It is hard to capture my joy at finally returning to the operatic stage after five long years of infant-and-Covid-induced hiatus, and this production of Handel’s Acis and Galatea for Melbourne’s Genesis Baroque – two years in the making – could not have been a more perfect vehicle in absolutely all ways: the intimate scope I work best in (not to mention the compressed timeline, which I also seem to respond well to!? Nothing like a deadline lol), a brilliant director, incredible voices both solo and chorus and an absolutely crack band. I felt fully myself for the first time in years.
Just as importantly, and one of the benefits of working at this level, the company was carefully chosen to include not a single difficult ego despite the incredible array of talent in the room. And boy did it show in the atmosphere. In short, whatever nerves I may have had stepping straight back into a lead role full of coloratura and a hefty dramatic arc, the support and kindness in those rehearsal rooms just blew me away and lifted me up to do what is – as ever – a fairly unhinged job when it comes down to it. Cry on demand? Sure. Harassment by a psychopath? Pretty common. Imagine you’re dementiaed. OK. Scream enough to scare the elbow-joints out of the violins (sorry, guys) and then immediately sing another aria afterwards. U-huh. Also, inhale talcum powder before final aria and wander round in the audience.
Man, I LOVE this stuff. But it’s not normal.
Just as importantly, and one of the benefits of working at this level, the company was carefully chosen to include not a single difficult ego despite the incredible array of talent in the room. And boy did it show in the atmosphere. In short, whatever nerves I may have had stepping straight back into a lead role full of coloratura and a hefty dramatic arc, the support and kindness in those rehearsal rooms just blew me away and lifted me up to do what is – as ever – a fairly unhinged job when it comes down to it. Cry on demand? Sure. Harassment by a psychopath? Pretty common. Imagine you’re dementiaed. OK. Scream enough to scare the elbow-joints out of the violins (sorry, guys) and then immediately sing another aria afterwards. U-huh. Also, inhale talcum powder before final aria and wander round in the audience.
Man, I LOVE this stuff. But it’s not normal.
Also, did I mention it was all happening during a Covid peak? There was a lot of rehearsing in masks but eventually in opera you reach that point where you’re grabbing, kissing, sniffing (yes I know), hissing and singing all over each other… and you just have to hope. Due to careful management and luck, we lost only one member of our orchestra before the run of performances. Which is not to say that I wasn’t fighting off the remains of laryngitis for the first half of rehearsals, just to add drama!
(Look, it’s probably for the best as it meant I resisted socialising – hard to do when it was my first visit to Melbourne for several years and I have so many beloved people down there who needed a good post-lockdown hug attack.)
This was Genesis Baroque’s (a Melbourne-based period chamber orchestra) first foray into the operatic genre after their critically-acclaimed first studio album of Arcangelo Corelli’s Concerti Grossi Opus 6 via ABC Classic was released August 2020, debuting as the highest selling Australian album on the ARIA classical album charts, so it was an honour to perform with an ensemble of this calibre as they explored new terrain (again, apologies to the violins for the screaming). We were joined by the Consort of Melbourne, exquisite musicians who brought such meticulous beauty to the complicated chorus pieces whilst also (it seemed) having an absolute ball on stage portraying a rowdy classroom complete with harried teacher and a snooty class prefect (the stunning Milly Jones).
(Look, it’s probably for the best as it meant I resisted socialising – hard to do when it was my first visit to Melbourne for several years and I have so many beloved people down there who needed a good post-lockdown hug attack.)
This was Genesis Baroque’s (a Melbourne-based period chamber orchestra) first foray into the operatic genre after their critically-acclaimed first studio album of Arcangelo Corelli’s Concerti Grossi Opus 6 via ABC Classic was released August 2020, debuting as the highest selling Australian album on the ARIA classical album charts, so it was an honour to perform with an ensemble of this calibre as they explored new terrain (again, apologies to the violins for the screaming). We were joined by the Consort of Melbourne, exquisite musicians who brought such meticulous beauty to the complicated chorus pieces whilst also (it seemed) having an absolute ball on stage portraying a rowdy classroom complete with harried teacher and a snooty class prefect (the stunning Milly Jones).
In my opinion, the trouble with baroque opera is that you most often find glorious music paired with pretty woeful character development and static – or abrupt - dramatic flow. This presents a challenge to some directors, but an opportunity to other, sharper minds. Robert Macfarlane, not only a wonderful tenor but in more recent years also proving his mettle in amazing projects such as More Guilty than the Poet in 2018 (Adelaide Festival Centre) and The Song Company’s recent tour of Arms of Love, is one such sharp mind.
Robert took a narrative based on ancient allegory (from Ovid’s Metamorphosis) and touched by the supernatural (nymphs and cyclops), and somehow gave it believable modern resonance by setting the romantic histrionics and violence within a high school, with Acis as the bookish and over-earnest student smitten with a feisty but warm-hearted school rebel Galatea (skipping class for School Strikes and trying to drag Acis along), and Polyphemus translating into a psychopathic school bully who terrorises the lovers and the classroom alike (played with such terrifying force by Nick Dinopoulous that I am sad to report he broke his finger during our final rehearsal, and then still performed like a boss).
Robert took a narrative based on ancient allegory (from Ovid’s Metamorphosis) and touched by the supernatural (nymphs and cyclops), and somehow gave it believable modern resonance by setting the romantic histrionics and violence within a high school, with Acis as the bookish and over-earnest student smitten with a feisty but warm-hearted school rebel Galatea (skipping class for School Strikes and trying to drag Acis along), and Polyphemus translating into a psychopathic school bully who terrorises the lovers and the classroom alike (played with such terrifying force by Nick Dinopoulous that I am sad to report he broke his finger during our final rehearsal, and then still performed like a boss).
That the audiences and critics also loved it was almost icing on the cake, because my heart and artistic spirit were already full from spending time with – honestly – so many legends. Bottled lightning. Thank you Melbourne!
Photo credit: Darren Gill
www.genesisbaroque.com.au
Photo credit: Darren Gill
www.genesisbaroque.com.au
