Founded mid-1960s Genre Classical | Website opera.org.au | |
Location Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Concert hall Opera House Orchestra pit of the Joan Sutherland Theatre Albums Requiem, The Kiss, Bicentennial Celebration, Bliss, Sitsky: The Golem Record labels Deutsche Grammophon, Universal Music LLC Associated acts Andrew Bain, Stuart Challender Similar Opera Australia, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra | ||
Spotlight the australian opera and ballet orchestra aobo opera australia
The Opera Australia Orchestra (based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) is a full-time salaried orchestra, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Opera Australia. It is one of three salaried orchestras in Sydney, along with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. The OAO performs almost exclusively in the Opera House Orchestra pit of the Joan Sutherland Theatre
Contents
- Spotlight the australian opera and ballet orchestra aobo opera australia
- Repertory
- Performances
- Songs
- References
The OAO (and its Melbourne cousin Orchestra Victoria) were known as The Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra and The Elizabethan Melbourne Orchestra respectively, established by the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1967. These orchestras became the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra in 1991, and State Orchestra of Victoria in 1986. The SOV has since been renamed Orchestra Victoria. In 2017, it was renamed the "Opera Australia Orchestra"
OAO's core strength is 69 players (compared with Sydney Symphony's 110) but is currently down to 59 (August 2012). Each player is selected by audition; if successful there is a trial process which may require 12 months to complete. More than 120 other musicians may join the OAO as casual musicians during a financial year; this is due in part to Occupational Health and Safety Act NSW 2000 requirements regarding noise levels associated with working in the Sydney Opera House orchestra pit.
Repertory
The OAO provides orchestral accompaniment to Opera Australia and The Australian Ballet and is one of the few opera orchestras in the world that operates in a repertory style of operation over a period, or season, that can be some months in length. Other opera houses that operate this way are The Metropolitan Opera in New York City, The Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London and La Scala, Milan. 'Repertory style' also infers that over time, certain composers and operas become considered 'standard' to the working operation of the company. Composers Puccini, Verdi, Handel, Bizet and Wagner are standard parts of the repertory. OAO includes the Ballet repertory pieces of Tchaikovsky Minkus and Prokofiev. Typically, opera consumes January–March and June–October. Ballet fills the rest of the year.
Performances
In a typical year, the orchestra gives over 255 performances , plus rehearsals, featuring an average 12 operas. Its repertoire extends to Monteverdi, Alban Berg and Sondheim, and four ballet programs at 21 performances each. OAO also appears in gala concerts and special events such as Mazda Opera in the Domain and the New Year's Eve Gala Concert in the concert hall of the opera house.
In 2012 OAO appeared in Opera Australia's first event presentation of Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour in 18 performances of La traviata, using a purpose-built floating stage and orchestra pit, moored in Sydney's Farm Cove opposite the Sydney Opera House, sponsored in part by the International Foundation for Arts and Culture. Every year since there has been a new production: Carmen, Madama Butterfly, Aida and in 2016, Turandot.
2017 production of HOSH will be performances of Carmen
OAO averages under 10% of Opera Australia's annual running costs.
Songs
Che Gelida Manina1998
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin - Op24 TH5 / Act 1 - Scene 2 - "Puskai pogibnu ya - no pryezhde"The Kiss · 2016
Gounod: Faust - CG 4 / Act 3 - "O Dieu! que de bijoux Oh! Je ris de me voir"The Kiss · 2016