State Opera SA

Boojum!

Composer

Martin Wesley-Smith

Librettist

Peter Wesley-Smith

Presented by

State Opera South Australia

Performance Dates

05 Jul - 06 Jul 2019

Location

Dunstan Playhouse

Duration

1 hour

Suitability

Performance Language

English

DESCRIPTION

Not quite an opera, not quite a musical comedy.

Boojum! is an irresistible contemporary snark hunt. Based on Lewis Carroll’s legendary poem “The Hunting of the Snark”, Boojum! leads us on a journey as we uncover Nonsense, Truth and Lewis Carroll, or as he was known to his family Reverend Charles Dodgson. Described as possessing a ‘Gilbert-and-Sullivan-meets-David-Lynch vibe’ the piece is both a human examination of Carroll and his moral true-self Dodgson and a meandering, quirky, beautiful feast of words and music. It is nothing short of ‘light-hearted but deadly-serious choral fantasy.’

Boojum! by Peter and Martin Wesley-Smith was premiered by State Opera in the 1986 Adelaide Festival, directed by Gale Edwards and conducted by Andrew Greene. It has subsequently been performed in the US to critical acclaim.

Further information about Peter Wesley-Smith and Martin Wesley-Smith can be found on the Australian Music Centre website.

Script

Program

Rv C L Dodgson Adam Goodburn
Lewis Carroll Brock Roberts
Alice Katrina Mackenzie
Mrs Hargreaves Joanna McWaters
Al, The American Jeremy Tatchell
Wal, The Bellman Joshua Rowe
Caterpillar Mark Oates
Carl, The Russian Norbert Hohl
Clarrie, The Butcher Charlotte Kelso
Cora, The Bootmaker Catherine Campbell
Erroll Andrew Turner
Hatter Jamie Moffatt

with
Singers of the State Opera Winter School

Composer Martin Wesley-Smith
Libretto Peter Wesley-Smith
Director Joseph Mitchell
Conductor Warwick Stengårds
Designer Simone Romaniuk
Lighting Nigel Levings