Lynne's Theatre Notes

 https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/anne-marsh-doing-feminism-womens-art-and-feminist-criticism-in-australia/ ANNE MARSH : DOING FEMINISM : WOMEN’S ART AND FEMINIST CRITICISM IN AUSTRALIA 1 JANUARY 2022   LYNNE LANCASTER   LEAVE A COMMENT Professor Anne Marsh Beautifully presented, lavishly illustrated, this is a very large and heavy tome (3 kilos!) which is also strenuous intellectually. Anne Marsh has coordinated her massive amount of scholarly research (more than five year’s worth) into a most imposing book. I would perhaps suggest that the market for this would probably be university libraries and art galleries..It is divided into two sections , both arranged chronologically by decade from the 1960’s to now. It also includes acknowledgments and a list of abbreviations, a bibliography and index. The second half of the book includes all the major articles and catalogue quotes etc as mentioned in the first half. Marsh documents the female artist’s battle for recognition ...

What a life!   https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/wotans-daughter-the-life-of-marjorie-lawrence/ MEMOIR WOTAN’S DAUGHTER : THE LIFE OF MARJORIE LAWRENCE 14 NOVEMBER 2021   LYNNE LANCASTER WOTAN’S DAUGHTER : THE LIFE OF MARJORIE LAWRENCE by Richard Davis is a captivating biography of Australian operatic megastar of the 1920’s and 30’s Marjorie Lawrence, The book, a new revised updated edition of the 2012 version is of small to medium size and not too thick and is divided into twenty chapters with a preface, two forwards , an appendix , footnotes , bibliography and index . Illustrations are in the middle It is written in a warm yet respectful tone and meticulously researched. It is a story of fame, adversity and resilience.Lawrence rose to become one of the major Wagner singers of her generation, feted and thunderously applauded in Europe and at the Met Opera in New York where she shared roles with the renowned Kirsten Flagstad. Afflicted by polio at the height of her caree...

 https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/willoughby-symphony-orchestra-last-night-of-the-proms/ CLASSICAL MUSIC ,  MUSIC ,  OPERA WILLOUGHBY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA LAST NIGHT OF THE PROMS 11 DECEMBER 2021   LYNNE LANCASTER   LEAVE A COMMENT Celebrating a decade of performances at the Concourse, Chatswood, Willoughby Symphony has returned for live performances with their annual Last Night of the Proms, conducted by Guy Noble .Noble clearly had a terrific time , his conducting was crisp ,clear and precise and the Orchestra was in fine form. ,Because of Covid it was a smaller audience (all masked) but the audience ,Willoughby Symphony Orchestra and Choir (plus artists of Pacific Opera) had a thoroughly enjoyable time. The concert was screened as part of the Australian Digital Concert Hall program. First was the flurrying, darting Overture to The Thieving Magpie by Rossini .Quivering and jaunty,the strings are like a bird that circles, jumps and leaps with the Orchestra puls...

 https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/87515-2/ CLASSICAL MUSIC ,  MUSIC BAROQUE IN BLOOM : AUSTRALIAN BRANDENBURG ORCHESTRA 22 NOVEMBER 2021   LYNNE LANCASTER Photo Keith Saunders This glorious concert by the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, filmed in September at City Recital Hall Sydney, the latest in their Brandenburg One series, was directed by Stef Smith with production design by Elizabeth Gadsby  and was dedicated to Carla Zampatti. There is a huge spacelike circular rig that can tilt, but the performance is dominated by the garden of blooms erupting onstage, at times almost dwarfing the Orchestra. Paul Dyer leads his ensemble most enthusiastically on harpsichord or organ. There is assured, precise, controlled yet at times passionate and joyous playing throughout with great attention paid to the nuances and structure of the music. The concert is a celebration of Spring. We hear two vibrant works by Gregori, given their Australian premiere and also Roman and Vene...

 https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/hidden-away/ CINEMA HIDDEN AWAY 20 NOVEMBER 2021   LYNNE LANCASTER Screening as part of the Italian Film Festival, directed by Giorgio Diritti, this is a magnificently acted, beautifully photographed,(Matteo Cocco) , powerful, extremely moving film that tells the story of troubled , rather anti-social Antonio Ligabue (1899-1965) – originally Laccabue – an Italian painter and sculptor who is now regarded as one of the most important Naïve artists of the 20th century. He was a self-taught, defiant outsider. First we see snippets of his early life – the film begins in the asylum with flashbacks showing glimpses of his childhood and his Italian – Swiss background. Little Antonio is entrusted to adoptive parents and immediately begins to have psychophysical disorders, ill with rickets, and after being expelled from school and attacking his foster mother, he is hospitalized several times in a psychiatric clinic. At school he was bullied by classma...

 https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/australian-chamber-orchestra-studiocast-beethoven-and-bridgetower/ CLASSICAL MUSIC ,  FILMED THEATRE/ OPERA ETC AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA : BEETHOVEN AND BRIDGETOWER 29 NOVEMBER 2021   LYNNE LANCASTER A stunning performance by the ACO led by Richard Tognetti, with fiery, blistering, tempestuous playing of the richly layered music.Directed by Matisse Ruby and dramatically shot (photography by Drew English) this is a powerhouse performance of what is arguably Beethoven’s most popular violin sonata. Known as The Kreutzer Sonata for its dedication to the violinist Rudolphe Kreutzer, lost in history is its original dedication to George Bridgetower, a far more accomplished violinist of West Indian descent and something of a kindred spirit to Beethoven. Bridgetower performed with the composer at the Sonata’s premiere in 1803 to massive acclaim but they fell out spectacularly, never speaking to each other again, and his name was removed from...

 https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/margaret-flockton-a-fragrant-memory/ BOOKS & WRITING MARGARET FLOCKTON A FRAGRANT MEMORY BY LOUISE WILSON 27 NOVEMBER 2021   LYNNE LANCASTER Margaret Flockton This is a fascinating biography of a most adventurous, nowadays almost unheard of artist / botanical illustrator, Margaret Flockton. It has been released to celebrate the bicentennial celebrations of what we now call the Royal Botanical Gardens .It is of medium size and thickness and divided into two parts (Britain and Australia).It is extensively illustrated with Flockton’s exquisitely detailed ,delicately beautiful work .Maps and a family tree are included as well as notes , a bibliography and an index. Louise Wilson has done extensive research and the book examines Margaret Flockton’s life, her work, her place in the Aussie art world – and her brave journey from England to carve a place in patriarchal colonial society in the closing part of the 19th century as a single woman. Wi...

 https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/the-russian-wife/ OOKS & WRITING ,  CREATIVE WRITING THE RUSSIAN WIFE BY BARRY MAITLAND 1 DECEMBER 2021   LYNNE LANCASTER This latest book by Barry Maitland is extremely well crafted, written and plotted, with many surprising twists upon the way. The shifting between characters and locations is excellently handled.It is a great page turner you anxiously want to find out what happens next . The depiction of characters is splendid and there are some great landscape descriptions. Barry Maitland grew up in London and went on to work as an architect and urban designer in the UK. In 1984 he moved to Australia as Professor of Architecture at the University of Newcastle. The Marx Sisters, the first in his London-based Brock and Kolla crime novels, was published in 1994 and 12 more have followed. In addition he has published four crime novels set in Australia. Barry’s novels have been published throughout the English-speaking world and in tr...

 https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/the-freedom-of-birds-by-stephanie-parkyn/ BOOKS & WRITING ,  CREATIVE WRITING THE FREEDOM OF BIRDS BY STEPHANIE PARKYN 13 DECEMBER 2021   LYNNE LANCASTER   LEAVE A COMMENT From the author of Josephine’s Garden, this is a rather complicated but stirring tale set in the early 1800’s when Napoleon ruled .This is Stephanie Parkyn’s third historical novel .It is of medium size and thickness and divided into thirty nine chapters. The detailed ,extensive research is amazing , the characterisation excellent – all is vividly written and presented . It is about the preservation of oral history , books, of theatre , of love and friendship and the search for identity and a place to call home. There is also sacrifice , grief , denial and betrayal. The title comes from Saskia’s wish to be free and how she wants to turn into a Vela (a bird) . It is also a quest for personal identity as the three main characters have all lost their parents – o...