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Fisher's Ghost

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Fisher’s Ghost
Written byJohn Gordon
Date premiered29 September 1960
Place premieredSydney Teachers' College[1]
Genreoperetta

Fisher's Ghost is a 1960[2] Australian operetta. It is based on the legend of Fisher's ghost which had previously inspired the 1924 film from Raymond Longford.[3]

Operetta

The operetta was composed by John Gordon and was originally performed at Sydney Teachers' College on 29 September 1960.[4] It was revised for television.[5]

Douglas Stewart wrote a play based on the same story which premiered shortly after the operetta.

Cast of 1960 Production

  • Ereach Riley
  • Alan Light as George Worral
  • Ross Whatson
  • Pamela Coleman as Mrs Hurley
  • Wilhelmina Bermingham as Miss Hurley

1963 TV Adaptation

Fisher's Ghost
Written byJohn Gordon
Produced byRobert Allnut
StarringEreach Riley
Music byJohn Gordon
Distributed byABC
Release dates
22 Sept 1963 (Sydney)
29 Sept 1963 (Melbourne)[6]
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

The operetta was broadcast on the ABC. It was the first television opera with an Australian historical background.[5][7]

Cast

  • Ereach Riley as Birdlime the pickpocket
  • Edmund Bohan as John Hurley
  • Marilyn Richardson as John Hurley's sister
  • Donald Philps as Fred Fisher

Reception

The Sydney Morning Herald thought the production had "musical merit" but had "serious" dramatic problems and needed to be revised.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ Canon: Australian Journal of Music. 1960.Issues 10-18 - Page 51.
  2. ^ Dorottya Fabian; John Napier (30 October 2018). Diversity in Australia's Music: Themes Past, Present, and for the Future. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 116–. ISBN 978-1-5275-2066-0.
  3. ^ 'Fisher, Frederick George (1792–1826)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/fisher-frederick-george-15178/text26370, accessed 30 May 2016.
  4. ^ Review of 1960 production in Sydney Morning Herald 30 Sept 1960
  5. ^ a b "GHOST LEGEND FROM THE PAST". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 31, no. 17. Australia. 25 September 1963. p. 17. Retrieved 29 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Ghost Story from Convict DaysUsed for TV Opera". The Age. 26 September 1963. p. 8.
  7. ^ Vagg, Stephen (23 December 2019). "Australian Film Musicals You Probably Didn't Realise Existed". Filmink.
  8. ^ "Ghost Opera on Television", Sydney Morning Herald, 23 September 1963
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