Reviews

Villanova’s commitment to Australian plays and playwrights is commendable but Anne Scott-Pendlebury’s adaptation of Ethel Turner’s classic Seven Little Australians lacks dramatic strength. Written in short scenes with lots of incidents happening off-stage, it continually felt like a series of comings and goings with no substantial character development for an audience to relate to.

OAonTour is the touring arm of Opera Australia. They have had a touring arm forever, bringing opera to the far reaches of this large country. Usually they perform with no chorus and minimalist sets.

This was different.

There was a small orchestra, but more importantly, a choir from a local primary school. What a great idea! The Marriage of Figaro has little to involve the chorus, and these young people got their opportunity to shine and to experience opera and hear some magnificent voices at very close range. This is an experience they will never forgot.

The magic of Goldoni has been brought to life by an enormously gifted troupe of actors in this impeccable production. Rosa Campagnaro’s credentials as a physical theatre practitioner and expert in Commedia dell’ Arte are impressive and the Australian theatre scene is reaping the benefits of her fantastic artistry.

Victorian Opera’s latest production for schools is an abridged version of Massenet’s Cinderella (Cendrillon). Designed to travel to schools and fit into various spaces, the set featured a series of flats on trolleys, which were pushed around stage to create different spaces. One side had Cinderella’s house and the other was the palace. This worked very well. The flats and the costumes were very colourful.