Skip to main content

Article: The Puccini Effect - Vanessa West

 

Puccini loved women. His operatic heroines of Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Mimì are what legends are made of – but so far little has been told about what – or more importantly who – inspired these passionate women of opera.

 

On the last Sunday in June, their silence will finally be broken. Over a very special afternoon, six of Puccini’s lovers will share their stories of lust, romance and betrayal, and of the man they all loved.

 

It was not easy enticing them to Australia, and even more difficult encouraging them to speak publicly about Puccini.

 

They only agreed on the proviso that the setting would be intimate and relaxed. Maleny, the jewel of the Sunshine Coast hinterland, was chosen for its reputation as a bohemian artistisan mecca, a place where Puccini would have felt at home.

 

When asked what format the shows will take, the women wouldn’t be drawn into being categorised. “It’s part conversation, part recital, and features some of the most beautiful arias ever composed by man”.

 

Soprano and long-time lover of Puccini’s music, Vanessa West, portrays six women Giacomo Puccini loved; the soprano’s Maria Jeritza and Rose Ader, a mysterious Corinna from Turin, friend and creative confidant Sybil Seligman, de facto then wife Elvira Puccini, and finally Puccini’s maid Doria Manfredi. Also written by Vanessa West, The Puccini Effect features Associate Angus Grant, production styled ByCeline and with thanks from creative consultant and dramaturg Dr.Tarita Botsman.

 

Escape winter and join with other Puccini lovers for a lazy Sunday afternoon of fine wine, cheese and Puccini’s Women. 30 June only, BOOKNOW!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Article: The Empire Young Artist showcase original production

The Empire’s youngest artists have kicked off rehearsals for their original production, Our Egg Named Larry to be performed from July 12-13. Now in its 14th year, the audition-based elite performance program IMPACT sees a Junior Ensemble cast of eight aged 13-14, dive into the funny, heartwarming and at times ridiculous story of a group of students who are assigned to a project to keep a fragile egg named Larry in one piece. An original theatre piece, Our Egg named Larry was written by The Empire Youth Arts Lead Grace Sankey and co-writer Sheldon Mcloughlin, with ensemble members to contribute to the script writing process, drawing on discoveries they make about their own characters as rehearsals continue. “This year’s Junior Ensemble has a mixture of experience levels with some members who have done this program before and some who will be going on stage for the very first time,” Miss Sankey said. “I am so grateful to be in the rehearsal room with these amazing young people, creating ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Hair - Gold Coast Little Theatre

 Written by Mark Rickell   “Back in the late 1960s, the artists of off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway had been complaining that the professional theatre was dead, and even worse, that it was boring. Hair was the revolution they had been waiting for. With very little plot, a unit set, plenty of four-letter words, explicit sexual content, rituals, drugs, lyrics that didn’t rhyme, music that didn’t follow the rules, and the sound of genuine rock and roll on the Broadway stage for the first time, this musical knocked Broadway on its collective ass.” - Scott Miller, Rebels with Applause: Broadway's Ground-Breaking Musicals   Gold Coast Little Theatre has faithfully continued the tradition of knocking theatre on its ass. With themes and topics that remain just as relevant today as they did in 1967 at the show’s original release, GCLT has absolutely smashed this Broadway classic. At a time when theatres across South East Queensland seem to be falling back o...
2 comments
Read more

Review: Scenes From a Yellow Perril - The Reaction Theory & Queensland Theatre Door 3

Written by Grace Wilson The best kind of theatre is theatre that makes people question, reflect and consider how uncomfortable questions encourage people to act and change. There are not many theatre pieces out there that can make an audience consider whether to laugh or cringe, smile or grimace. However, The Reaction Theory’s ‘Scenes From a Yellow Peril’, as a part of Queensland Theatre’s Door 3 program, masterfully manipulates the uncomfortable with the comedic, the angry with the heartfelt, and asks the audience if uncomfortable questions are worth the discoveries that come with them. ‘Scenes From A Yellow Peril’ by Chinese-New Zealand writer and poet, Nathan Joe, can truly be described as poetry on stage, a turbulent experience of communication and heightened emotions. The audience is exposed to complexities and challenges of BIPOC communities across the world in a way that does not fit the traditional theatre mould. There is no way to predict what Joe writes next; each scene chops...
Post a Comment
Read more