Minotaur the Island Chamber Made Opera in association with Aurora New Music Festival, Sydney May 2012
'...a re-enactment of a myth that draws out of these humble objects a compelling sense of ritual. I found the performance wholly absorbing...' Alison Croggon, theatrenotes
Chamber Made Opera in association with 2012 Aurora Festival of New Music presents Minotaur: The Island
by Margaret Cameron & David Young.
Virtually all the music for Monteverdi's 1608 opera L'Arianna, one of the most influential and famous examples of early Baroque opera, has been lost. Minotaur: The Island is the first part of the Minotaur: Trilogy which re-imagines the lost opera of Monteverdi, focussing on the tragic story of the Minotaur.
Minotaur: The Island turns around the figure of the Minotaur, the bastard child of peverse love. The work begins with the establishment of the mythic world, and an introduction to the poetics of the piece. Various characters, objects, sounds and theoretical constructs are introduced and developed. We see the conception of Pasiphae, King Minos' mail order bride, who has become obsessed with the bull of heaven. She gives birth to the monstrous Minotaur, part bull, part human. The Minotaur grows and becomes ferocious, needing to devour men for sustenance, and as a consequence is locked away, in a gigantic labyrinth.
For over 20 years Chamber Made Opera has been leading the way in contemporary chamber opera, performance and music theatre. Minotaur: The Island is the first Living Room Opera to be performed in Sydney.
Minotaur: The Island was co-commissioned by Ten Days on the Island and Dr Peta Gillingham, and premiered on Bruny Island.
Composer: David Young
Writer/Director: Margaret Cameron
Performers: Deborah Kayser, Caroline Lee & Hellen Sky
Double Bass: Mark Cauvin
Percussion: Matthias Schack-Arnott
Harpsichord: Anastasia Russell-Head
Dates & Times:
7.30pm, Wednesday 9 May 2012
7.30pm, Thursday 10 May 2012
7.30pm, Friday 11 May 2012
Tickets:
Adult $40, Conc $35, 30&U $28, F/T Student $18
LINK: go to http://www.riversideparramatta.com.au/performance.asp?pID=1819