Origin Sydney, Australia | Years active 2011–present | |
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Genres Contemporary opera, chamber opera Website www.sydneychamberopera.com | ||
Sydney Chamber Opera is an opera company based in Sydney, Australia. It is a resident company at Carriageworks. The company was founded in 2010 by Louis Garrick and Jack Symonds. Its first production was in February 2011 and has since produced between two and four twentieth and twenty-first century chamber operas each year. Its repertoire typically consists of world premieres of Australian operas and recent international works receiving their Australian premieres, including stagings of song cycles or non-traditional stage works.
Contents
History and repertoire
Sydney Chamber Opera began with the world premiere of Notes from Underground by Jack Symonds and Pierce Wilcox, an adaptation of Dostoevsky’s novel at the Cellblock Theatre, Darlinghurst. The Cunning Little Vixen, The Lighthouse, Owen Wingrave, Exil, His Music Burns, Mayakovsky, Fly Away Peter, An Index of Metals and O Mensch! were presented at Carriageworks and I Have Had Enough, In the Penal Colony and Climbing Toward Midnight at National Institute of Dramatic Art. Through The Gates was a performance for the 18th Biennale of Sydney at Pier 2/3 Walsh Bay amidst a large-scale installation by Belgian artist Honoré δ'O and Victory Over the Sun was another site-specific commission by the 20th Biennale of Sydney for performance on Cockatoo Island, reimagining an early-twentieth century Futurist work with Western Sydney artist Justene Williams. His Music Burns, Passion and O Mensch! were presented in the 2014 and 2016 Sydney Festivals. Passion was a revival of a production by Pierre Audi. Fly Away Peter toured to Arts Centre Melbourne in association with Melbourne Festival in October 2015.
2011
WP= World premiere; AP= Australian premiere
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Key personnel
Jack Symonds is the current Artistic Director. Louis Garrick was Artistic Director until 2015.
Huw Belling, Mitchell Riley, Jane Sheldon, James Wannan & Pierce Wilcox are Artistic Associates.
The company has typically engaged stage directors from a theatre background, often making their operatic debut, eg. Sydney Theatre Company resident director Kip Williams. The company has also been noted for developing talented young singers.