Music Archives – J-Wire

Organic Saint-Saens

Alan Slade — Sun, 22 Mar 2026 05:46:26 +0000

Oh, boy – did the Concert Hall of Sydney’s iconic Opera House get an acoustic workout in Saturday afternoon’s Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s Saint-Saens Organ Symphony concert! The concert started with a sparkling walk-on by Anna Lapwood, official organist of the Royal Albert Hall and the soloist for the Saint-Saens. Her black dress with sparkling diamantes […]

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Eugene Onegin

Victor Grynberg — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 06:49:01 +0000

An opera review by Victor Grynberg Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) is widely acknowledged as the finest Russian composer of all time. In fact, most critics will categorise him as one of the five greatest composers ever. Tchaikovsky is best known for his symphonies, especially 4, 5, and 6, his violin and piano concertos, and his […]

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Outrage after DJ leads antizionist chants at Sydney Biennale

Rob Klein — Sat, 14 Mar 2026 22:04:59 +0000

Sydney’s Biennale of Sydney has come under renewed criticism after an American DJ used a festival performance to accuse Israel of genocide and lead chants supporting Palestinian “resistance” during the taxpayer-funded event. The incident occurred during a set by DJ Haram at White Bay Power Station on Friday night. During the performance she led chants […]

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Ed Sheeran Loop Tour

Alex First — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 02:10:37 +0000

The Melbourne concert reviewed by Alex First Why is Ed Sheeran one of the most beloved (and, unquestionably, highly talented) musical artists on the planet? Having arrived by train from Sydney, he answered that emphatically on the opening night of a three-night stadium concert tour in Melbourne. Marvel Stadium was metaphorically heaving under the collective […]

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Cocktail hour with Rosemary Curtin

Alan Slade — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 21:19:41 +0000

There is something special about chamber music being heard in a chamber vis-s-vis in a concert hall. The Cocktail Hour series opened its ninth year with a Mozart concert arranged for a chamber ensemble and selected by Rosemary Curtin, the John and Jane Morschel Chair for viola in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. The concert was […]

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Turandot—Terrific

Victor Grynberg — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 07:39:18 +0000

An opera review by Victor Grynberg The standing ovation for this new production of Turandot by a packed mid-week audience at the Joan Sutherland Theatre in the Sydney Opera House was absolutely justified by both the supreme musical quality of this final work by Giacomo Puccini and the really splendid production and singing. Puccini certainly is […]

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Madama Butterfly………just magnificent

Victor Grynberg — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 04:35:02 +0000

An opera review by Victor Grynberg Madama Butterfly is one of the most acclaimed operas of all time. One of 12 written by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924), it is consistently acknowledged as one of four Puccini super hits. Tosca, Turandot, and La Bohème are among the 10 operas performed most worldwide. Its fantastic melodies require great […]

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Bernstein and Busoni

Shirley Politzer — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 06:09:09 +0000

An opera review by Shirley Politzer “Arlecchino”, the first of two operas presented at the historic Eternity Theatre in Darlinghurst, is a little-known one-act slapstick comedy performed in English. Premiering in Zürich in 1917, it was written by the child prodigy Ferruccio Busoni (1866–1924) and directed here by Christine Logan. In this opera that takes […]

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Carmen – an opera review by Alex First

Alex First — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 01:20:25 +0000

Passion, obsession, desperation, jealousy and rage make for a fiery combination in composer Georges Bizet’s Carmen, newly interpreted by director Anne-Louise Sarks for Opera Australia. The sublime music, with such familiar refrains, also showcases a sassy, not to be messed with soprano in Danielle de Niese. She is irrepressible and oh so potent as the […]

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Hallelujah! Monsieur Camembert and guests bring Leonard Cohen memories to Sydney

Rob Klein — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 07:21:57 +0000

Monsieur Camembert, the three-time ARIA Award-winning ensemble, will cap off a national sell-out tour when their acclaimed Leonard Cohen tribute, Cohen Noir, hits the State Theatre on Saturday, November 8. This one-night-only Sydney performance promises an immersive, musically adventurous closing statement steeped in Jewish soul and theatrical brilliance. Led by band mastermind Yaron Hallis, the production has earned widespread acclaim […]

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