Is there anyone, anywhere, ever, who hasn’t kept stumm about something not precisely true when put under pressure? Mostly it doesn’t matter but in the earnest chamber musical Dear Evan Hansen the ramifications are far-reaching. Poor Evan Hansen. A misunderstanding that could have been dispelled in seconds takes on a life of its own, multiplying like a…
Author: Deborah
Coco Chanel: the Life of a Fashion Icon. Queensland Ballet, Playhouse, QPAC, Brisbane, October 4
The unwieldy name of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s bio-ballet carries the intimation that not everyone will know who Chanel was. Tell that to Brisbane, where Coco Chanel: the Life of a Fashion Icon sold out all 17 performances before the season started. I reckon Chanel herself would have gone for a more streamlined title. She was, after all,…
‘We can be the future only if we know the past’: Francesco Ventriglia talks about his new role at Alberta Ballet. October 8, 2024
Francesco Ventriglia became artistic director of Alberta Ballet in January 2024. Now 46, he has worked as a dancer, artistic director and choreographer in Italy, New Zealand, Uruguay, Australia – where he established his Sydney Choreographic Centre – and now Canada. The company premiere of La Sylphide in September was his first program for Alberta Ballet. I…
‘That’s Norma Desmond, that’s Norma Desmond’: one role in Sunset Blvd., many interpretations
Andrew Lloyd Webber is rarely absent from a stage somewhere and it’s safe to say his work will outlive the scoffers, of whom there are many. Oh well, he can always cry all the way to the bank having landed hits (along with a few misses) for more than 50 years. And just recently there’s…
Opera Australia and its ‘commitment to musical theatre’
We have Opera Australia’s 2025 program in front of us now, launched this week without the presence of its key architect, former artistic director Jo Davies. As all opera-lovers know, Davies and OA parted company by mutual agreement at the end of August, just nine months after she put her feet under the desk. You…
Romeo & Juliet. West Australian Ballet, His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth, August 30 and 31, 2024
When announcing her 2023 season for Royal New Zealand Ballet, then-artistic director Patricia Barker described the returning Romeo & Juliet as “a glorious production made for the St James [Theatre] in 2017”. She was referring only to the sets and costumes designed by James Acheson. Barker added: “Andrea Schermoly is creating new choreography that will revive the classic…
Opera Australia and AD Jo Davies part company
Opera Australia chose an unusual day on which to announce it had parted ways with its artistic director, Jo Davies. Tomorrow – Saturday, August 31 – is the Sydney opening night for Sunset Boulevard. So you have a vitally important production for OA’s coffers and you decide that yes, today would be just the day for…
The Australian Ballet announces its 2025 season
In what will be David Hallberg’s fifth year as artistic director of The Australian Ballet, the company’s 2025 program offers new works by William Forsythe and Stephanie Lake, the return of John Neumeier’s Nijinsky, the company premiere of Jerome Robbins’s Glass Pieces and, for Melbourne and Canberra, Johan Inger’s powerful Carmen following its Australian premiere in Sydney this year. Revivals of…
Solace, Royal New Zealand Ballet. Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch, August 16, 2024
Solace is a beautiful, onomatopoeic word. It sits softly in the mouth and the taste of its meaning lingers. It promises comfort, although has little to do with being comfortable. This is comfort that exists to alleviate sadness or distress. It is light in the darkness. The three works in Royal New Zealand Ballet’s 2024…
Leanne Benjamin resigns from Queensland Ballet
Former Royal Ballet superstar Leanne Benjamin arrived at Queensland Ballet in mid-January as the company’s sixth artistic director. On August 2 she leaves the building. In a statement released by QB on July 31 Benjamin said: “Ultimately, as we have worked together to design a vibrant season for 2025, it has become very clear that…
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