26artistic excellenceimagination lives insideResident and Supported Companies<strong>Opera</strong> Australia >18 presentations, 190 performances,219,097 audiences<strong>Opera</strong> Australia’s 2010 Winter Seasonopened with a beautifully presentednew production of A Little Night Music,directed by Stuart Maunder and conductedby Andrew Greene. Featuring star ofstage and screen, Sigrid Thornton, theincomparable Anthony Warlow and oneof Australia’s best known theatrical stars,Nancy Hayes, this production delighted anaudience of 12,338 over 10 performances.Nigel Jamieson made his directorial debutfor <strong>Opera</strong> Australia with Puccini’s rarelyperformed work La fanciulla del West(The Girl of the Golden West). This newproduction was conducted by Arvo Volmerusing cinematic projections and state ofthe art technology. Nine performancesattracted 9,282 people.Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro returnedto the stage in 2010, with an all-starcast presenting 22 performances for24,479 people. The vibrancy and energyof The Pirates of Penzance also returnedto enthral an audience of 34,725 over29 performances.Julie Edwardson’s new production ofBellini’s bel canto masterpiece,La sonnambula, was staged by <strong>Opera</strong>Australia for the first time in August2010. Conducted by Richard Bonynge andAnthony Legge with Emma Matthews asAmina, the production was awarded aGreen Room Award for Best <strong>Opera</strong> andBest Director. 10 performances wereattended by 10,682 people.Summer <strong>2011</strong> heated up with the returnof Carmen. Israeli mezzo-soprano RinatShaham made her Australian debutin the title role, embodying the fieryand dramatic Carmen. 23 performanceswere presented to 32,511 people. EmmaMatthews shone alongside CatherineCarby and Jaqueline Dark in the firstAustralian production of the Olivieraward-winning Partenope. Directed byChristopher Alden, this co-production withthe English National <strong>Opera</strong> was a thoughtprovokingand modern interpretationthat showed Handel at his most virtuosic.Seven performances were presented to anaudience of 7,292.This year <strong>Opera</strong> Australia commenced apartnership with <strong>Sydney</strong> <strong>Opera</strong> <strong>House</strong> andCinemaLive to enable audiences aroundthe globe to experience the magic andsplendour of opera on the big screen.The Marriage of Figaro and Rigolettowere delivered to cinemas across Australiaand New Zealand in high definitionin 2010, the first of many productions tohit cinemas worldwide. A partnership withVision Australia and <strong>Sydney</strong> <strong>Opera</strong> <strong>House</strong>also delivered opera to new audiencesonsite, with the first audio-describedperformances for patrons who are blindor vision impaired. The Pirates ofPenzance and The Barber of Seville werethe first in an ongoing program ofaudio-described performances.In January <strong>2011</strong> <strong>Opera</strong> Australia, <strong>Sydney</strong><strong>Opera</strong> <strong>House</strong> and the <strong>Sydney</strong> MorningHerald partnered to present a benefitconcert for the Queensland Floods.Featuring special guests Rinat Shaham,Giorgio Caoduro, Rosario La Spina,Milijana Nikolic as well as a host of otherInternational guest artists and <strong>Opera</strong>Australia principal singers, the concertattracted an audience of 1,493.<strong>Sydney</strong> Symphony >45 presentations, 105 performances,236,964 audiencesAs part of its commitment to theperformance of new compositions, anumber of Australian and world premieresfeatured in <strong>Sydney</strong> Symphony’s seasonthis year. The Australian premiere of JohnAdams’ dramatic Dr Atomic Symphony was
Bangarra Dance Theatre - Riley, of earth & sky27