The Phantom of the Opera: Alex First reviews the Melbourne production
November 15, 2022 by Alex First
Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s masterful work The Phantom of the Opera sizzles. Read more
Sunshine Super Girl: a theatre review by Alex First
November 13, 2022 by Alex First
Respectful, determined and humble. That is the picture that emerges of Australian tennis great Evonne Goolagong Cawley in the Melbourne Theatre Company’s Sunshine Super Girl, a moniker given to her by the British press. Read more
Gundog (Three Fates Theatre) reviewed by Alex First
November 11, 2022 by Alex First
The rough lot of an impoverished farming clan is front and centre in Gundog, a dramatic and confronting play with lashes of humour. Read more
A beauty and two beasts: Music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
November 10, 2022 by Fraser Beath McEwing
Under the baton of Simone Young, the SSO turned in a stirring performance last night from the two big Bs: Brahms’ first symphony and Beethoven’s violin concerto with soloist James Ehnes. Read more
Lunch with Umberto
November 9, 2022 by Alan Slade
A Little Lunch Music is a long-running series created by the accomplished Australian pianist Kathryn Selby in 2007. Read more
The Hunt: A Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus thriller
November 7, 2022 by Rabbi Jeffrey Cohen
Faye Kellerman’s book reviewed by Rabbi Jeffrey Cohen. Read more
Verdi’s Attila: another masterpiece – reviewed by Victor Grynberg
November 2, 2022 by Victor Grynberg
Giuseppe Verdi, in the judgement of many, was the greatest ever composer of operas. Read more
Urinetown: The Musical – Melbourne review by Alex First
November 1, 2022 by Alex First
A 20-year drought has led to the blatant exploitation of the underprivileged. Read more
Girls & Boys: a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
October 28, 2022 by Alex First
A sharp and witty British woman unpicks her life before our eyes and what a life it has been. Read more
DanceX Part II: reviewed by Alex First
October 26, 2022 by Alex First
The Australian premiere of Johan Inger’s comic, romantic dance theatre piece I New Then, set to songs by Van Morrison, is superb. Read more
Antisemitism and racism capture attention in Armageddon Time
October 16, 2022 by Alex First
A new, sensitive, coming-of-age story highlighting the African American and Jewish experience is a vehicle to propel two bright young actors onto the world stage. They talk with J-Wire. Read more
Alex First reviews Romeo and Juliet performed by the Australian Ballet
October 12, 2022 by Alex First
After a 19-year hiatus, the emotion-charged, highly acclaimed production of Romeo and Juliet by choreographer John Cranko takes centre stage at Arts Centre Melbourne. Read more
The Meeting: a theatre review by Alex First
October 7, 2022 by Alex First
A secret imaginary rendezvous between two towering but polar opposite African American leaders plays out in The Meeting. Read more
Ghost Stories: a theatre review by Alex First
October 3, 2022 by Alex First
An engaging professor of parapsychology talks us through the history of ghost stories – how they came to be and how they have evolved over time. Read more
Cyrano: a theatre review by Alex First
September 30, 2022 by Alex First
A massive triumph. The MTC production of the season. A talented cast, headlined by writer and star Virginia Gay proves that the pen is mightier than the sword. Read more
Instruments of Dance (The Australian Ballet): reviewed by Alex First
September 28, 2022 by Alex First
The second line of Peter Allen’s iconic anthem, I Still Call Australia Home, contains the words “From New York to Rio and old London Town”. Read more
How a Jewish girl went into hiding with a Nazi family
It is the last winter before Germany’s capitulation. The seventeen-year-old Anni Gmitruk walks alongside a man wearing a swastika armband. It’s dark, and the snow crackles under their shoes. They have just been to the cinema in Zerbst, a small city deep in the Third Reich, to see Heimkehr, a classic among Nazi propaganda films. Read more
Beethoven and Schumann favourites: a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
September 23, 2022 by Fraser Beath McEwing
Every so often, Australian international pianist and teacher Sarah Grunstein forsakes New York to visit to her original home, Sydney and gives a recital in the Opera House’s Utzon Room. Read more
The Phantom of the Opera: a review by Victor Grynberg
September 14, 2022 by Victor Grynberg
A season virtually sold out before opening night was a definite indication that the local audience was expecting something special from the first Sydney Opera House staging of this mega-hit. Read more
Wall to wall Richard Strauss: a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
September 4, 2022 by Fraser Beath McEwing
Before I go into raptures about the sound of the Australian World Orchestra and the remarkable coup to entice virtually-retired Zubin Mehta to conduct it again, I have to question the choice of an all-Richard Strauss program. Read more
Shake Rattle ‘N’ Roll: a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
September 2, 2022 by Alex First
A cavalcade of song, movement and colour, Shake Rattle ‘N’ Roll breathes new life into the sounds of the ‘50s and ’60s with entertainment aplenty. Read more
Lucrezia Borgia: an opera review by Alex First
August 29, 2022 by Alex First
Soaring vocals and a bravura performance by soprano Helena Dix are among the many highlights of Lucrezia Borgia, in which subterfuge and skulduggery abound. Read more
The Choice: A Novel of Love, Faith, and the Talmud – reviewed by Rabbi Jeffrey Cohen
August 25, 2022 by Rabbi Jeffrey Cohen
Maggie Anton has introduced us to a number of stories around Jewish life, beginning with her series on Rashi’s Daughters [3 novels] followed by Rav Hisda’s Daughter [2 novels] and one about personal relationships {Fifty Shades of Talmud]. Read more
Anna K: A Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
August 22, 2022 by Alex First
By their very nature, human relationships are often messy. The vast majority don’t hit the headlines, but public figures are considered “fair game”. Read more
Hairspray: a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
August 21, 2022 by Alex First
The spark burns brightly in Hairspray, a delightfully breezy musical with discrimination as its theme. Read more
Ray Chen plays Mendelssohn: a music review by Alan Slade
August 19, 2022 by Alan Slade
Ray Chen, the Taiwan-born Australian violinist who came with his parents to Brisbane as an infant, played his 1715 Stradivarius “Joachim” violin in a spectacular rendition of Felix Mendelssohn’s E-minor concerto with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and guest conductor, New Zealand’s Gemma New, in the Thursday afternoon series in the just-reopened concert hall of Sydney’s Opera House. Read more
Laurinda: A Melbourne Theatre Company production reviewed by Alex First
August 18, 2022 by Alex First
Bullying and racism are not acceptable in any environment and yet the schoolyard can be a hotbed of discontent. Read more
I am Emilia Bassano: a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
August 17, 2022 by Alex First
What’s the truism? Behind every great man, there is a woman. Read more
Two thirds and one Dean: A music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
August 11, 2022 by Fraser Beath McEwing
Albert Einstein is credited as saying: ‘Before Beethoven, music was written for the immediate. With Beethoven, you start writing music for eternity.’ Read more
The Marvellous Life of Carlo Gatti: A theatre review by Alex First
August 10, 2022 by Alex First
A pianist from an ice cream parlour (Connor Dariol), a psychologist (Shamita Siva) and a physicist (El Kiley) get together. Read more
