Musica Viva 2012 Subscription Offer

Have you considered a subscription to Musica Viva's 2012 International Concert Season? Hear the finest artists from around the globe here in Sydney for the fraction of the cost it would take to go and see them overseas! Musica Viva’s 2012 season will begin with baroque orchestra, Tafelmusik who will take you on an epic space odyssey, combining stunning photos from the Hubble Space Telescope, history of the early astronomers and music by Bach, Handel and Vivaldi. Other stars include the Takács Quartet who will return to show why they are the grand masters of the quartet world, oboe legend Diana Doherty, an all-male a cappella quintet Amarcord, renowned violist Naoko Shimizu from the Berlin Philharmonic, magical duo Anthony Marwood and Aleksandar Madžar and other outstanding musicians. Indulge in a Gold subscription starting from just $217 and see all seven concerts, or choose-your-own concert package, starting from $136 for four concerts. Receive the best seats, save around 20% on single ticket prices. Plus enjoy no booking fees, discounted tickets for family and friends and a flexible ticket exchange service. If you book a four concert package between now and Valentine’s Day you will also receive a bonus $40 voucher off the cost of tickets for a friend to Trio Dali or the Kuss Quartet and Naoko Shimizu. Visit www.musicaviva.com.au/freevoucher.
Terms and conditions apply. Subscribe online at www.musicaviva.com.au or call Musica Viva on 1800 688 482.
image: Naoko Shimizu and Kuss Quartet

Bowral Autumn Music Festival

The Bowral Autumn Music Festival is a chance for all music lovers to escape the hustle and bustle of Sydney for three days of glorious music, sublime countryside and an opportunity to relax with the musicians. You can come down for one concert, an entire day or maybe the whole weekend. While St Jude's Church Bowral may not be on the same scale as St Mark's Basilica in Venice, it will nevertheless resound with Venetian antiphony brought to life by leading ensembles including the Lurline Chamber Orchestra, Capella Sublima and Paul Goodchild's Sydney Brass.
The Bowral Autumn Music Festival is now in its sixth year and this year's concerts are celebrating Venetian Grandeur, featuring the music of the greats of Venice such as Gabrieli, Albinoni, Monteverdi and Vivaldi.
When: Friday 23 – Sunday 25 March
Where: Bowral, NSW
Tickets: $160–$200
Bookings: 1300 657 559
www.bowralautumnmusicfestival.org.au

Lennard Promotions Proudly Presents Jessye Norman

Jessye Norman is ‘one of those once-in-a-generation singers who is not simply following in the footsteps of others, but is staking out her own niche in the history of singing’. This rich history continues to be made when she visits Australia in May for a recital tour, accompanied by the acclaimed pianist Mark Markham. Although a superstar in the classical world, her love of music expands many genres. Her repertoire is uniquely wide-ranging and she performs other musical styles to great acclaim; including blues, jazz, spirituals and songs from American musical theatre. Since her operatic debut in 1969, she has over 75 CDs of eclectic repertoire in her recorded catalogue, and has been recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammy Awards (only the fourth classical artist to be recognised with this honour). Ms Norman’s career is one of epic proportions and her contributions to the musical world have been well recognised. President Obama recently presented Ms Norman with the National Medal of Arts. This recital is a rare opportunity for Australian audiences to experience the vocal brilliance and humanity of a true legend of classical music in intimate setting. Not to be missed!
‘An exceptional voice’ – The New York Times
When: Sunday 6 May 8pm
Where: State Theatre, Market Street, Sydney
Tickets: $75–$255
Bookings: www.ticketmaster.com.au
www.lennardpromotions.com.au

Opera Australia – Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro

Opera Australia welcomes Benedict Andrews, one of Australia's most exciting theatrical minds, to direct a new production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. It may be a 200-year old masterpiece, but The Marriage of Figaro is as insightful as the day it was written. It reveals the games people play and the things they say as they dress up, dress down, and take their role in society.
When: 6 February – 24 March
Where: Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House
Tickets: $105–$280
Bookings: 9318 8200
For more information click here.

Special Discount Preview at The Orpheum

My Week With Marilyn is an excellent new British drama starring Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne and Judi Dench. The Hayden Orpheum Cremorne invites 2MBS/Fine Lines subscribers to a preview for the special discount price of only $12. In the early summer of 1956, 23 year-old Colin Clark worked as an assistant on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl, the film that famously united Sir Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe, who was also on honeymoon with her new husband, the playwright Arthur Miller. Nearly 40 years on, his diary account The Prince, the Showgirl and Me was published, but one week was missing and this was published some years later as My Week with Marilyn – this is the story of that week.
‘What an extraordinary thrill to leave a movie exhilarated instead of drained, sated instead of empty, rejuvenated instead of depressed. It's a magical experience.’ – New York Observer.
When: Monday 30 January 6.45pm
Where: Hayden Orpheum Cremorne, 380 Military Road, Cremorne
Tickets: $12
Bookings: www.orpheum.com.au

Opera Bites presents Hail Taxi

Hail Taxi is a hilarious romp through the delights of Gilbert & Sullivan. Four strangers meet whilst waiting for a taxi at the Taxi Club (let’s face it, the most logical place to look). Hold on tight as they dodge traffic on the ride of their lives through your favourite Gilbert & Sullivan show pieces, dragging you, the audience, along with them. Audience participation compulsory!
When: Saturday 11 February and Saturday 18 February 7pm
Where: The Taxi Club, 40–42 Flinders Street, Darlinghurst
Tickets: $49 (including a delicious three-course dinner and the show)
Bookings: 9331 4256
www.operabites.com.au

Sydney Symphony – Beethoven 9

Vladimir Ashkenazy conductor; Lorina Gore, soprano; Sally-Anne Russell, mezzo-soprano; James Egglestone, tenor; Michael Nagy, baritone; Sydney Philharmonia Choirs (Symphony Chorus, Chamber Singers and VOX)
Metamorphosen is an ‘ode to sorrow’ – one composer's response to the devastation of World War II. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony ends with the ‘Ode to Joy’ – triumphant and optimistic. But, says Vladimir Ashkenazy, both these great musical works relate to the humanity of mankind – ‘one is pessimistic, the other is gloriously open.’ Richard Strauss gives us weighty, tormented music, tinged with personal suffering. At the end there's a Beethoven quotation he says ‘escaped from his pen’ – a funeral march for a hero. Beethoven's Ninth shows a composer who wrestled with fate, who believed in freedom, who was a voice for the world. He still is. And that's why this monumental symphony resonates, nearly two hundred years later.
When: Wednesday 8, Friday 10, Saturday 11 February 8pm, Monday 13 February 7pm
Where: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
Tickets: $35–$159
Bookings: 8215 4600
www.sydneysymphony.com

The King’s Singers

The King’s Singers will make their long awaited return to Australia in February 2012. With a vast repertoire that ranges from Byrd to Michael Bublé, the world’s most acclaimed vocal ensemble are instantly recognisable for their spot-on intonation, their impeccable vocal blend, the flawless articulation of the text and incisive timing. Described by Gramophone magazine as ‘enchanting the ear from first to last note’, The King’s Singers are renowned as consummate entertainers; a class-act with a delightfully British wit. With a prolific discography of over 150 recordings, they have garnered both awards and significant critical acclaim, with the album Simple Gifts awarded a Grammy in 2009. On their first tour to Australia in nearly three decades, The King’s Singers perform a wonderfully varied program of early music, folk song, spirituals, pop and jazz classics and will premiere a new work by Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin.
When: Thursday 16 February 8pm
Where: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
Tickets: $69–$112
Bookings: 9250 7777
www.sydneyoperahouse.com

Sydney Festival presents West Side Story

Sydney Symphony conducted by David Newman
One of the greatest movie musicals and winner of ten Academy Awards, West Side Story is reborn with the full power of Sydney's magnificent orchestra in this exciting 50th anniversary presentation of a timeless classic. Sydney Symphony plays Leonard Bernstein's electrifying orchestral score live while the newly remastered film is shown in glorious high definition with the original vocals and dialogue. West Side Story famously transposes the feuding families from Romeo and Juliet to the gritty New York street gangs of the Jets and the Sharks. This classic romantic tragedy, directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, features Robbins's breathtaking choreography, songs by Stephen Sondheim and a screenplay by Ernest Lehman based on the masterful book by Arthur Laurents.
When: Friday 27 January 7pm, Saturday 28 January 2pm
Where: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
Tickets: $54–$115
Bookings: 1300 668 812
www.sydneyfestival.org.au/westside

Short courses at The Con starting February 6!

Sydney Symphony Celebration on 2MBS-FM 102.5