Performing arts
‘A nightmare’ for independent arts companies as council ends funding
Melbourne’s leading independent arts organisations, including Red Stitch and Theatre Works, say the move is a “slap in the face”.
- by Nick Miller and Kerrie O'Brien
Latest
Out of his big brother’s shadow: composer Paul Dean finds his voice
His brother, Brett, is one of our most celebrated composers. Now the clarinettist has found his own musical language. In the bush.
- by Nick Galvin
Linda May Han Oh: the Perth muso immortalised by Pixar
Double bassist Linda May Han Oh is amassing international claim in the jazz world. She has also been turned into an animated character in the movie ‘Soul’.
- by Barry Divola
Exclusive
Hamilton
Blockbuster musical Hamilton to head to Melbourne after a year in Sydney
The Australian cast of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s genre-bending hip hop tale of the American Revolution will call Her Majesty’s Theatre home from as early as March.
- by Linda Morris
‘It’s been like an Indiana Jones film’: top choir’s survival saga
Our leading national vocal ensemble has survived everything that has been thrown at it and is back stronger than ever.
- by Nick Galvin
Exclusive
Arts
Opera revives dream of new HQ after $2.5m pandemic windfall
Thanks to JobKeeper, and not having to stage operas for a year, Victorian Opera is sitting on an unexpected profit that it hopes to use to find a new home.
- by Nick Miller
$1m fund for Fringe will open doors for experimental art
A $250,000-a-year fund for the Melbourne Fringe will be used to commission new work and remove financial roadblocks in the way of getting from page to stage.
- by Nick Miller
Beresford’s Scottish opera is a triumph and oddly joyous
Verdi’s music for his opera based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a stream of breakout hits that switch the mood between dread, optimism and sorrow.
- by Elizabeth Flux
Choir’s bawdy recital ‘a bold statement to the world’
Sydney Town Hall is set to thunder to the sound of the world’s largest choral performance since COVID-19 struck.
- by Steve Meacham
Pushy men and their unwanted attention? Coming to a stage near you
Pinchgut Opera is staging a little-known classic Italian opera that has plenty of relevance for modern audiences.
- by Nick Galvin
Joyful sounds push back against the gloom
An air of cheerful optimism permeated the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s latest program.
- by Peter McCallum