Lynne's Theatre Notes

 https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/michael-fitzgeralds-pieta-a-mesmerising-read/ MICHAEL FITZGERALD’S ‘PIETA’ : A MESMERISING READ 21 JUNE 2021   LYNNE LANCASTER   LEAVE A COMMENT   This is a mesmerising, powerful book. It is superbly written with the language evocative and visually exciting. The themes of the book include the inspiration for art, whether the restoration of an art work actually preserves it or rather destroys its ‘aura’ (for example do the modern day pieces of marble fitted onto the Pieta really help?) and what makes a work of art iconic ? (for example, the Pieta, Bernini’s St Theresa, Leonardo’s Mona Lisa). The book also looks at despair and attempted destruction of artworks. As well, there is the distinction between European and Australian First People’s arts as exemplified by the Empress Josephine’s garden, Michaelangelo’s Pieta and Bernini’s St Theresa, and the work of Kumanjayi. There is also the interlocking of art and life, the quest for a fe...

  https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/the-bookseller-of-florence/ THE BOOKSELLER OF FLORENCE : A FASCINATING READ 12 JUNE 2021   LYNNE LANCASTER   LEAVE A COMMENT This is a book about books. Ross King has brought us a densely detailed and layered history of the history of writing, printing and books generally. It is divided into 27 chapters with a table of contents at the front, an extensive bibliography, a collection of footnotes and a well coordinated index. Illustrations are scattered throughout with the major illustrations in the middle. The book is of small to medium size. Set in Renaissance Florence, King’s book is a biography of Vespasiano da Bisticci, ‘ the king of the world’s booksellers’. He learnt his profession beginning as a book binder and then he opened a bookshop that became one of, if not the intellectual hub of Florence, and, to a degree, Europe – a meeting and discussion place said to ‘contain all the wisdom of the world’. Vespasiano had a hard working t...

 https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/streamed-shakespeare-henry-iv-parts-1-and-2/ STREAMED SHAKESPEARE – HENRY IV PARTS 1 AND 2 8 JUNE 2021   LYNNE LANCASTER   LEAVE A COMMENT Streamed Shakespeare, in a production directed by  Haki Pepo Olu Crisden ,  has brought us a terrific production of both parts of Henry IV. The civil strife has been updated to 2402 and is very Star Wars in presentation, with plenty of special effects, ‘ alien’ makeup, aerial views of planets, impressive spaceships, exciting battles, and which include a touch of Blade Runner. The digital set elements, as directed by  Alex Perritt , were very effective. The ‘house stye’ of the use of split screens is continued.There is some doubling of roles ( which are gender fluid) and use is made of R2D2 like robots as waiters , messengers etc, and electronic comm links.  David Castle’s  sound effects and  Paul Bremen’s  score are also integral to the production The many layered p...

 https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/australian-brandenburg-orchestra-higher-angels/ AUSTRALIAN BRANDENBURG ORCHESTRA: HIGHER ANGELS @ CITY RECITAL HALL 4 JUNE 2021   LYNNE LANCASTER   LEAVE A COMMENT Pic Keith Saunders The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra was in fine form under the enthusiastic, energetic leadership of  Paul Dyer . The concert was filmed recently at Sydney’s City Recital Hall. A pair of angel’s wings provided an elegant backdrop. The music was almost all a selection of Handel works, mostly snippets from various opera. Along with the superb playing by the Orchestra we were treated to stellar performances by counter tenor  Russel Harcourt  and soprano  Sara Macliver . The concert began fast and furiously with scurrying strings for the Allegro from Handel’s ‘Concerto Grosso’. Harcourt gave a striking rendition of Handel’s ‘Agitato de Fiere Tempeste’ from Oreste in which he unleashed vocal fireworks. For this reviewer one of the highl...

https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/phryne-fisher-and-the-brilliance-of-kerry-greenwood/ PHRYNE FISHER AND THE BRILLIANCE OF KERRY GREENWOOD 9 MAY 2021   LYNNE LANCASTER This is a delightful collection of seventeen short stories featuring the dynamic, glamorous and sophisticated The Honourable Phryne Fisher, almost all set in Melbourne during 1928-29. The book is of small to medium size and not too thick. It is an edited and reworked release of a 2008 collection,  A Question of Death , with the inclusion of four extra stories. There is a table of contents at the front and a glossary at the back.  In the introduction  Kerry Greenwood  writes about how she came to create the character of Phryne and how the series developed, as well as her writing process. Greenwood  is the author of more than fifty novels, a book of short stories, six non-fiction works, and the editor of two collections of crime writing. The Phryne Fisher series has become a successful ABC TV ...

 https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/traffic-jam-galleries-brendan-kelly/ TRAFFIC JAM GALLERIES : BRENDAN KELLY 3 MAY 2021   LYNNE LANCASTER Brendan Kelly ‘No 27’ Brendan Kelly ‘Enough Is Enough’ Brendan Kelly ‘Equine Variation’ Brendan Kelly is the latest artist to be featured in a current pop- up exhibition at Traffic Jam Galleries. Kelly grew up in a typical Aussie suburban home during the 1970’s. He moved to Mullumbimby in the 1990’s and has performed as a stand-up comic and written children’s books. He has also worked as a graphic reproducer and a landscape artist. Kelly’s works are semi – abstract and reflect his thoughts about experiences and moments in his life, and examine how he regards himself as Australian. His bold, vibrant, at times confronting works in this exhibition leap off the canvas and are often dominated by dark, rusty reds. They could perhaps be regarded as somewhat strange even disturbing at times. In ‘Salamander Sally’ we see a woman’s breasts and ...

  BACH AKADEMIE AUSTRALIA   THE OBBLIGATO SONATAS   ST JAMES ‘ CHURCH SYDNEY /MELBOURNE DIGITAL CONCERT HALL JUNE 2021 This was a glorious concert, filmed as part of the MDCH series at St James Church Sydney .We heard all of the sonatas except no.4 in a glorious performance of five of J.S. Bach’s six Obbligato Sonatas by Bach Akademie Australia founder and Artistic Director Madeleine Easton on violin,   with Anton Baba on cello or viola da gamba and harpsichordist Neal Peres Da Costa. Easton introduced each of the sonatas , quoting throughout the performance Rita Steblin’s   book about the characteristics of keys in 18th and 19th century music ,   before the intense, yet precise and controlled playing . The sonatas were written in Bach’s Cothen period, where he wrote quite a bit of his instrumental music before moving to Leipzig .Listeners become conscious of the precise , delicate structure of the works.     First we heard the...