Music Director's Message

The French have a saying, ‘partir c’est mourir un peu’... to leave is to die a little. I must tell you that I will die a little on leaving the company at the end of 2012; the company which started in a kitchen at the back of Arts Victoria in January 2006; the company which moved to some un-used offices generously offered to us by KPMG through the acuity of our Chairman, Michael Roux; the company which used an electronic piano for vocal coaching; the company which then moved to Horti Hall, a venue shared with the then Melbourne Chorale and now fully occupied by us, Victorian Opera, with Lucy Shorrocks as our Managing Director who, together with the rest of the team and me, has taken on new projects and new challenges that in 2006 we had only dreamed of in that kitchen at Southbank.

The repertoire in 2012, outlined in this brochure, is indicative of the style I have created over the last seven years. The mix of the old, new and brand new has always been part of my programming style, together with a touch of the quirky, which a very grown-up city such as Melbourne can handle, or at least the grown-ups in Melbourne can handle.

Thank you to all who have supported my programming over this period: the Board of Victorian Opera, patrons, sponsors, donors, subscribers and single-ticket buyers for comingto our operas.

Thank you to all the singers, orchestral players, directors, designers and hundreds of artisans who have worked for the company, including the children and young adults who have been a part of Victorian Youth Opera.

Thank you to the composers and librettists who have created the new operatic work for which this company is now celebrated nationally as the leader in the field. To all who have worked at the company over the last seven years, my heartfelt thanks for what you have done and my thanks in advance for what you will do. To the Victorian Government and Arts Victoria go my equally heartfelt thanks for providing me with an opportunity to start a company from scratch and for supporting that concept wholeheartedly.

2012 contains some of our most daring efforts yet, especially the Manuel de Falla / Elliott Carter double bill and the Australia Council / Potter Foundation prize-winning opera, Midnight Son, based on a recent tragedy in Melbourne, composed by Gordon Kerry with a libretto by Louis Nowra, who will also direct the opera.

The year includes Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, The Play of Daniel written by the youth of Beauvais accompanied by Nefes Ensemble, a classical Turkish ensemble, and John Bell’s new production of The Rake’s Progress.

The year is rich and complex with something for everyone in the family from the youngest child to the oldest adult.

Richard Gill
Music Director