Faust: McVicar’s devilish take on classic opera…an opera review by Victor Grynberg
February 13, 2020 by Victor Grynberg
One of France’s greatest ever composers, Charles Gounod had an immediate hit on his hands when his opera Faust finally premiered in Paris in 1859. Read more
Don Giovanni: singers shine in Mozart masterpiece
January 27, 2020 by Victor Grynberg
Don Giovanni is the tale brought to Mozart by his librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte when he was looking for a story to follow his great success with The Marriage Of Figaro writes Victor Grynberg. Read more
John Bell’s Havana colours bring extra delight To Carmen: an opera review by Victor Grynberg
January 14, 2020 by Victor Grynberg
George Bizet died tragically at only 37 years of age, after 33 mixed-reviewed performances of his Spanish-themed opera Carmen. Read more
La Boheme: an opera review by Victor Grynberg
January 5, 2020 by Victor Grynberg
A summertime favourite at the Opera House almost every year, La Boheme received that rare Sydney accolade, an almost total standing ovation after this year’s opening night. Read more
A briefish Mahler fest: Music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
December 5, 2019 by Fraser Beath McEwing
If you love Mahler, this was a concert for you. Read more
Peerless playing from Paul Lewis: a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
November 19, 2019 by Fraser Beath McEwing
British pianist, Paul Lewis, filled his Sydney Recital Hall program with just two works last night: Schubert’s Sonata in G D894 and Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations. No bonbons to be seen. Read more
The beauty of sadness: a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
October 24, 2019 by Fraser Beath McEwing
While concert programs are usually eclectic, so that everybody gets at least something they like, last night’s SSO offering in the Masters Series was unashamedly emotional from start to finish. And I, for one, loved it, not just for the program but the quality of the performance. Read more
Something completely different: a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
September 3, 2019 by Fraser Beath McEwing
Although Geoffrey Lancaster is a world-renowned performer on the fortepiano, it was risky to devote one of the four piano series recitals to a period instrument. Read more
Music from beneath the Bolshevik boot: a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
August 29, 2019 by Fraser Beath McEwing
Last night’s Masters Series concert was not for faint-hearted orchestral players, conductors or an audience that wanted orderly, familiar music. Read more
Bright young stars shine In West Side Story: a review by Victor Grynberg
August 22, 2019 by Victor Grynberg
If PORGY and BESS is the pre-eminent American Folk Opera, then certainly WEST SIDE STORY is the outstanding American Musical. Read more
Birth of the Cool
August 16, 2019 by Arts Editor
MILES DAVIS: BIRTH OF THE COOL – a documentary featuring the life and career of musical giant and cultural icon Miles Davis, a true visionary, innovator and originator who defied categorization and embodied the word, will be screened in a short season. Read more
Kirill Gerstein’s journey through genres: a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
August 6, 2019 by Fraser Beath McEwing
Visiting 40-year-old Russian-American pianist, Kirill Gerstein, is at the top of his game. Read more
Whiteley: a stunning triumph for Opera Australia
July 17, 2019 by Victor Grynberg
Victor Grynberg reviews the premiere of a new Australian opera recounting the life of the iconic artist Brett Whiteley… Read more
Da-da-da-darr plus rarities: a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
July 4, 2019 by Fraser Beath McEwing
Beethoven’s fifth symphony, a Verdi overture and a Prokofiev violin concerto made a perfectly balanced program for the Masters Series SSO concert last night. And that was before the bonus attractions of a female Chinese conductor and a celebrated Russian/Israeli violinist. Read more
La Traviata on the harbour
July 3, 2019 by Arts Editor
Opera Australia has announced that Verdi’s much loved work La Traviata will return to the Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour stage in 2020. Read more
Move over Franz, Lang Lang is in the building: a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
June 30, 2019 by Fraser Beath McEwing
You know it’s a Sydney Opera House gala celebrity event when the concerto is played last. Read more
Madama Butterfly reaches new heights: an opera review by Victor Grynberg
June 30, 2019 by Victor Grynberg
When Opera Australia premiered their new era digital sets last year with the production of AIDA not everybody was as enthusiastic as this critic. Read more
Australian World Orchestra back together
June 28, 2019 by Arts Editor
Following last year’s sensational response to the concerts led by Maestro Riccardo Muti, the AUSTRALIAN WORLD ORCHESTRA (AWO) is returning with an eclectic and bravura program for this July, and to present the newly formed AWO SIX, an elite ensemble of AWO all-stars. Read more
An evening with The Scott Van Gemert’s Big Band: a music review by Ron Jontof-Hutter
June 7, 2019 by Ron Jontof-Hutter
I attended a concert given at Melbourne’s Paris Cat Jazz Club given by Scott van Gemert and his 17-piece jazz big band this week. Read more
Claytons Brahms and genuine Chopin: a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
May 16, 2019 by Fraser Beath McEwing
Two composers who borrowed from Brahms flanked the real-deal Chopin in the SSO’s Masters Series concert last night at the Sydney Opera House. Read more
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in concert: a music/film review by Hila Tsor
April 25, 2019 by Hila Tsor
I have to admit that I’m a bit of a Harry Potter nerd. At the beginning of the year I reread all the books and got sucked into a world of wonder, friendship and adventure again. Read more
Ludwig and Pyotr step up again: a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
April 4, 2019 by Fraser Beath McEwing
An SSO Masters Series concert with two sure-fire blockbuster works would usually leave room for something quirky from artistic director, David Robertson’s black book of offbeat music he likes to share, but it didn’t happen last night. We got the Beethoven violin concerto and Tchaikovsky’s fourth symphony neatly divided by interval. Both these works are favoured with plenty of playtime around Australian orchestras because they are so popular. Read more
An exciting piano package from Alessio Bax: a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
March 26, 2019 by Fraser Beath McEwing
Italian pianist, Alessio Bax, ticked all the right pre-concert boxes for his Sydney Recital Hall performance last night. Read more
Salome: an opera review by Victor Grynberg
March 12, 2019 by Victor Grynberg
Once banned. Still shocking. But Salome is bloody and fantastic. Read more
Werther: an opera review by Victor Grynberg
March 1, 2019 by Victor Grynberg
Suicide is painless when Massenet pulls the strings. Read more
A riddle in the middle: a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
February 14, 2019 by Fraser McEwing
The first concert in the SSO Masters Series for 2019 (now sponsored by upmarket travel company Abercrombie & Kent) presented significant works by Janacek and Bartok, book-ending the Australian premiere of a piece by Steve Reich that had been co-commissioned by several orchestras, including the SSO. Read more
Eavesdropping on heaven: a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
February 6, 2019 by Fraser Beath McEwing
When a concert series combining the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir was announced, I had to be there – and so did a lot of other music lovers, judging by its sell-out. Read more
Wozzeck: an opera review by Victor Grynberg
February 3, 2019 by Victor Grynberg
After the glorious melodies of LA BOHEME and TURANDOT Opera Australia’s latest production is Alban Berg’s atonal opera, considered today a modern opera but written almost 100 years ago in 1925. Read more
L-E-V: an experience in dance
January 28, 2019 by J-Wire
L-E-V Dance Company, renowned as an innovative leader in the thriving Israeli contemporary dance scene, will appear at Sydney’s Opera House between Jan-31 and Feb-03. Read more
Turandot: re-working lifts opera to new heights
January 20, 2019 by Victor Grynberg
Giacomo Puccini is rightly acclaimed for so many brilliant operas, and for many of the arias and duets in his less successful works. Read more
