Reviews

The Freiburg Baroque Orchestra (Freiburger Barockorchester) returned for a second concert featuring celebrated piano virtuoso Kristian Bezuidenhout who teamed up with the sparkling soprano Siobhan Stagg. Together with the orchestra they created an electric and vibrant atmosphere recreating the elegant tones of the 18th century.

The first thing you notice is the wallpaper. It says ‘1930s America’ most of the time, but in the middle there’s a giant portrait of a handsome man that has started to peel from the wall and, in a remarkable effect, collect in a large puddle on the floor. It’s part of a brilliant set design by Grace Deacon that includes a large outside fire escape and a tiny all-glass toy set, the menagerie of Tennessee Williams’ title. 

In this weird and twisted little queer-safe story, two sisters live in a cold and rotting house in 1800s Yorkshire, in total, complete and utter isolation. Oh, except for an indeterminant number of servant (one? Two? Three?), an indeterminant number of brothers (none? One? One, but dead?) and one morose and despairing mastiff. Obviously, they don’t really count. Then one day, new meat arrives in the form of one hapless governess and one very sweet anthropomorphic moorhen.

The Freiburg Baroque Orchestra (Freiburger Barockorchester) consists of 29 musicians dedicated to preserving and promoting historically informed performance practice. The acclaimed orchestra was founded in 1987 and is based in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. Gottfried von der Goltz (violin) and Cecilia Bernardini (violin) are both the artistic directors, alternating the duties of musical arrangement for their concerts. As an orchestra and an ensemble they are widely sought after, often attracting renowned conductors, and they are currently in Melbourne offering three separate concerts.