Lynne's Theatre Notes

 https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/pacific-opera-willoughby-symphony-the-magic-flute/ PACIFIC OPERA AND WILLOUGHBY SYMPHONY : THE MAGIC FLUTE 7 APRIL 2022   LYNNE LANCASTER   LEAVE A COMMENT Directed by Peter Coleman-Wright AO, conducted by Luke Spicer and showcasing the magnificent talents of Pacific Opera and Willoughby Symphony ,this is a bright, bold and colourful abridged version of Mozart’s opera. Performed and filmed at the Concourse, Chatswood, it was streamed online by the Australian Digital Concert Hall. The MAGIC FLUTE was sung in German with English and traditional Chinese scene descriptions. Produced in association with the Australia China Institute for Arts and Culture at the Western Sydney University, the opera, staged with an Asian aesthetic,was part of Chatswood Culture Bites 2022 and Willoughby Council’s Year of the Tiger festival. The opera recounts the adventures of Prince Tamino, an Asian price, and the bird-catcher Papageno on their quest to rescue ...

  https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/exhibition-on-screen-easter-in-art/ EXHIBITION ON SCREEN : EASTER IN ART 2 APRIL 2022   LYNNE LANCASTER   LEAVE A COMMENT From the wonderful Exhibition on Screen team, directed by Phil Grabsky,this is a luminous, beautifully photographed film that looks at how Western art over the millennia has depicted Christ’s suffering, Passion and Resurrection, possibly the most momentous historical event of all time. Shot on location in Jerusalem, the US and throughout Europe the film The film covers “the greatest story ever told”, as interpreted by many of the world’s most famous artists across the centuries.The story of Jesus Christ’s death and Resurrection as told in the Christian Gospels eminently features in western culture for more than two millennia. Depictions of what has come to be known as the “Easter story” appeared as early as the third century, came to dominance in the Renaissance period, and have continued to fascinate successive gen...

  https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/straits-beyond-the-myth-of-magellan-by-felipe-fernandez-armesto/ STRAITS BEYOND THE MYTH OF MAGELLAN BY FELIPE FERNANDEZ-ARMESTO 22 MARCH 2022   LYNNE LANCASTER An impeccably researched, heavily detailed, engaging book, STRAITS examines the legends , myths and reputation of Ferdinand Magellan in polished discussion . His main voyage can be regarded as a disastrous failure – or was it? and he is still regarded with great renown. How can he be viewed today? The book itself is divided into ten chapters, with a preface, notes and index, maps and illustrations. Although very little exists in Magellan’s own words, we learn a lot about his character through other people’s reports. For some, Magellan is renowned as a noble heroic adventurer, an exemplar of gallantry and courage who circumnavigated the globe. Or did he? FERNANDEZ-ARMESTO shows how Magellan during his life was regarded as ruthless and a traitor, vilified as a tyrant, treated as a fai...

 https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/roaming-freely-throughout-the-universe/ ROAMING FREELY THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE 8 MARCH 2022   LYNNE LANCASTER Of small to medium size and thickness ,peppered with footnotes , illustrations and sometimes translations and scientific tables , this is a fascinating book crammed with detailed information that examines Nicolas Baudin’s voyage to Australia from France 1800-1804 and the attitude towards science and how it could be influenced by politics , the scientific voyagers, their work and its legacy.There is a table of contents at the front and notes and an index at the back. Edited by Jean Fornasiero and John West-Sooby , the book is divided into three parts and fifteen chapters , each written by a different author. It is a fascinating examination of various aspects of Baudin’s voyage.The book looks at how The Age of Exploration not only paved the way for European conquest and trade, it also widened the horizons of science and was at the tail...

 https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/hovering-by-rhett-davis/ HOVERING : A MARVELLOUS BOOK BY RHETT DAVIS 18 MARCH 2022   LYNNE LANCASTER Author Rhett Davis Family secrets are revealed and time and space seem fluid and fractured in this enthralling, splendidly written book. Winner of the Victorian Premier’s Unpublished Manuscript Award, HOVERING crosses genres, literary styles and conventions to create a powerful and kaleidoscopic story about three people struggling to find connection in a chaotic and impermanent world. This marvellous book by  Rhett Davis  is written in several ‘voices’, and uses tables and ‘interruptions’ of say a transcript of a radio show or a text conversation, hash tags, and a press release as well. Not forgetting police interviews and art articles. Sometimes the page is divided into columns, detailing each character’s movements and/or thoughts. We learn of the major shifts, changes and  ‘metro displacement ‘ of the city of Fraser which has...

  https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/rising-dust-by-fleur-mcdonald/ RISING DUST BY FLEUR MCDONALD : A RIPPING YARN 28 MARCH 2022   LYNNE LANCASTER   LEAVE A COMMENT A gripping book, magnificently written, this is the fifth book in the detective Dave Burrows series .It is divided into short gulps of thirty chapters and there is a Prologue and Epilogue. Readers learn a lot about life in an isolated small outback town tending sheep and shearing, (which is why Dave and his colleague Bob are on the homestead, to investigate large numbers of missing sheep) but there is also arresting, lush description of the landscape, flora and fauna and the world waking up. The torrential storm is vividly described as well as the aftermath.You feel you are there, can see the sunrise, smell the greenery, hear the birds or tumultuous thunder and lightning. Descriptions of tense police work and forensics are also included. There is deep discussion about Life and regrets or otherwise – if he had ...

 https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/waiting-game/ WAITING GAME, PART OF MARCH DANCE 2022 31 MARCH 2022   LYNNE LANCASTER   LEAVE A COMMENT Part of March Dance,  WAITING GAME is presented by dance duet Phaedra Brown and Tamara Bouman and seeks to contrast the tragedies, delights and playfulness of life. The ‘set’ for WAITING GAME is the stark, enclosed white room of Duti Studios. Phaedra Brown  and  Tamara Bouman  enter in loose fitting, neutral toned outfits and sit on the floor. Waiting. At times during the performance it has an atmosphere of allusion to Beckett’s ‘Waiting For Godot’. WAITING GAME was Inspired by the creative team’s overall feeling of disillusionment at the current state of the world right now, ravaged by extreme political climates and climate change leading to, particularly, the pandemic. The need for connection in this disjointed world is emphasised. Emerging choreographer Brown is interested in improvisation, site-specific work and...

  https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/camerata-four-seasons-reimagined/ CAMERATA FOUR SEASONS REIMAGINED 2 MARCH 2022   LYNNE LANCASTER Pic by Alex Jamieson Pic by Alex Jamieson Battling the terrible flood situation in Brisbane, this was a most delectable concert by Camerata, rich and luscious with superb playing, streamed live by the Australian Digital Concert Hall from QPAC in Brisbane. Vivaldi’s much loved ‘The Four Seasons’ was used as a base to explore the concept of the natural weather cycle. After a slight delay there first was a Welcome to Country by  Ashley Ruska.  Artistic Director and Violinist  Brendan Joyce  then introduced the concert . First was La Primavera ( Spring ) Op.8, No.1, in E Major – meticulously structured,  rich , multi-layered with a powerful beat. The strings shimmered, tumbled and had a dialogue.  Jason Tong  led superbly on violin, at time soaring birdlike, sparkling in delicate mini solos and at time scurry...

 https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/on-stage-national-library-of-australia/ ON STAGE – NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA 1 MARCH 2022   LYNNE LANCASTER A most exciting exhibition will be coming to the National Library of Australia in March for theatre lovers . A performance is fleeting and no two are exactly the same. What does a performance tell us ? It can be challenging and ask difficult questions , extremely moving , enthrall and delight or terrify or disgust us. The exhibition opens with an acknowledgement of all the backstage staff that help make the theatrical magic happen – a photo of Ange Sullivan , head of lighting at the Sydney Opera House , preparing a ‘ghost’ light at the Joan Sutherland theatre in 2020. On STAGE combines items that have never before been on display with the earliest surviving Australian printed document,(a playbill),selections from the extensive JC Williamson theatre archives, and other contemporary live music and theatre posters. We see how ballets,...

  This striking performance by the Marais Project was originally scheduled to be coordinated with the 250th anniversary of Cook’s voyage in 2020 but Covid threw a spanner in the works .It has now been livestreamed from Sydney by the   Australian Digital Concert Hall. Utilising their singular background on Swedish art and folk music , combined with Australian colonial music by Isaac Nathan , and readings from James Cook’s and Joseph Banks’ diaries , the Marais Project , led by Jennifer Eriksson on viola da gamba , with Susie Bishop singing and on violin and Tommie Anderson on a 5 course guitar from 1770 and a 9-string guitar , and James Fraser narrator/actor , present a fascinating analysis of the life and times of Daniel Solander , who accompanied Cook and Banks upon the 1770 voyage of the Endeavour. Solander was the first Swede to circumnavigate the world , and set foot on Terra Australis Incognita. The program opens with Carl Michael Bellman’s (1740-1795) Käraste Bröder (Fre...

https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/exhibition-on-screen-frida-kahlo/ EXHIBITION ON SCREEN : FRIDA KAHLO 26 FEBRUARY 2022   LYNNE LANCASTER ‘Two Fridas’ ‘My nurse and Frida’ The latest from the Exhibition on Screen team is a biopic about Mexican artist FRIDA KAHLO directed by Ali Ray. Who was Frida Kahlo really? Many people think they know her, but who was the woman behind the bright colours, the monobrow, and the floral crowns? It seeks to find out – what were her intentions behind her paintings? What is the story behind her work? The documentary was created in collaboration with experts who knew Kahlo, and those that have studied and curated her work. The film includes voice-overs of letters Kahlo wrote, revealing her deepest emotions and analyses and uncovers the symbolism and secrets of her paintings . There are interviews with museum and art gallery curators ( as well as Kahlo’s great niece). We see The Blue House ( now the Frida Kahlo Museum ) and Kahlos’ bedroom with the besp...