nd Canowindra Baroquefest, 3 days of beautiful baroque music performed in interesting, varied and historic settings.
Voci Stupende will deliver a captivating musical journey as the singers present solos, duets, trios and ensemble pieces from some of the best loved operatic repertoire from the baroque and classical periods.
WENTWORTH FALLS VOCI STUPENDE
Meeting with resounding success and acclaim in recitals over numerous regional centres, Voci Stupende is an opera troupe with a difference. Made up of young, dynamic performers graduated from around Australia they will take you on a superbly crafted musical journey.
Voci Stupende continues to assimilate fledgling operatic talent and since 2013 has taken on more than 30 young singers and accompanists.
The program will be an operatic feast featuring well known pieces such as the lovely Flower Duet from Delibes’ opera, Lakmé , the famous Doll Song from Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffman , exciting ensembles from Verdi’s popular La Traviata and Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus. No less seductive are melodies from Mozart ,Puccini and Rossini and lesser known gems from Monteverdi, Gounod and Donizetti.
Wentworth Falls School of Arts
In 1939 Billie Holiday first sang the song Strange Fruit (actually written by a white Jewish teacher, Abel Meeropol) and brought to raw prominence the inequity of much of America's history. She was afraid to sing it, even in the integrated, welcoming environment of Café Society in New York’s Greenwich Village, and when she finished, there “wasn’t even a patter of applause....
Then a lone person began to clap nervously. Then suddenly everybody was clapping.” In this programme of blues, jazz, gospel, and more, The Song Company sing of the pain of alienation, and reach beyond the heartbreaking imagery of Strange Fruit to touch a place of reconciliation and healing.
Program:
Strange fruit
Motherless child
Go down, Moses
It ain’t necessarily so (Revised Version)
Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen
I’ll get by
Full tour schedule
Sydney, Friday 7th October, 7.30pm Pier 4 The Wharf Hickson Road
Blackheath, Saturday 8th October, 3.00pm Blackheath Uniting Church
Sydney, Sunday 9th October, 3.00pm Independent Theatre North Sydney
Berry, Wednesday 12th October, 7.00pm Berry Uniting Church
Canberra, Thursday 13th October, 6.00pm Wesley Uniting Church
MOORAMBILLA VOICES - GALA CONCERT
Join the incredible choirs of Moorambilla Voices as they celebrate 11 magnificent years of this remarkable program.
See firsthand the power of the Japanese taiko drums with Taikoz and the beauty of the foremost vocal ensemble in Australia The Song Company. Witness musicians of the highest calibre in the Australian World Orchestra as chamber ensemble in residence, as they join the angelic voices of the Moorambilla Regional Girls and Boys Choir and the MAXed OUT Company on stage. A 70 minute concert that will leave you spellbound.
These two concerts will showcase a song cycle by Elana Kats Chernin about the Brewarrina fish traps and a large multi-discipline work on the stories and landscape of Mt Grenfell, created by our young composers in residence and the candidates themselves.
Lead by Artistic Director and founder Michelle Leonard, this year’s concert will also feature digital visual artists from the region and some extraordinary movement and dance.
Join us in Victoria Park for magnificent fire sculptures and lanterns after the 7.00pm concert.
Be prepared to be amazed at the capacity and skill of the region’s children and youth – this is Moorambilla Voices.
SEX AND DEATH
7pm, Wednesday 14th September 2016
7pm, Thursday 15th September 2016
The AAQ continues its extraordinary debut season in a collaboration with Australia's leading vocal group The Song Company and one of the more interesting people on the planet - Mr Lyle Chan, composer and speaker.
Program
Marenzio Sweet Kisses (Song Company)
Schubert Quartet Death and the Maiden
Chan Mark & Adrian Are Her Sons
Verdi Quartet in E minor
Purcell Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary (with Song Company)
In 1616, the same year that Shakespeare died, Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog in his ship Eendracht (the Concord) landed off the coast of Shark Bay and became the first European to leave a record of his visit to the Australian Continent. Word of his voyage encouraged further navigation, and ultimately led to a shared history described by Tim Flannery as neither a simple tale of European triumph and possession or just “a kind of abomination – the penetration of a fragile continent”. The Concord of Strangers contrasts Renaissance music from Hartog’s musical DNA in the Low Countries with the sounds of Australia old and new.
Program
A sea of polyphony from the earlier generations of composers from the Low Countries
A soundscape of contemporary and Indigenous Australian work – from The Song Company’s Call for Audio
A selection of chansons, madrigals, and motets by Sweelinck from his Rimes francaises et italiennes (1612) and Cantiones
Sacrae (1619)
Full tour schedule
Melbourne, Friday 26th August, 7pm Melbourne Recital Centre
Newcastle, Thursday 1st September, 7.00pm Newcastle Conservatorium
Canberra, Saturday 3rd September, 6.00pm Wesley Uniting Church
Wollongong, Sunday 4th September, 3.00pm Wollongong ART Gallery
Sydney, Friday 9th September, 7.30pm Utzon Room Sydney Opera House
Sydney, Saturday 10th September, 3.00pm Utzon Room Sydney Opera House
In collaboration with Hollis Taylor
Olivier Messiaen described birds as the “greatest musicians on the planet” and Hollis Taylor has followed his example in finding direct inspiration in their dazzling and ever-varied song. Her suite of dialogues with the Australian Pied Butcherbird forms the backbone of this programme ending with a piece of collaborative/participatory sound art by A.M. Self in which the audience is free to take flight...
Program
Hollis Taylor:
Pied Butcherbird Suite
Korean traditional:
Sae-Ta-Ryung
(Song of the Birds)
A.M. Self:
I believe I can fly...
and other flights of fancy
Full tour schedule
Blackheath, Saturday 6th August, 3.00pm Blackheath Uniting Church
Sydney, Sunday 7th August, 3.00pm Independent Theatre North Sydney
Berry, Wednesday 10th August, 7.00pm Berry Uniting Church
Sydney, Saturday 13th August, 3.00pm Glebe Town Hall
A STRANGE EVENTFUL HISTORY
In collaboration with Gary Watt
The lifetime of an individual, as outlined by William Shakespeare in As You Like It is the unfolding framework for both the familiar and the unexpected – in Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s words, “the inability to predict outliers implies the inability to predict the course of history”.
Part-theatre, part-concert programme celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, A Strange Eventful History draws on the work of scholar Gary Watt on performance rhetoric for the Royal Shakespeare Company and his forthcoming Shakespeare’s Acts of Will, and on contemporary settings from The Song Company’s Call for Scores.
A selection of Shakespeare settings by Banister, Byrd, Johnson, Landsman, and Morley
Dances including:
Munday’s Joy
The Queenes Alman
La Volta
Mal Sims
Blackheath: Saturday 18th June, 3.00pm Blackheath Uniting Church
Canberra: Saturday 25th June, 6.00pm Wesley Uniting Church
Newcastle: Thursday 23rd June, 7.00pm Newcastle Conservatorium
Wollongong: Sunday 26th June, 3.00pm Wollongong ART Gallery
Sydney: Sunday 19th June, 3.00pm Independent Theatre North Sydney
Sydney: Tuesday 21st June, 7.30pm Eugene Goossens Hall, ABC
Berry: Monday 27th June, 7.00pm Berry Uniting Church
SAUL - G.F Händel
Sunday, June 5, 2016
4:00pm 7:00pm
St James, King Street
Hannah will be joining the Leichardt Espresso Chorus as one of the soprano soloists (Michal) in Handel's Saul the oratorio in three acts based on the Book of Samuel. Michelle Leonard conducts the chorus, some of Australia's leading oratorio specialists, and chamber orchestra in the wonderful acoustic of St James' Church, King Street, Sydney.
4pm, Sunday 5th June, St James King Street, Sydney.
METROPOLIS NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL MELBOURNE
CITY SCAPES - ELIZABETH MURDOCH HALL
Wed, May 18, 2016 6:00pm
Wander through the sounds of city streets through the ages – as composed by Orlando Gibbons and Luciano Berio.
The program also includes Aaron Copland’s gritty Music for a Great City and two works inspired by Atlanta, Georgia: Jennifer Higdon’s City Scape, and Michael Kurth’s Everything Lasts Forever.
Song Company perform with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
This concert is part of Metropolis New Music Festival 2016.
Presented by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Melbourne Recital Centre
GO INTO THE CITY - THE SALON
Thu, May 19, 2016 7:00pm
A one-hour recital program building on The Cries of Melbourne – a newly-created collaborative work by local composers made up of street recordings from Melbourne and composed vocal cries.
Go into the City features poly-textual motets from medieval Europe juxtaposed with contemporary commentary, including political caricature from Tim Hansen’s satirical song cycle Howls from the House.
The history of composed “cries” stretches back to Clément Janequin’s Cris de Paris in the first half of the 16th century, and since then, Orlando Gibbons’ depiction of the street cries of London; in the 1970s Luciano Berio continued the tradition with his own London cries, originally written for the King’s Singers and reworked for the Swingle Singers. In this hour-long sequence (following their concert with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra), The Song Company dig down even earlier – to a Parisian strawberry-seller in the 13th-century Montpellier Codex – and layer the brand new city textures of The Cries of Melbourne with fragments of passion, parody, riot and ruin from Paris, Tournai, Canberra, and London.
CANBERRA INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL
Thu, Apr 28, 2016
5:30pm Sun, May 8, 20166:30pm
Held from 28 April - 8 May 2016 CIMF is a growing festival that features some of Australia's finest musicians, and international guest musicians with specific performance fields. In 2015 the focus was on Beethoven's Piano Sonatas (yes, all of them!), the music of Philip Glass, the Russian Masters, and Hildegard von Bingen. This year, the 2016 Festival has a Spanish/Latino flair, and we are joined by many artists with experience in this vein.
Song Company will return to the festival in the following performances:
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Fandango - 30 April - Forma Antiqva, El Fuego, Fandango
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Petite Messe Solennelle - 1 May - Rossini's famous 'little solemn mass' which Napoleon III said was neither little, nor solemn.
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Braddon's Bread and Games - 4 May - Brophy, Monteverdi, Manuel de Falla (Hannah Fraser soloist)
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El Camino - 5 May - Cantigas de Santa Maria, Rautavaara, new work by Gerald Brophy
IN TEMPORE PASCHALI
If ever someone set out to demonstrate the joy of singing in polyphony, Monteverdi’s Missa In illo tempore – published together with his famous Vespers and dedicated to Pope Paul V – would be a natural choice.
With incredible six-part detail and the contrapuntal skill the composer was so keen to show off to Rome, its gloriously harmonious part-writing glows from beginning to end. Set within the context of Easter and the Gombert motet on which it’s based, Monteverdi’s mass still sounds as new as the day it was written.
Gombert: In illo tempore
Monteverdi: Missa In illo tempore
Antony Pitts: Thou wast present as on this day
Sydney: Wednesday 30th March, 7.30pm St Mary's Crypt
Blackheath: Saturday 2nd April, 3.00pm Blue Mountains Uniting Church
Wollongong: Sunday 3rd April, 3.00pm Wollongong ART Gallery
Berry: Thursday 7th April, 7.00pm Berry Uniting Church
Sydney: Sunday 10th April, 3.00pm Independent Theatre North Sydney
BACH AND FORWARD
With guest artists Neal Peres Da Costa (organ) and Daniel Yeadon (cello)
The Song Company continues to explore the vocal music of J.S. Bach in this programme of motets and chorales. Extending the legacy of the Kantor of Leipzig are choral settings by Mendelssohn who led the Bach revival in Europe and works by other great German composers of the 19th century as they sought to rediscover the spirit of Bach. Bach’s motets have been performed ever since he wrote them, very often with basso continuo, as here – making for a thoroughly rounded sound.
Bach’s contemporary Scheibe: “A spiritual motet, if you perform it with its full potential, creates an extraordinary, heartfelt joy; it enlivens us and yet makes us thoughtful; it uplifts our spirit for contemplation.”
Program
J.S. Bach: Motet BWV 228 ‘Fürchte dich nicht, Ich bin bei dir’
Felix Mendelssohn: Selection of Sacred Pieces, Op.23 and Motets, Op.69
J.S. Bach: Motet BWV 225 ‘Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied’
Robert Schumann: Fuga on B-A-C-H
J.S. Bach: Motet BWV 226 ‘Der Geist hilft unsrer Schwachheit auf‘
J. Brahms: Chorale preludes and motets
Sydney: Sunday 21st February, 3.00pm Sydney Conservatorium of Music
Sydney: Tuesday 23rd February, 7.30pm Sydney Conservatorium of Music
Newcastle: Thursday 25th February, 7.00pm Christ Church Cathedral
Canberra: Saturday 27th February, 6.00pm Wesley Uniting Church
IPHIGÉNIE EN TAURIDE - PINCHGUT OPERA AUSTRALIA
IPHIGÉNIE EN TAURIDE
By Christoph Willibald Gluck
libretto by Nicolas-Francois Guillard
This is a masterwork, rarely performed and understood. 2014 marks 300 years since Gluck’s birth and we wanted to mark this occasion with a work by a composer who is only remembered for a couple of pieces. Iphigénie en Tauride draws all of Gluck’s opera reforms to their natural conclusion and a work of great power and beauty is the result.
Iphigénie en Tauride is Gluck's most dramatically involving work. It is about familial love and deep friendship, but the waters run deep, and noble aims of sacrifice, duty and protection are played out within the taut drama. Containing much of Gluck's best music; the title character was sung by Caitlin Hulcup who brought the title role of Griselda to us to great acclaim. We’d been looking for a role to bring her back to our audience, and she was a standout in the role of the priestess Iphigénie. Joining Caitlin was Australian baritone Grant Doyle, Brisbane tenor Christopher Saunders, Sydney mezzo Margaret Plummer and Sydney bass baritone Christopher Richardson.
Pinchgut assembled a wonderful team, the Orchestra of the Antipodes on period instruments and the acclaimed chorus Cantillation all under the baton of Co-Artistic Director and conductor Antony Walker. Artistic Director of Opera Queensland,Lindy Hume, together with set designer, Tony Assness, costume designer Alistair Trung, and lighting designer Matthew Marshall, teamed up to bring us a beautiful and moving production of this deeply-felt Greek tragedy
Cast and Crew
Caitlin Hulcup Iphigenie
Grant Doyle Orestes
Christopher Saunders Pylades
Christopher Richardson Thoas
Margaret Plummer Diana
Conductor Antony Walker
Director Lindy Hume
Designer - scenery Tony Assness
Designer - costume Alistair Trung
Lighting Designer Matthew Marshall
Cantillation, chorus
THE ALL-LEUNIG SONG ALMANAC
To ring out the old year and ring in the new, we present 12 new songs and 12 stories, one for each month.
Twelve composers, each supported by a generous donor, have created with The Song Company a new musical almanac for Australia drawing on the words and works of one our most iconic public figures, Michael Leunig.
A wry observer of life, Leunig’s cartoons, stories, poems and drawings are never less than mirthprovoking. But as much as he is a superb humourist, first and foremost he is an observer, philosopher, commentator, historian of the absurd and catalyst for free thinking.
All stories and lyrics based on Leunig. Music by Katy Abbott, Tony Backhouse, Lyle Chan, Alice Chance, Drew Crawford, Robert Davidson, Gareth Farr, Ruth McCall, Kate Moore, Lachlan Skipworth, Mark Viggiani and James Wade.
Tour Schedlue
Blue Mountains Saturday 31 Otcober, 3.00pm, Blackheath Uniting Church
Canberra Saturday 7 November, 6.00pm Wesley Uniting Church
Newcastle Thursday 5 November, 7.00pm, Newcastle Conservatorium
Wollongong Sunday 8 November, 3.00pm, Wollongong ART Gallery
Sydney City Sunday 1 November, 3.00pm, City Recital Hall Angel Place
Parramatta Tuesday 3 November, 7.30pm, Riverside Theatre Parramatta
FIRE OF LOVE - ARMIDALE
Join The Song Company as they celebrate the heat and passion of Fire and the music which expresses it.
The Fire of Love explores the nature of love across the ages. Fire, perhaps the most powerful of all elements, signifies heat, purification and change. Young love, sweet love, old love, any kind of love is worth a song or two. From the courtly romance of the troubadours to the sensuous madrigal musings of Marenzio, this concert explores the fire of emotion stretching all the way to the classic songs of Jacques Brel and Cole Porter. And some recent but equally poignant love songs by Bon Iver and Pink prove their point: love is eternal.
A NIGHT IN SIENA - HORATIO VECCHI
by Horatio Vecchi (1550-1605)
with Simone Vallerotonda, Theorbo/Lute/Renaissance Guitar
For this all–Italian extravaganza we welcome a rising star of Italy’s early music scene: Simone Vallerotonda. Vecchi’s magnum opus is neither an opera nor a madrigal collection, yet this curious and hybrid work is one of the undiscovered gems of the early 17th century. Written for Siena’s Intronati, a very distinguished academy, the work represents the composer’s final artistic statement, a cornucopia of musical cameos, comic tricks and deeply touching moments of humanity.
As a direct result of the subjugation of Siena by the Medici, all public gatherings were forbidden in the city between 1563 and 1603. The Intronati of Siena were thus forced underground. Their secret soirées took the form of intellectual contests and debates on the art of love, riddles and, as testified in Vecchi’s work, a 16th century form of theatre sports.
Dedicated to Christian IV, King of Denmark, Vecchi’s work carries the grandiose title of ‘The evening entertainment in Siena or the various humours of modern music’. The various humours or human temperaments refer to the catalogue of 14 serious moods represented as madrigals in the second half of the Veglie. The first half is a set of often facetious ‘imitation-games’ framed by the conceit of a chosen king who calls on his guests to show their acting skills.
Tour Schedule
Blue Mountains Saturday 8 August, 3.00pm, Blackheath Uniting Church
Canberra Saturday 22 August, 6.00pm, Wesley Uniting Church
Newcastle Thursday 20 August, 7.00pm, Newcastle Conservatorium
Wollongong Sunday 23 August, 3.00pm, Wollongong ART Gallery
Sydney Sunday 9 August 3.00pm and Tuesday 11 August 7.30pm, Conservatorium of Music
VOCI STUPENDE - DUNGOG & STROUD
OPERATIC RECITAL
The virtuosos of classical song from Voci Stupende return to the Gloucester region. Expect an emotional rollercoaster of drama and passion awaiting you at this operatic recital, featuring some of the most promising stars in the operatic world.
- Saturday 25 July at Dungog’s James Theatre 5.30pm
- Sunday 26 July at Stroud’s Anglican Church 2.30pm
BACH B MINOR MASS
In a rare soloistic performance, the singers of The Song Company and Ironwood Chamber Ensemble combine to present Johann Sebastian Bach’s magnificent Mass in B Minor, featuring one voice per part vocal scoring.
It took a Lutheran composer to write the most expansive and profound setting of the Latin Mass ever conceived. Initiated in 1733 in order to obtain the title ‘Electoral Saxon Court Composer’ from the Catholic sovereign Augustus III, the full mass was only completed towards the end of Bach’s life. Widely regarded as one of the supreme achievements of classical music, this monumental work combines Bach’s stylistic and technical brilliance.
Program:
BACH Mass in B Minor BWV 232
Dates: October 2014
DURUFLE'S REQUIEM - CORO INNOMINATA
Sydney Choir Coro Innominata, with guest musical director Marcus Hodgson. Soloists include Mezzo soprano Hannah Fraser, baritone Alexander Knight and David Drury on organ. This is Coro Innominata's first concert of the year with the music of Finzi, Vaughan-Williams, Poulenc and Whitacre. The finale is Durufle's Requiem (1947) masterpiece. Ticket available on 0413 440 173 or at the door
RECORDING:
http://www.cimf.org.au/order-of-the-virtues
Canberra International Music Festival present a rare performance in full of Hildegard of Bingen’s liturgical drama from 1151 Ordo Virtutum about the soul’s struggle between the forces of good and evil. Performed at Fitters' Workshop in May 2015.
Early Music specialist Koen van Stade will direct The Song Company and the vocalists among the Young Artist Festival Fellows, with soprano Anna Fraser as the Soul, bass Clive Birch in the role of the Devil and mezzo soprano Hannah Fraser as Humilitas.
Supported by ICON Water (formerly ACTEW) and sponsored by Judith Healy. Recording engineer was Kimmo Vennonen
ST JOHN PASSION - BACH
For their 2014 Lenten concerts, the Choir of Christ Church St Laurence is joined by the St Laurence Baroque Orchestra conducted by Dr Neil McEwan to present J. S. Bach’s mighty St John Passion, BWV 245.
Although Bach never wrote an opera, both his surviving Passions owe a great deal to the operatic tradition. TheSt John Passion is particularly dramatic, with its biting choruses and direct interplay between the characters of Jesus, Pilate, the Evangelist and other minor roles.
Bach sets this play in music with text that represents the Biblical story, moving relentlessly forward to its inevitable end, with reflective and declamatory arias and intense chorales and choruses that scarcely give the audience time to catch its breath. The innocence of the soprano aria Ich folge die gleichfals, the poignant chorus Ruht wohle and the wealth of familiar choral tunes are just some of the memorable elements of this masterpiece, first performed at the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig in 1724.
Scored for smaller forces than the later St Matthew Passion, the St John Passion nevertheless uses the orchestra with such ingenuity and integrity that the full ensemble is sometimes overwhelming in its intensity. The impact of the work is immediate and arresting.
Soloists:
Evangelist: Jacob Lawrence
Christus: Craig Everingham
Pilate: David Russell
Soprano: Josie Ryan
Alto: Hannah Fraser
Tenor: Joel Scott
PASSION - SONG COMPANY
For Easter 2014 we combine a near-forgotten historic masterpiece with a recent Pulitzer Prize winning score. Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fable, The Little Match Girl Passion is presented movingly in collaboration with acclaimed Scottish company, Cryptic. David Lang sets the well-known fable as a highly personal passion using biblical texts and crowd responses from Bach’s St Matthew Passion exploring Easter’s theme of purification.
Well before Bach’s iconic passions, Christoph Demantius wrote polyphonic settings of the passion play that rate amongst the most richly expressive statements of the late Renaissance. The pairing of Demantius’ pathos and Lang’s insightful narrative takes us to the heart of the Easter sacrifice.
The Little Match Girl Passion will be presented in semi-staged theatrical form by Cryptic (Glasgow) directed by Josh Armstrong in the atmospheric space of St Mary’s Crypt, St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney.
Program:
Christoph Demantius, St John Passion
David Lang, The Little Match Girl Passion
STABAT MATER - GIROLAMO ABOS
Traditionally the Sydney Consort invites all for the somber and reflective Stabat Mater concert on Good Friday. For the first time in Australia, the ensemble will present a religious work for voices and strings by Maltese composer Girolamo Abos. His powerful and moving composition paints a picture of the Roman Catholic Holy Week liturgy in the composer's time. There is a fair measure of pathos and lamentation, passion and vigour in equal measure from all the sensitive three singers.
ADAM CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL - NEW ZEALAND
by Canberra International Music Festival
Steve Reich - Vermont Counterpoint - Claire Edwardes
Alister Spence - Time is Time Enough - Amy Dickson (saxophone), Claire Edwardes (vibraphone)
Nigel Butterley - the formlessness of cold arranged for ensemble by Chris Williams
Andrew Ford - A Pitch Dark Night David Greco (baritone), David Shaw (piccolo), Leanne Sullivan (trumpet), James Huntingford (piano)
Nigel Butterley - Benı̄ Avshalom - The Song Company and YAFF vocalists
Ernest Bloch - ‘Nigun’ from Baal Shem: Pictures from Chassidic Life
Anne Horton (violin) and Festival Ensemble
Recording engineer was Kimmo Vennonen: http://www.cimf.org.au/reich
VOCAL FIREWORKS - SONG COMPANY
Marking the final stage of a four year cycle based on the elements of Earth, Water, Air and Fire, The Song Company celebrates the heat and passion of Fire and the music which expresses it. In this first-time collaboration with The Song Company, Danish Guest Director and composer Bo Holten leads a fiery program of neck-breaking speeds, hair-raising leaps and awe-inspiring harmonies.
Bo Holten is one of Denmark’s most admired musicians. His Operation Orfeo is his country’s most performed opera. Holten’s impressive oeuvre includes concertos and vocal works, and music for Lars von Trier’s film The Element of Crime.
Program includes:
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Carlo Gesualdo, three madrigals
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Luca Marenzio, three madrigals
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Luciano Berio, Sequenza for voice
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Bo Holten, Rota Veneris
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Raffaele Marcellino, Due Madrigali
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Mateo Flecha, El Fuego
ADELAIDE FESTIVAL - GAVIN BRYARS & SONG COMPANY
UNITED KINGDOM + AUSTRALIA / EXCLUSIVE TO ADELAIDE
Throughout his career, Gavin Bryars has crafted an extensive catalogue of repertoire and recordings with some of the most adventurous and influential names in music and composition. Performed by the Gavin Bryars Ensemble and joined by guests including lauded British mezzo soprano Jess Walker, Irish anti-hero Gavin Friday and Australia’s extraordinary Song Company, this richly textured concert of highlights comprises Shakespearean sonnets, the musings of Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan and Bryars’ own fascination with early Italian texts.
PROGRAM
Act 1: Laude and Madrigals featuring The Song Company Act 2: Nothing Like the Sun narrated by Gavin Friday and featuring Peyee Chen and John Potter Act 3: Mercy and Grand featuring Jess Walker
GAVIN BRYARS IN RESIDENCE
As prolific performer, accomplished bassist and pioneer of free improvisation, Gavin Bryars is recognised as one of Britain’s most important post-minimalist composers. From early collaborations with John Cage and Cornelius Cardew and with an interest in unorthodox collaborations, his repertoire of provocative works includes compositions for Merce Cunningham, William Forsythe, Hilliard Ensemble and the late Charlie Haden. Here, Bryars curates, performs and conducts from his extensive catalogue for this special ‘in residence’ series.
2014 CONCERT 14 - MOZART REQUIEM
Simone Riksman (soprano), Hannah Fraser (mezzo), Christopher Saunders (tenor) and Andrew Fysh (bass).
by Canberra International Music Festival
Presented by EMBASSIES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND AUSTRIA
This concert is supported by Rieteke and Chris Chenoweth
Classic works of mourning and reflection
Performed at Albert Hall, Canberra on 14 May 2014.
Recording Engineer: Ross A'hern
http://www.cimf.org.au/2014-concert-14-mozart-requiem
Presented by the Delegation of the European Union.
Celebrating the European Union
Performed at Albert Hall, Canberra on 9 May 2014.
Recording: Ross A'hern
AUSTRALIA ENSEMBLE AND SONG COMPANY UNSW
Saturday August 16, 8pm
Sir John Clancy Auditorium UNSW
Leos Janacek: Rikadla (Children’s Rhymes), authorised reduction by Erwin Stein for 6 voices with piano and viola
Raffaele Marcellino: Suite from Mrs Macquarie’s Cello for six voices (SSATBB) and cello