Getting to know the company of The King and I
For some of the smallest members of The King and I company, everything is new. From the giant rehearsal skirt Lisa McCune is wearing to the…
Painting a geisha: the art of stage makeup
About two hours before soprano Hiromi Omura will walk out on stage in the breathtaking wedding outfit of Madama Butterfly, she’s in jeans and t-shirt in…
The week in opera: rave reviews, another American closure and a run-in with Pavarotti
This year’s Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour: Madama Butterfly is at once beautiful and devastating. The opera premiered 110 years ago, but La Fura dels Baus…
Secret Sydney: how to spend a weekend in the emerald city
What’s on your Sydney bucket list? Getting a glimpse of that famous skyline, breathing in the salty harbour air at sunset, sampling the best of Sydney’s…
Shimmering success tugs at our heartstrings
By Bryce Hallett Sublime. Powerful. Breathtaking. Radiant….Madama Butterfly has opened in spectacular fashion, earning rave reviews from the critics and a passionate stamp of approval from…
In photos: A tour of the harbour site during construction phase
By Bryce Hallett Entering the harbour-front site through a Japanese portal (of the kind found at a Shinto temple), you are transported into another time and…
At Handa Opera on the Harbour, volunteers play their part
By Bryce Hallett Wearing mandarin-collared shirts and riding bamboo bicycles, two Qantas Information Couriers will be on hand to assist patrons with any information about the…
Meet the maestro: Brian Castles-Onion on the triumphs and tribulations of Opera on Sydney Harbour
After the sitzprobe for Opera on Sydney Harbour: Madama Butterfly, what are your first impressions? For me, this was the most exciting sitzprobe I’ve attended in…