Based on the original novella by one of Australia’s most cherished writers Helen Garner, The Children’s Bach will be staged by Lyric Opera at Theatre Works until 7 September 2024.
Set on the banks of Merri Creek in 1990s suburban Melbourne, The Children’s Bach begins with Dexter and Athena Fox, their son, and the insulated world they’ve built together.
When a friend from Dexter’s past resurfaces and introduces the couple to the city’s bohemian underbelly, Athena begins to wonder if life might hold more for her, and the tenuous bonds that tie the Foxes together start to fray.
“Our production depicts the world of Melbourne’s Inner North in the 1990s, where simple working-class lives are lured into a bohemian world of late-night bars and clubs on Lygon Street,” says Lyric Opera’s Artistic Director Patrick Burns, who will also conduct the opera. “It’s an exploration of sexual freedom and what is ‘modern life’.”
Kate Amos will play Athena, in her second production with Lyric after Our Man in Havanna. Kate is a regular on the mainstage, with other productions including Whitely and Le nozze di Figaro for Opera Australia.
Helpmann and Green Room Award winning Michael Honeyman, one of Australia’s most respected verismo baritones, is making his Lyric debut in the role of Dexter, whilst studying dramaturgy at the Victorian College of the Arts.
Trained at the Welsh Academy for Voice, tenor Adrian Li Donni has performed in musicals including Opera Australia’s The King and I, Muriel’s Wedding with the Sydney Theatre Company and his Green Room Award winning performance in Pacific Overture. He has also recently performed operatic repertoire roles Rodolfo and Alfredo, and will be making his Lyric Opera debut in the role of Phillip.
This is Juel Riggall’s second production with Lyric, after her Green Room Award nominated performance in Biographica. She has been a regular principal artist with Victorian Opera performing in A Little Night Music, Parsifal and Cendrillon.
Lucy Schneider is making her second appearance with Lyric this year, after performing in the art song concert, Words Unspoken. Lucy recently completed her Masters of Opera at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and was the 2023 Opera Scholar of the Year.
Chloe Taylor is making her professional debut with Lyric whilst completing her Masters of Opera at the Melbourne Conservatorium. The production will feature an extraordinary ‘slice of life’ design created by Jacob Battista in his first design engagement with Lyric.
“It is a piece about love in its many forms. In the words of Michael Halliwell, “the opera is an evocative meditation on the messiness and complexity of human relationships…” It is a profound contemporary chamber opera that is engaging and thought-provoking,” said Director Katy Maudlin (Iphis, 2022 Green Room Outstanding Opera Production Award Winner).
“Directing The Children’s Bach is a chance to vividly bring to life the intricate emotional landscape and the profound exploration of freedom and change that Helen Garner so masterfully depicted. It is exciting to be working with Lyric Opera and collaborating once more with the brilliant Patrick Burns as we continue bringing compelling Australian chamber operas to Melbourne audiences,” said Maudlin.
“Much like Helen Garner’s writing style, the music for The Children’s Bach is nuanced and rich with meaning without a hint of excess,” adds Burns. “I love seeing how the very simple and pure Bach-like music is slowly coloured and corrupted with the jazz inspired and blues-coloured chords as the two worlds collide dramatically in the work,” says Patrick Burns.
Lyric is committed to shining a new light on existing contemporary Australian operas which have been overlooked since their premiere productions. This opera was commissioned and premiered in 2008 by Chamber Made, which was the only full production prior to the upcoming Lyric Opera season.
Under the leadership of Lyric’s Artistic Director Patrick Burns, this is the third production of an outstanding Australian chamber opera performed in association with Theatre Works. First was the acclaimed and multi-award winning Iphis in 2022 followed by the equally lauded critical triumph Biographica in 2023.
The Children’s Bach
Theatre Works, 14 Acland Street, St Kilda
Season: 31 August – 7 September 2024
Bookings: www.theatreworks.org.au
For more information, visit: www.lyricopera.com.au for details.
Image: Kate Amos and Michael Honeyman – photo by Nicole Cleary