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Palais Theatre14 – 19 February 2015

R ICHARD WAGNER

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W E L C O M EVictorian Opera has turned ten! Tonight your state opera company celebrates this special milestone with a ground-breaking new production that will bring opera into the 21st century.

To everyone past and present who has come on this journey, our audience, our supporters, our artists, the State Government of Victoria, our Artistic Director Richard Mills, our Founding Music Director Richard Gill, our board and staff, we give our heartfelt thanks.

In 2015, a brave new world of opera awaits. Join us and discover a local company that is redefi ning opera and helping to build its future.

Find your world at victorianopera.com.au

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R I C H A R D M I L L SA R T I S T I C D I R E C T O R & C O N D U C T O R ' S M E S S A G E

“The fi gure of the ‘Flying Dutchman’ is a mythical creation of the people and it gives emotionally compelling expression to a timeless feature of human nature. This feature, in its most general sense, is the longing for peace from the storms of life.” – Richard Wagner, A communication to my friends.

This is the fi rst Wagner opera that can be said to be in his mature style: most of the features that mark his dramatic technique are present, at least in embryo, in the score. The orchestra is small by Wagnerian standards, but the music contains many of the fi gurative elements that distinguish his later style and which give his orchestral palette its distinctive colour.

It is the compositional methodology of the work, however, which bears the unmistakable stamp of Wagnerian genius. The germs of the work are in Senta’s Ballad in Act II, the ‘Dutchman’ theme of open fourths and fi fths (which bears an uncanny resemblance for Brünnhilde’s ‘Ho yo to ho’ of many years

later), the rocking arpeggios of oceanic unrest, the gesture of harmonically roving chromatic descent which contrast with the harmonic stability of the redemption theme: all following each other in the framework of a concise diagetic song which expresses Senta’s obsession with the Dutchman’s portrait. These gestures (with the addition of the Sailors' chorus music) are the essence of the overture, and the material in the overture generates the music which follows – so that the music grows like a great fl owing tree – the parts making a coherent whole and the whole being refl ected in the parts. Although, in some ways, The Flying Dutchman resembles a Romantic ‘numbers’ opera, the piece demonstrates highly organised threads of continuity which override any division into set pieces and make a powerfully dramatic continuum which establishes wonderfully strong characters and story telling of great theatrical and poetic truth.

We are joined for these performances by the Australian Youth Orchestra – The Flying Dutchman is a fi ne vehicle for these young musicians at the beginning of their careers. Victorian Opera is thrilled to make music with them.

Our other partners in this undertaking, Deakin Motion.Lab, have begun their three year research program with Victorian Opera, by creating a scenography which renders the elemental – responding precisely to the composer's intentions in a fruitful collaboration with Roger Hodgman and his fi ne creative team. My thanks to all concerned.

Richard MillsArtistic Director & Conductor

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R O G E R H O D G M A ND I R E C T O R ' S M E S S A G E

The idea of collaborating with Deakin Motion.Lab on 3D imagery was part of the design concept of The Flying Dutchman from the outset. It provided an exciting opportunity to allow the audience to experience the remarkable imagery in Wagner’s libretto.

He was inspired by the well-known legend of the ship and its captain condemned to sail the seas for ever and, in particular, by Heinrich Heine’s iteration in which the captain was allowed ashore briefl y every seven years to seek salvation in the form of a woman who will be “true to him until death”. In 1839 Wagner, unable to live in his native country because of his debts, took a sea voyage from Latvia to London. He encountered huge storms and heavy seas and the ship had to take shelter in a Norwegian fjord. The idea for the opera was born.

Wagner’s demands for high seas and storms, the Norwegian Daland’s ship and, in particular, the mysterious ‘Flying Dutchman’ and its ghostly crew with the fi nal magical ascent of Senta and The Dutchman are specifi c and were diffi cult to achieve in Wagner’s time. He was often disappointed in the results. Deakin Motion.Lab’s expert use of animation provides an exciting solution.

The designers, Christina Smith and Matt Scott, and I decided very quickly that the stage design needed great simplicity in order to complement the animations without competing with them and to provide the technically specifi c requirements of the projections. We chose to set the opera in the period it was written, the 1840's, and in Western Norway. The set is basically a wooden box, echoing the planking of a wooden ship of the time and the houses in western Norway. It is open and demands direct and simple staging – often following Wagner’s very detailed notes to the performers.

Costume designer, Teresa Negroponte, has complemented the stage design with clothing that suggests the period and place, and is partly infl uenced by the paintings of Edvard Munch. Christina and Matt developed a story board for the animation, inspired also by Munch and by the German painter Caspar Friedrich and Deakin Motion.Lab have come up with some wonderful images.

Roger HodgmanDirector

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D E A K I N M O T I O N . L A BP E R F O R M A N C E P A R T N E R ' S M E S S A G E

Digital, animated scenography is a new frontier for the performing arts. While projection has been used for many decades in opera, dance and theatre, dating as far back as the early 1900’s, creating a complete, all-encompassing scenography using the sensory and visual power of 3D projection has rarely been attempted. As Director of Deakin Motion.Lab, I have had the pleasure and the excitement of developing 3D scenography for dance for some years. I am delighted to take this development further through this ground-breaking project in collaboration with Victorian Opera – Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman realized using an all-encompassing, full-length, 3D scenography.

3D projection creates a special relationship between audience and image. The image is not confi ned to the fl at plane of a screen, but appears to inhabit a volume that extends behind and in front of the screen. In 3D, objects appear to move on the ‘z axis’ – towards and away from the audience – and this creates a powerful sensory experience as we feel, rather than deduce, the proximity of virtual objects. We perceive the vastness of an open ocean, the looming presence of the Dutchman’s ship, or the closed in comfort of a domestic setting, viscerally as well as visually.

Bringing this perceptual experience to The Flying Dutchman has allowed us to realise Wagner’s elemental, symbolic imagery in new ways. Sea and sky, fjord and village, and the ship of the ‘Flying Dutchman’ and its otherworldly crew come to life in a way that is both theatrical and cinematic. I see this process as an opportunity to bring contemporary visual technologies and the cinematic sensibilities and aesthetics they offer, into dialogue with one of the great operatic works that has stood the test of time for over a century.

Professor Kim Vincs3D Image Design & Creation Deakin Motion.Lab

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A N D R E W S N E L LM A N A G I N G D I R E C T O R ' S M E S S A G E

As we embark on Victorian Opera’s 10th Season the operatic landscape has possibly never been more challenging. Across the globe we are seeing companies struggle and in certain cases close. What is clear however, is that in order to survive, opera companies must adapt. Victorian Opera’s solution is to innovate and to collaborate while retaining the inherent elements of our art form. Never has that solution been more demonstrable than in this new production of Wagner’s early masterpiece, The Flying Dutchman.

Innovation has always been a key element in Victorian Opera’s productions and for tonight’s performance we are thrilled to present an Australian fi rst – a full length opera with a digital, 3D set. This innovation offers huge potential for theatrical presentation of all types and brings a truly cinematic experience to opera on an epic scale.

This innovation would not be possible without the other element of our solution for the future; collaboration. This production is the fi rst in a three-year partnership with Deakin University’s Deakin Motion.Lab and is made possible through funding from the Australian Research Council and our technology partnership with CVP.

The collaboration doesn’t stop there though. We are extremely proud to be presenting the fi rst ever fully-staged opera featuring the Australian Youth Orchestra and we welcome their musicians, administration and supporters to this performance. This production has also been developed with our co-producers; West Australian Opera and we thank them for their support. We are also excited to be bringing large-scale opera back to the magnifi cent surrounds of the Palais Theatre, and we thank the theatre management and staff for their invaluable assistance in making this project a reality.

Finally, our most important collaboration is the one we have with you, our audience. We make every effort to present works that engage you, in ways that challenge and thrill you in equal measure. Welcome to our 10th year, we look forward to sharing the joy of singing with you.

Andrew SnellManaging Director

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S E A S O N 2 0 1 5V I C T O R I A N O P E R A

Opera, musical theatre, cabaret or concert – each is a window onto a new world. Find out more victorianopera.com.au

Alice's Adventures in Operaland | 23 May

Alice, the White Rabbit, a brand new adventure, the music of Mozart, Rossini. Opera for kids.

I Puritani | 2 July

Forbidden romance, the English Civil War, breathtaking Bellini and Australia’s Jessica Pratt, star of La traviata.

Sweeney Todd | 18 – 25 July

A murderous Barber, a devious pie maker, the glorious music of Stephen Sondheim, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, and Antoinette Halloran.

Remembrance | 13 August

A moving ANZAC tribute, songs of World War I, with tenor David Hobson, young artists and community choir.

The Grumpiest Boy in the World | 2 – 4 October

A very grumpy boy, giants and monsters and magical music featuring our talented youth opera. Opera for kids.

Seven Deadly Sins | 6 November

Seven wicked new works, cabaret sensation Meow Meow, the music of Kurt Weill and our next generation opera stars.

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14 – 19 February 2015Palais Theatre

Composer and Librettist Richard WagnerFirst performed in 1843, DresdenRunning time approximately 2 hours 50 minutes including one interval.

The Flying Dutchman is presented in partnership with Deakin Motion.Lab, with research supported by the Australian Research Council’s Linkage Projects Funding Scheme (project number LP140100742).

Presented in partnership with the Australian Youth Orchestra and West Australian Opera.

Victorian Opera acknowledges the wonderful support of Technology Partner, CVP.

Victorian Opera acknowledges HENKELL BROTHERS Investment Managers for their very generous support of this production.

Warwick Fyfe is proudly supported by The Richard Wagner Society (Vic).

Acknowledgements

Simon Barrett, Creative Stage, Norwest, Palais Theatre Management, Resolution X, Show Technology, Show Works, Sounds Solo, Swan Street Bakery & Patisserie.

Creative Team

Conductor Richard Mills

Director Roger Hodgman

Set & Visual Design Matt Scott, Christina Smith

Costume Design Teresa Negroponte

Lighting Designer Matt Scott

3D Image Design & CreationDeakin Motion.LabProfessor Kim Vincs, Daniel Skovli, Simeon Taylor, Kieren Wallace, Peter Divers, Jacob Turoy

Assistant Director Cameron Menzies

Production Manager Darren Cooper

Stage Manager Marina Milankovic

Deputy Stage Manager Andrea Corish

Assistant Stage Manager Meg Deyell

Principal Repetiteur & Chorus Preparation Phoebe Briggs

Associate Conductor Fabian Russell

Repetiteurs Phillipa Safey, Simon Bruckard

Cast

The Dutchman Oksar Hillebrandt

Senta Lori Phillips

Erik Bradley Daley

Daland Warwick Fyfe

Mary Liane Keegan

Steersman Carlos E. Bárcenas

T H E F L Y I N G D U T C H M A N

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Victorian Opera Chorus

Soprano Lee Abrahmsen, Kate Amos, Kirilie Blythman, Fiona Jopson, Cristina Russo, Diana Simpson, Sophie Viskich, Nicole Wallace

Mezzo Kerrie Bolton, Rebecca Bywater, Joanne Carroll, Elizabeth Lewis, Emma Muir-Smith, Ursula Paez, Anna Plotka, Belinda Prakhoff

Tenor Jonathan Bam, Paul Batey, Paul Biencourt, Irving Dekterev, Toby Glaser, Alister Lamont, Michael Lapina, Jacob Lawrence, Trevor Maitland, Michael Petruccelli

Baritone/Bass Daniel Carison, Angus Grant, Jeremy Kleeman, Nathan Lay, Oliver Mann, James Payne, Alex Pokryshevsky, Matthew Thomas, Matthew Tng, Julian Wilson

Australian Youth Orchestra

1st Violin Lawrence Lee Concertmaster, Sunkyoung Kim, Liam Oborne, Eliza McCracken, Alys Rayner, Tahli Elsner, Hannah Herriman, Liam Keneally, Annabelle Carter, Olivia Bell, Martin Cheng, Molly Collier-O’Boyle, Emma Williams, Seamus MacNamara

2nd Violin Rollin Zhao Principal, Johnny van Gend, Ben Spiers, Runa Murase, Marissa Loh, Louise May, Jade Paterson, Lachlan Wilkins, Emma Martin, Eleanor Adeney, Kate Worley, Esther Wong

Viola Gregory Daniel Principal, Eunise Cheng, Justin Julian, Beth Condon, Lucas Levin, Anthony De Battista, Robert van Gend, Madeleine Coco, Freya Petersen, Aiden Sullivan

Cello David Moran Principal, Eliza Sdraulig, Caleb Wong, Lauren Jennings, Andrew Leask, Simon Svoboda, Emma Rayner, Monique Bartkowiak

Double Bass Jaan Pallandi Principal, Jonathon Coco, Giovanni Vinci , Jacques Emery, Kinga Janiszewski, Ellen Buckley

Flute Rachel Howie Principal, Georgia Williams

Piccolo Eliza Shephard, Suzanne Sherrington*, Jonty Coy*, Christine Song*

Oboe Billy Richardson Principal

Cor Anglais Giselle Gabriels

Clarinet Oliver Shermacher Principal, Ben Clapin

Bassoon Jenna Schijf Principal, Christopher Haycroft

Horn Benjamin Messenger Principal, James Bradley, Aidan Gabriels, Toby Hill, Rebecca Luton, Freya Hombergen*, Thalia Huston*, Trestan McMillan* Nick Mooney*, Emily Newham*, William Nicolson*

Trumpet Orson Paine Principal, Michael Olsen

Trombone Nicolas Thomson Principal, Brendan Champion

Bass Trombone Simon Baldwin Principal

Tuba Brad Turner Principal

Timpani Tegan LeBrun Principal

Percussion Jamee Seeto*, Louis Sharpe*

Harp Rowan Phemister Principal

*Denotes Banda

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S Y N O P S I ST H E F L Y I N G D U T C H M A N

Act I

A Norwegian ship takes refuge from a storm in a fjord. Daland, its captain, recognises the place as a bay not far from his home. A ghostly ship with blood-red sails draws alongside, making landfall for the fi rst time in seven years. Its captain is the Flying Dutchman, condemned by his own pride to sail the seas until Judgment Day. His redemption can be achieved only through the love of a faithful woman. Daland, tempted by the Dutchman’s treasure, offers the hand of his daughter Senta in marriage. The weather clears.

Interval

Act IISenta has long been obsessed with the legend of the Flying Dutchman whose portrait hangs in her home. She is convinced of her destiny to save him. Her despairing suitor Erik believes she has been possessed by Satan. The Dutchman arrives and he and Senta pledge themselves to each other.

Act IIIThe Norwegian sailors and girls are celebrating. They call to the strange and silent Dutch vessel and taunt its crew. The sea begins to heave and, through the howling wind the Dutch crew can be heard lamenting their captain’s futile searches and the curse that dooms them to sail for ever. Erik makes a last effort to save Senta, but the Dutchman believes he has been betrayed and sets sail. Senta, determined to prove her devotion, leaps from a cliff. At once the phantom ship sinks and the Dutchman and Senta are seen together, rising above the waves.

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P R O G R A M N O T E ST H E F L Y I N G D U T C H M A N

The Flying Dutchman is a young man’s opera, with strong ideas and vigorous musical treatment. Wagner was just 27 when he drafted the prose scenario; the poem was written in ten days and the music composed in a couple of months (with orchestration completed later). Most of Wagner’s later revisions were fairly minor. However, in 1860 a crucial change was made to the orchestral ending. By that time he had composed the momentous music of Tristan und Isolde and, as he wrote to Mathilde Wesendonck: ‘Only now that I have written Isolde’s fi nal transfi guration have I been able to fi nd the right ending for The Flying Dutchman.’ This is the version that will be performed this evening.

Although this was Wagner’s fi rst work of genius, it contains a number of ideas that were to reoccur in his later works. Dreams and illusions, nihilism and yearning for death, redemption through the love and constancy

of a woman, perpetual wandering and the symbolism of water and the sea are all images and ideas that appear again in Wagner’s mature works.

Senta and the Dutchman inhabit the realm of dreams – the unworldly. She is obsessed with redeeming the suffering Dutchman, and he is yearning for release from eternal wandering. Daland, Erik, Mary and the others inhabit the prosaic world of a Norwegian seaport. Senta’s frustrated suitor, Erik, catches a glimpse of her dream-world via his own dream in which he imagines her putting to sea with the Dutchman. His account only strengthens Senta’s resolve. In The Interpretation of Dreams, written sixty years after The Flying Dutchman, Freud describes dreams as ‘the royal road to the unconscious’, and concludes that ‘dreams are the disguised fulfi lment of a repressed wish’ – which raises interesting questions about Erik and his conviction that Senta has been possessed by the devil.

The redeeming quality of a woman’s love is a notion with roots in the Faustian idea of Das Ewig-Weibliche (the eternal feminine), which continued to fascinate Wagner for another forty years. In the music and text there are also links to Beethoven, who was a major source of inspiration throughout Wagner’s life. In addressing the Dutchman in Act Two, Senta uses the words: ‘Wer du auch seist’ (Whoever you are) – the words used by Leonore in the dungeon scene in Fidelio. When Senta tells the Dutchman that she would ease his suffering, he, like Florestan seeing ‘an angel Leonore’ leading him to salvation, tells her that she is an angel.

13 Credit: Fondazione Pergolesi Spontini © Foto Binci

‘The sombre glow that I feel burning here,Should I, wretched one, call it love?Ah no! It is the longing for salvation,might it come to me through such an angel!’.

The Dutchman is condemned by hubris to wander perpetually on the sea, mirroring the wanderings of Odysseus. There are also echoes of the story of Ahasuerus, the Wandering Jew, with whom the struggling Wagner identifi ed in Paris in the 1830's and ‘40s. The story was a popular one in the 19th century. Moore’s Dead Man’s Island (1804), Scott’s Rokeby (1813), Marryat’s The Phantom Ship (1839), and Heine’s From the Memoirs of Herr von Schnabelewopski (1834), which Wagner used, are amongst literary works that drew on the legend.

Wagner’s original intention had been to offer his prose sketch (in French) to Meyerbeer’s librettist Eugène Scribe to be turned into a libretto for which he expected to be invited to compose the music. The management of the Paris Opéra promised to ‘audition’ three numbers, but although these were composed, the auditions never took place. Eventually, Wagner sold his sketch to the Opéra for 500 francs. The director, Pillet, then commissioned two librettists and the composer Pierre-Louis-Philippe Dietsch to dramatize the legend. The result was Le Vaisseau fantôme (The Phantom Ship) which vanished after eleven performances and, today, reappears only as a curiosity.

Wagner restructured and expanded his prose sketch, prepared his own libretto in German, moved the location from Scotland

(as in Heine’s story) to Norway, changed the names of some of the characters, and composed the music. In 1842, the opera was accepted by the Court Opera in Berlin (with Meyerbeer’s assistance) but a counter proposal from Dresden after the hugely successful performances there of Rienzi led Wagner to recover the score. The fi rst performance took place at the Royal Saxon Court Theatre in Dresden on 2 January 1843.

Originally Der fl iegende Holländer was conceived in a single act, but after Wagner’s scenario was rejected in Paris he elaborated it in three acts, to be played without a break. The 1843 Dresden performances were given in three discrete acts. The fi rst performance without intervals was at Bayreuth after his death. It is often performed – as it is this evening – with a single interval after the fi rst act.

© Peter Bassett

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RICHARD MILLS Conductor

Richard Mills is one of Australia’s most prolifi c and internationally recognised composers. He pursues a diverse career as a composer, conductor and artistic director. He has held numerous prestigious posts, and received many scholarships, fellowships and awards including an AM, in 1999. He is currently Artistic Director of Victorian Opera, was Artistic Director of the West Australian Opera 1997 – 2012, Director of the Australian Music Project for the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra 2002 – 2008 and Musica Viva’s Composer of the Year in 2008. Richard regularly conducts the leading orchestras and opera companies of Australia and has an extensive discography of orchestral works including his own compositions.

ROGER HODGMAN Director

Roger has directed over a hundred plays, musicals and operas in Australia and internationally and many hours of television drama. He was Artistic Director of MTC for twelve years. In the last three years Roger has directed Grey Gardens (Helpmann Award for Best Director), episodes of Packed to the Rafters and the fi rst episode of A Place To Call Home (Seven Network), the Green Room Award winning production of Nixon in China (Victorian Opera). the National tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Sydney Critics Award for Best Musical), Don Pasquale and Rigoletto (Opera Australia) As You Like It (Black Swan Theatre Company) and the stage adaptation of Mother and Son.

MATT SCOTT Set, Visual & Lighting Design

For the past 20 years Matt has lit over 200 productions for theatre, opera and dance. His most recent work includes The Riders for Victorian Opera/Malthouse; Don Pasquale and Rigoletto for Opera Australia; Jumpy for Melbourne Theatre Company; The Red Shoes for Expression Dance Company; La traviata for SOSA and NZ Opera; As You Like It and A Streetcar Named Desire for Black Swan State Theatre Company. He has been nominated for and received numerous awards. He received a 2005 Helpmann Award for his lighting on Urinetown for Melbourne Theatre Company which followed his 2003 Helpmann Award win for The Blue Room, also for the Melbourne Theatre Company.

B I O G R A P H I E ST H E F L Y I N G D U T C H M A N

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CHRISTINA SMITH Set & Visual Design

Design credits include The Turn of the Screw, Marriage of Figaro (costumes) and Così fan tutte (Victorian Opera), La traviata (NZ Opera, SOSA, Opera Queensland), Madame Butterfl y (NZ Opera), Elling, Clybourne Park, A Behanding in Spokane, Boston Marriage, Blackbird, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Clean House (MTC), A Streetcar Named Desire, Other Desert Cities, Rising Water, The Year of Magical Thinking (Black Swan State Theatre Company), Porn.Cake, Black Medea (Malthouse Theatre), Troupers (STC), Mother Courage and her Children (QTC), Ruby Moon (Playbox). Other design projects: Scenic Elements designer, Tim Burton exhibition (ACMI), 2006 Commonwealth Games Ceremonies design team.

TERESA NEGROPONTECostume Design

Teresa is a set and costume designer working in theatre, fi lm and television. A NIDA graduate, Teresa received the 2010 NIDA/Sydney Grammar School Fellowship. Recent designs include costumes for Jumpy (Melbourne Theatre Company) and Tosca (Opera Australia). Teresa’s theatre credits include The Dream (Bell Shakespeare); Dreams in White (Griffi n Theatre Company); Boundary Street (Brisbane Festival/Black Swan Theatre Company); Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (James Anthony Productions); Doctor Zhivago (Gordon Frost Organisation); Go! (Sydney Dance Company); Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Catholic School Girls (Darlinghurst Theatre Company); Dirty Butterfl y (Belvoir B-Sharp). Television credits include Costume Designer for the ABC and the Seven Network.

PROFESSOR KIM VINCS3D Image Design & Creation

Kim Vincs is the Director of the Deakin Motion.Lab, Deakin University’s motion capture studio and performance technology research centre, which she established in 2006. She has been a choreographer for over twenty years, and has focused on interactive dance technology for the last ten. Recent works include The Crack Up, Coopers Malthouse, and Multiverse, with Garry Stewart and Australian Dance Theatre. Kim has fi ve Australian Research Council projects in dance, technology and science, and numerous industry collaborations in motion capture, movement analysis and digital art. She has commercial motion capture credits for computer games, television commercials and fi lm, including the Cannes Silver Lion winning Nocturnal Migration.

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B I O G R A P H I E ST H E F L Y I N G D U T C H M A N

SIMEON TAYLOR 3D Image Design & Creation

Simeon has extensive experience in gaming, fi lm and television, having worked in these industries for over a decade. He graduated with an Engineering degree at the University of Western Australia and has worked for now defunct Atari Melbourne House. He was a Technical Assistant (Motion Capture Department) for the fi lms Happy Feet and Happy Feet II and a 3D Artist for Foxtel. He has also worked as a freelance 3D Artist, working on numerous projects in Sydney and Melbourne. Simeon currently shares his passion for 3D computer graphics at Deakin Motion.Lab, teaching the next generation of industry relevant students. He is excited at the opportunity to research the use of 3D graphics in the performing arts industry.

KIEREN WALLACE3D Image Design & Creation

Kieren Wallace is passionate about realtime graphics programming and the mechanics of network synchronisation and has been working with technology and animation for over fi ve years. Graduating from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology with Distinction in Games Design, Kieren has taken his digital practice to games and to artistic endeavors since joining Deakin’s Motion.Lab in 2013. Working for companies such as Dropbear Games and Team Robot, Kieren programs and collaborates on the elaborate graphics giving The Crack Up the immersive experience that it does. He is also the winner of the National 2008 National Model Solar Vehicle competition.

DANIEL SKOVLI3D Image Design & Creation

Daniel has been working as Deakin Motion.Lab's Motion Capture Supervisor and Technical Director since 2008. He has a passion for programming and has a background in 3D Animation. Daniel is also a graduate of the university; during this time he has been responsible for several big budget visual effects projects from 7UP, Australian Dance Theatre and the Hollywood blockbuster I, Frankenstein. His work has been key to the stereo environments and visual effects in many immersive performances with companies such as Victorian Opera. As Technical Director, he shares his diversity of skills from animation, programming, and projecting rigging. Some of his work can currently be seen in Alicia Frankovich’s Defending Plural Experiences now showing at the Australian Centre of Contemporary Art.

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CAMERON MENZIESAssistant Director

Cameron has worked with Opera Australia, Victorian Opera, Malthouse Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company, Short Black Opera Company, MSO, ANAM, VAMFF, Oper Köln and the Deutsche Oper, Berlin, DivaOpera UK. He received the 2011 Berlin New Music Opera Award, 2008 Bayreuth Opera Award, Opera Foundation Australia and DAAD, The Besen Family Artist Program (Direction), Malthouse Theatre. In 2014 Cameron made his international debut with the critically acclaimed Don Giovanni for DivaOpera UK, and returns in 2015 to direct Lucia Di Lammermoor and The Marriage of Figaro. This year he will direct Victorian Opera’s The Grumpiest Boy in the World and Seven Deadly Sins.

CARLOS E. BÁRCENASSteersman

Born in Colombia. Bachelor of Music Performance and Master of Music (Opera Performance) at Conservatorium of Music, University of Melbourne. His work for Victorian Opera includes Hansel and Gretel, La traviata and Games of Love and Chance (2014); The Magic Pudding – the opera, Miller in Puss in Boots and as a soloist for Opera on a White Night (2013); Gala Concert (soloist) and Master Peter’s Puppet Show in 2012, and Sing Your Own Opera soloist in 2011. Other companies include King Alexander (Il Re Pastore) with Melbourne Lyric Opera (2008), Don Jose (Carmen) with In Opera in Good Company (2010) and Michael in Deborah Cheetham’s new opera Pecan Summer with Short Black Opera (2010 & 2011).

BRADLEY DALEYErik

Since making his debut with the English National Opera as Rodolfo in La bohème, Bradley Daley has worked with Opera North, Welsh National Opera, English National Opera, Holland Park Opera and Co-Opera Ireland. Most recently, in Australia, Bradley has been performing major principal roles such as Dick Johnson in La fanciulla del West, Canio in Pagliacci, Don José in Carmen, Florestan in Fidelio, Curley in Of Mice and Men (Green Room Award), Narraboth in Salome, Mao Tse-tung in Nixon in China (Green Room Award) and Rodolfo. He also took on the title role in Otello for the fi rst time in 2014 – for State Opera of South Australia.

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WARWICK FYFEDaland

Renowned for his performances in such roles as Rigoletto and Falstaff, Warwick Fyfe is one of the fi nest baritones Australia has produced. Most recently, he triumphed as Alberich in Opera Australia's Der Ring des Nibelungen in Melbourne – for which he received the Helpmann Award as Best Male in an Operatic Featured Role. Warwick's roles for other companies have included Rigoletto, Tonio and Taddeo in New Zealand, Fasolt in Adelaide and Bartolo in Hong Kong. Performances in 2014/2015 include the title roles in Rigoletto and Falstaff and Amonasro in Aida for Opera Australia and Leporello in Don Giovanni for New Zealand Opera.

OKSAR HILLEBRANDT The Dutchman

Kammersänger Oskar Hillebrandt studied in Cologne with Kammersänger Professor Josef Metternich. He has been engaged at the world’s most important opera houses, such as: Milan, Rome, Florence, Paris, London, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Vienna, Zurich, Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Oslo, Copenhagen and the Bolschoi Opera in Moscow, Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, Tokyo and New Zealand as well as in Montreal and Ottawa, Cleveland and Carnegie Hall, New York. Furthermore, Oskar Hillebrandt has contributed to numerous international festivals such as the Bayreuther Festspiele, where he sang Telramund under the baton of Giuseppe Sinopoli and Antonio Pappano.

LIANE KEEGANMary

Liane Keegan was born in Australia and studied Voice at Melba Memorial Conservatorium of Music. Her extensive career has been divided between leading roles in Australia and in Europe. She has performed for Victorian Opera (Opera on a White Night); State Opera of South Australia (Erda, First Norn and Waltraute: Der Ring Des Nibelungen, Azucena: Il Trovatore); Opera Australia (Ulrica: Un ballo in Maschera); English National Opera (First Norn: The Twilight of the Gods); Theater Hagen (Klytämnestra: Elektra, Mistress Quickly: Falstaff and Leocadja Begbick: Aufstieg und fall der Stadt Mahagonny) and Deutsche Oper Berlin (Anna: Les Troyens, Emilia: Otello, Marcellina: Le Nozze Di Figaro, Adelaidein Arabella.

B I O G R A P H I E ST H E F L Y I N G D U T C H M A N

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LORI PHILLIPSSenta

American dramatic soprano Lori Phillips is widely acknowledged as possessing a “full-throated and beautifully expressive” voice with “richly colored vocalism” (San Francisco Chronicle). Ms Phillips is establishing herself as an exponent of the most diffi cult heroines of the dramatic soprano repertoire: Brünnhilde, Senta, Elektra, Turandot, Marie, and Minnie. Lori Phillips recently created a sensation at Seattle Opera as Brünnhilde in Der Ring des Nibelungen, a role she also covered at the Metropolitan Opera in the new Robert Lepage production. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Senta in Der fl iegende Holländer which was broadcast live on Sirius Radio. Other important engagements for Ms. Phillips included Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana with Amarillo Opera.

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A Y O P R O F I L EA U S T R A L I A N Y O U T H O R C H E S T R A

Since its fi rst performance in 1957, the Australian Youth Orchestra has performed in some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls and festivals, fulfi lling the role of cultural ambassador for Australia on no fewer than 21 international tours across Europe, Asia and America.

Orchestra members are selected through a highly competitive annual audition process and represent the best young musical talent in the nation. The orchestra regularly attracts superlatives from the ranks of the international music press, confi rming its high standing throughout the world.

Geoff Brown of The Times, said of the AYO’s performance at The BBC Proms in 2010:

A succulent refi nement of tone and touch, an adult grasp of emotions and cultural worlds usually thought beyond any teenager; in any hemisphere.

The Australian Youth Orchestra has worked with some of the world’s leading conductors and soloists including Sir Charles Mackerras, Christoph Eschenbach, violinist Joshua Bell, Sir Mark Elder, Simone Young, and soprano Lisa Gasteen.

AYO is also committed to access and innovation. Its pioneering AYO Digital Connection Initiative developed in partnership with Accenture, connects musicians in remote and regional Australia with masterclasses, live-streaming of concerts and online auditions.

Today, more than 65% of musicians working in Australian orchestras are AYO alumni and countless AYO alumni are members of the fi nest professional orchestras worldwide.

AYO is grateful to its many donors, sponsors and supporters whose generosity helps to discover, train and inspire the next generation of Australian musicians.

Principal Sponsor Program Partners

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C O N N E C T W I T H U SO N L I N E

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Keep up to date with our upcoming events, activities and special offers. Sign up to our e-news and mailing list victorianopera.com.au/contact

Read our behind the curtain blog

Baritone Oskar Hillebrandt gives insight into performing the iconic role of The Dutchman for over 40 productions. Palais Theatre’s Adrian Smith who is celebrating 30 years with the iconic St Kilda venue, shares his memories.

Explore the world of opera

Immerse yourself in the haunting world of The Flying Dutchman, watch the behind-the-scenes video, browse through the production album, download the programme, read the reviews and more!

Victorian Opera supports green printing initiatives

This programme has been printed using vegetable based inks with alcohol free printing initiatives on 100% recycled carbon neutral paper by Printgraphics under ISO 14001 Environmental certifi cation.

Stay in the loop

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On stage, we enthral audiences with beautiful singing and captivating productions. We are the only opera company in Australia to commission, workshop and perform new work annually, providing opportunities for artists, performers and audiences to experience opera in new ways.

“Phenomenal! The Riders was one of the best theatrical evenings we've had in many a year. Congratulations to all concerned for supporting a major piece of Australian music theatre to life.” Audience Member.

Off stage, our Education and Community Engagement program connects with audiences of all ages through regional performances, workshops in schools, and access programs.

“Please keep VOYCE running so I and many other young adults can have their lives changed by music.” Victorian Opera Youth Chorus Ensemble participant.

S U P P O R T U SV I C T O R I A N O P E R A

With your support, we can continue to exhilarate and enrich the cultural life of Victoria. To make a tax deductible donation, please use the donation form overleaf.

Get on board and support Victorian Opera today!

To fi nd out more, visit victorianopera.com.au/support or contact Caroline Buckley,Philanthropy Executive on 03 9012 6659 or email carolineb@victorianopera.com.au.

Ahoy there!Victorian Opera is committed to buildinga sustainable artform built upon excellenceand driven by innovation, accessibilityand collaboration.

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D O N A T I O N F O R MV I C T O R I A N O P E R A

I would like to make a donation of $

I would like to schedule my donation in twelve (12) equal monthly instalments

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Please acknowledge my donation in Victorian Opera publications as

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Please sign me up to Victorian Opera E-news

Please send me more information about becoming a Victorian Opera Patron

Post your completed form to: PO Box 524, CARLTON SOUTH, VIC 3053

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Founding PatronsThe Late Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE Lady Potter AC

Patron in ChiefThe Honourable Alex Chernov AC QC, Governor of Victoria

Victorian Youth Opera PatronBetty Amsden AO

Living BequestSusan Harley

Artistic Directors Circle ($10,000+)Deanne Bevan & Guy RussoRob & Caroline ClementeWilliam J Forrest AMJohn & Diana FrewMrs Jane HemstritchHans & Petra HenkellPeter & Anne Laver Lady Southey ACAnonymous (1)

Education Syndicate ($5,000+)Betty Amsden AOHans & Petra HenkellDr John & Elizabeth Wright-Smith

New Work Syndicate ($5,000+)Beth Brown & Tom Bruce AMMarian & Ken Scarlett OAMJoy Selby SmithFelicity Teague

Diamond Patrons ($10,000+)Betty Amsden AOHenkell Brothers Investment ManagersAnonymous (2)

Platinum Patrons ($5,000+)Neilma GantnerGreg Shalit & Miriam FaineJohn & Elisabeth Schiller

Gold Patrons ($2,500+)Joanna BaevskiBruce CurlLaurie Bebbington & Elizabeth O’KeeffeCraig D'Alton & Peter SherlockBob GarlickMurray GordonPeter & Jenny HordernSue KirkhamKaye E MarionJudith RodriguezTim & Lynne Sherwood

Silver Patrons ($1,000+)Dr Rosemary Ayton & Dr Sam RicketsonIan Baker & Cheryl SaundersProfessor Simon Bell & Dr Jennifer Coghlan-BellKirsty BennettBeth Brown & Tom Bruce AMBuckett Family David ByrneTerry & Christine CampbellTanya Costello & Peter Costello ACDeidre CowanMary Davidson & Frederick Davidson AM

If you would like to get more involved in the work of Victorian Opera through our individual giving program please contact Catrionadh Dobson, Individual Giving Manager on 03 9001 6405 or catrionadhd@victorianopera.com.au

P A T R O N SV I C T O R I A N O P E R A

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John Drury & Dianne Reilly Drury AMStephanie DundasGareth & Merran EvansGreig Gailey & Geraldine LazarusJohn & Gaye GaylardBrian GoddardNance Grant AM MBEAnthony Grigg & Paul WilliamsonStewart & Denise JackelSimon L Jackson & Brian WarburtonStuart T JenningsDavid C Jones AO OBE KSJRod & Daniele KempIan Kennedy AM & Dr Sandra Hacker AOJohn & Lynne LandyKwong & Joanne Lee DowAnne LiersePeter LovellJohn & Kerry LoveringMargaret Mayers & Marie DowlingDouglas & Rosemary MeagherDuncan & Lorraine McGregorMelbourne ADFAS I. F. MerryleesDr Ken & Mrs Lesley MuirdenRuth & Tom O’DeaJillian PappasJane Patrick & Robert EvansDimity ReedJudith Robinson & Michael Robinson AOElžbieta & Tomasz RomanowskiJoseph Sambrook & Mary-Jane GethingGraeme Samuel AC & Jill DaviesAubrey G SchraderPhillip SchudmakBernadette SlaterAndrew SnellHelen & Chris Trueman

Caroline Travers OAMLiz & Peter TurnerCatherine Walter AMAndrea WaltonEarl & Countess of WiltonAnonymous (5)

Bronze Patrons ($500+)John & Nancy BomfordPam CaldwellCatrionadh Dobson & Charles WindeyerDr M Elizabeth DouglasJean DunnLesley Griffi nJill & Robert GroganApril HamerAngela KayserDavid & Barbara McSkimmingGreg NoonanPatrick O'DuffyJohn RickardMary RyanJohn & Thea ScottMr Sam Smorgon AO & Mrs Minnie SmorgonLiz & Hugh TaylorRussell Waters & Marissa Barter-WatersIan A WattsAnonymous (12)

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‘Sofi tel Melbourne loves the involvement with Victorian Opera and admires the way they have engaged with Victorian audiences – always pushing the boundaries.’

Clive Scott, GM Sofi tel Melbourne

If you are looking to

extend the boundaries of

hospitality and bring true

meaning to long term

corporate partnerships,

call Victorian Opera

today.

W H A T W E C A N O F F E R

C O N T A C T D E T A I L S sponsor@victorianopera.com.au | Corporate Partnerships | 03 9001 6408

P A R T N E R W I T H U S

• New audience markets that can extend your brand

• An alternative to sport hospitality & entertainment

• Unique & memorable experiences

• Creative brand & marketing stories

• A visible community connection to the Performing Arts sector

1 O T H A N N I V E R S A R Y

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Conductor Emeritus

Richard Gill OAM

Victorian Opera Board

Chairman Jane Hemstritch

Deputy Chairman Greig Gailey

Francis Ebury, Earl of Wilton

Ross Freeman

Anne Gilby

Professor the Hon Barry Jones, AC

Siobhan Leninhan

Penny Stragalinos

Catherine Walter AM

Executive

Artistic Director Dr Richard Mills AM

Managing Director Andrew Snell

Executive Producer Libby Hill

Artistic, Engagement & Production

Head of Music Phoebe Briggs

Repetiteur Phillipa Safey

Artistic Administration Coordinator Kate Stephens

Artistic Administration Assistant Jack Fowles

Education & Community Engagement Manager Melissa Stark

Production Manager Darren Cooper

Technical & Operations Coordinator Peter Darby

Production Coordinator Luke Hales

Finance and Administration

Finance & HR Manager Darren O'Beirne

Finance Assistant Claire Voumard

Administration & Project Coordinator Kate Bailey

Development and Marketing

Corporate Partnerships Manager Paul Shea

Development Manager Lynette Gillman

Development & Marketing Coordinator Nichole O'Duffy

Individual Giving Manager Catrionadh Dobson

Philanthropy Executive Caroline Buckley

Marketing & Communications Manager Kanesan Nathan

Marketing & Communications Coordinator Lisa Wallace

Media & Communications Scott Whinfi eld

Victorian Opera 2015 Season Staff

Audio Jim Atkins

Head Mechanist David Worthy

Deputy Head Electrician Daniel Gosling

Surtitle Operator Timothy Mallis

Wardrobe Supervisor Isaac Lummis

Assistant Buyer Debra Hallam

Costumiers Marushka Blyszcak, Miranda Brodie, Jo Foley, Elizabeth Maisey, Tirion Rodwell, Sue Skinner, Madeleine Somers

Costume Coordinator Kim Bishop

Wigs and Makeup Linda Cowell

Millinery Phillip Rhodes

S T A F FV I C T O R I A N O P E R A

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Victorian Opera is supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria. Victorian Opera would also like to acknowledge, with great appreciation, the contribution of the partners listed on this page.

Government Partners

Supporting Partners

Education & Access Partners

William Angliss Charitable Fund

Performance Partners

FoundationPartner

University Partner

Victorian Opera creates tailored partnerships to enable businesses to meet their strategic priorities. For adiscussion about how your business can benefi t from a partnership with Victorian Opera, please contact Paul Shea, Corporate Partnerships Manager on (03) 9001 6408 or pauls@victorianopera.com.au

Regional Partner

P A R T N E R SV I C T O R I A N O P E R A

The Marian &E.H. Flack Trust

Gailey LazarusFoundation

Sylvia Fisher Foundation

Technology Partner

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