Composer
Richard Mills
Librettist
Peter Goldsworthy
Presented by
State Opera South Australia
Performance Dates
14 Nov 2020
Location
Her Majesty’s Theatre Adelaide
Duration
2hrs, 20 min
Suitability
PG
Performance Language
English
DESCRIPTION
Based on Ray Lawler’s 1955 Australian play of the same name, this chamber opera tells the story of a long-standing tradition at the end of the sugarcane season, in which cane-cutters Barney and Roo travel south to Melbourne for their annual fling with two city girls. But this year, the seventeenth year, is different. Gone are the larrikin summers of their youth. Instead, their reunion is full of tension, silence, and awkward attempts to hold onto their past. One girl has married; all of them struggle to come to terms with what their futures hold.
The opera was commissioned by the Victoria State Opera and premiered in 1996. Opera Australia subsequently presented the work in 1999.
This production’s season was cut short due to Covid 19.
Further information about Composer Richard Mills can be found on the Australian Music Centre website.
Olive
Antoinette Halloran
Pearl
Dimity Shepherd
Emma
Elizabeth Campbell
Roo
Joshua Rowe
Barney
Bradley Daley
Bubba
Desiree Frahn
Johnny Dowd
Nicholas Cannon
with
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
Composer
Richard Mills
Libretto
Peter Goldsworthy
Conductor
Richard Mills
Director
Joseph Mitchell
Designer
Simone Romaniuk
Lighting Designer
Trudy Dalgleish
Assistant Director
Clara Solly-Slade
© 2024 Australian Opera Digital Library. Website by Avenue De Saxe