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| Giuseppe Verdi |
Any Verdi opera promises to be a feast of lavish music, with
voices, costumes and set design to match.
We have come for the music, for the endlessly soaring melodies, and for
the grand spectacle typical of the late Romantic period.
Soloists, Mexican Diego Tore (Gustave III), Hungarian Csilla
Boross (Amelia) and Argentinian born baritone Jose Carbo (Count Ankarstrom),
were warmly received, as was home grown talent Lorina Gore (Oscar) who thrilled
with exquisite coloratura.
The dramatic highlight, below the gibbet towards the close
of Act II, was the realisation of an intensely sinister overtone.
Orchestra Victoria, under the sensitive baton of Andres
Molino, was silky smooth.
But all this was very nearly swamped. While I
appreciate the artistic intention in contemporising this work through costumes
and set design, it’s cold austerity failed to elicit any kind of empathy with
the players, and occasionally distracted from the main event - the music. Continue reading on the Stage Whispers site here.
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The weather was undecided, the hard-hatted media had to
negotiate building site puddles, but the Circus
OZ troupe didn’t miss a beat when they posed for the cameras in Melbourne
yesterday ahead of World Circus Day on Saturday 20th of April.
And Circus Oz has
several reasons to skite. The company, that has become something of an
Australian institution, is back from its US Tour that included five weeks of
standing ovations in New York. In the company’s 35th year, Cranked Up will open in its hometown of Melbourne
in June, before moving into a brand new home in Johnston Street Collingwood. 
