Bliss (opera)
Bliss is an opera in three acts by Brett Dean to a libretto by Amanda Holden. The libretto is based on Peter Carey's novel Bliss which had been made into the 1985 film Bliss. The opera premiered at the Sydney Opera House on 12 March 2010. It will then travel to the Edinburgh Festival and open the 2010/11 season at the Hamburg State Opera.[1]
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[edit] Development
The development of this work suffered several setbacks over the years. Simone Young was musical director of Opera Australia when it commissioned Brett Dean and Amanda Holden to write this work. Soon after, Young left Opera Australia for artistic reasons to take up the position of artistic director (Intendant) of the Hamburg State Opera. Her successor, Richard Hickox, also supported the work; but died in 2008. Then, the Australian National Academy of Music of which Brett Dean is the Artistic Director, was threatened with the loss of its funding from the Australian federal government.
During the development of the opera, Dean wrote the orchestral piece Moments of Bliss which premiered on 2 December 2004 at Hamer Hall, Melbourne, with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra under Markus Stenz.[2][3] Dean composed the role of Harry Joy specifically for Peter Coleman-Wright; three of this role's arias were sung by Coleman-Wright in a concert on 2 October 2008 under the title Songs of Joy with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic conducted by Simon Rattle.[4][5]
[edit] Performance history
A performance of the work lasts for about two hours and forty minutes.[6] The opera premiered at the Sydney Opera House on 12 March 2010, and on 13 March 2010 ABC2 showed a director's cut of the film Bliss, introduced by an interview of the film's director Ray Lawrence by David Stratton. ABC1 showed a documentary on 16 March 2010, Artscape – Making Opera Bliss and the opera's second performance on 17 March 2010 was broadcast live by ABC2 and shown on Melbourne's Federation Square and in cinemas throughout Australia.[7]
[edit] Setting
The opera is set in Brisbane in the early 1980s.[8]
[edit] Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 12 March 2010 Conductor: Elgar Howarth |
|---|---|---|
| Harry Joy | baritone | Peter Coleman-Wright |
| Betty Joy | soprano | Merlyn Quaife |
| Honey B | soprano | Lorina Gore |
| Alex | baritone | Barry Ryan |
| David Joy | tenor | David Corcoran |
| Lucy Joy | soprano | Taryn Fiebig |
| Johnny | tenor | Kanen Breen |
| Reverend Des / Police Officer 2 / "Nurse" | bass-baritone | Shane Lowrencev |
| Aldo / Nigel Clunes | tenor | Henry Choo |
| Mrs Dalton | mezzo-soprano | Milijana Nikolic |
| Police Officer 1 / Betty's Doctor | tenor | Stephen Smith |
| onstage violinist | Erkki Veltheim | |
| Chorus, ballet | ||
| Director | Neil Armfield | |
| Choreography | Kate Champion | |
| Costumes | Alice Babidge | |
| Set design | Brian Thomson | |
| Lighting | Nigel Levings | |
[edit] References
- ^ "True history of the Bliss gang" by Matthew Westwood, The Australian, 6 March 2010
- ^ "Moments of Bliss / Brett Dean" at the Australian Music Centre
- ^ Moments of Bliss at ABC Classic FM
- ^ "Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Rattle at Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool" by Richard Morrison, The Times (6 October 2008)
- ^ "Brett Dean: Songs of Joy premiered by Simon Rattle" at Boosey & Hawkes
- ^ Bliss at Opera Australia
- ^ Artscape: Making Opera Bliss
- ^ "The designer touches that bring theatre to life", The Sydney Morning Herald, 10 February 2010
[edit] External links
- Interview about Bliss with Peter Coleman-Wright by Andrew Ford at Radio National
- "A Joy in hell as Bliss hits the stage" by Matthew Perkins, 702 ABC Sydney (11 March 2010), includes audio sample and production photographs
- "Blissful performances on anti-hero's journey", review by Peter McCallum, The Sydney Morning Herald (15 March 2010)
