The Merry Widow: an operetta review by Victor Grynberg
January 6, 2021 by Victor Grynberg
So there we were in the Joan Sutherland Theatre of the Sydney Opera House, about to see our first Opera Australia production since their magnificent production of the early Verdi masterpiece “Attila” had its season dramatically curtailed by the arrival of COVID fears 10 months ago. Read more
What are you doing on Tuesday evening?
December 14, 2020 by Arts Editor
Tune in at 7.30pm tomorrow night for a free digital concert performed by AWO colleagues and two stellar visual artists. Read more
Happy birthday Ludwig : a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
November 19, 2020 by Fraser Beath McEwing
Working within coronavirus limitations, the Australian Chamber Orchestra is framing its early resuscitation around smaller audiences and multiple performances. This made for a roomy gathering at the Sydney Recital Hall last night. Read more
Opera Australia to return to the Sydney Opera House in January
November 5, 2020 by J-Wire Newsdesk
Opera Australia will return to the Joan Sutherland Theatre stage for the first time since the coronavirus shut down its 2020 season in March, today announcing a three-month COVID-safe season that includes two productions never before performed by the Company. Read more
Fraser Beath McEwing reports: What the Sydney Symphony Orchestra has in store for 2021
October 27, 2020 by Fraser Beath McEwing
Tossing aside the pandemic and the problem faced by wind players blowing through face masks, the SSO has announced the programs for its 2021 season. Read more
Lie back and listen to Ludwig: a didn’t-happen music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
March 16, 2020 by Fraser Beath McEwing
Instead of arriving at the Sydney Town Hall next Wednesday night to hear the SSO, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, organ, and four soloists perform Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, I’ll probably be waiting for an Uber-eat paper bag to arrive at home. Read more
Impressions from, Ravel, Mendelssohn, Debussy – and the Sydney Town Hall: a music review from Fraser Beath McEwing
February 27, 2020 by Fraser Beath McEwing
The first concert in the SSO Masters Series for 2020 ushered in the beginning of a two-year stint in ye auld and venerated Sydney Town Hall while the Opera House concert hall is up for a rebore. Read more
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