OperaChaser

OperaChaser — Paul Selar
Home of the OperaChaser Critics Awards (The OCCAs) • Reviewer for @arts_review
Contributor to @LimelightArtsAu | @operamagazine

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The inaugural OperaChaser Critics Awards got a rap in @LimelightArtsAu. Thanks so much! https://t.co/4O60yVCttK

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Back @cityofmelbourne’s Athenaeum 2 to revisit @MelbourneOpera’s Così fan tutte. A year on, it’ll be interesting to see how a fresh ensemble of emerging artists brings Mozart’s comedy, its emotional complexities and gender politics to life.

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With the reopening of @artscentremelb’s State Theatre (as the Ian Potter), something this eventful calls for something big. I reckon @OperaAustralia’s Wagner Gala Concert fits the bill nicely.

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Hartley was my pick for number one! Runners-up Kate Pengelly and Chloe James made it a clean sweep for my top three picks, so If I was a betting man I could’ve shouted drinks all round.

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Meet Hartley Trusler, the Perth-born baritone who just took out the first prize ($35,000) at the 102nd @theheraldsun Aria final. Congratulations! 🥂

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Hartley’s composure and ability to command attention were immediate, his vocal delivery suave and shapely, and his singing marked by sincerity across two contrasting, well-chosen arias.

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And the material ahead!

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Coming up: six emerging opera singers competing for the 2026 @theheraldsun Aria prize, in partnership with @MelbourneOpera, at @MelbRecital — Harley Trusler, Leon Vitogiannis, Livia Brash, Joshua Erdelyi-Gotz, Kate Pengelly and Chloe James. Looking forward to hearing your best!

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A complex dynamic and moments of genuine depth — perhaps not as much as the themes it explores demand — exist in @VictorianOpera’s premiere of Jane Hammond & Therèsa Borg’s adaptation of Helen Garner’s 2008 novel, The Spare Room. My thoughts @arts_review: https://t.co/6NXOabAYUL

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It has been so long since I’ve been to @artscentremelb’s fine Playhouse Theatre. It’s the premiere of @VictorianOpera’s The Spare Room. I haven’t read Helen Garner’s novel, which the work is based on, but this is opera — and I’m putting my trust in its power to move.

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Today’s streetscape view — various shapes and sizes, styles and textures, on @StonningtonCity’s Toorak Road, South Yarra.

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Pairing unrelenting eeriness with an Early-Victorian era modest aesthetic, @VictorianOpera’s The Turn of the Screw aligns truthfully with Britten’s original vision — and its musical and vocal qualities are an operatic triumph. My thoughts @arts_review:
https://t.co/1odlkGN7ej

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Just one performance remaining at St Kilda’s magnificent @PalaisTheatre — Thursday 1st October. Don’t miss it!

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Pairing unrelenting eeriness with the modest aesthetic of the Early-Victorian era, @VictorianOpera’s production of The Turn of the Screw aligns truthfully and powerfully with Britten’s original vision. On top of that, its musical and vocal qualities are an operatic triumph.

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An evening of haunting opera with question upon question to speculate on — opening night of @VictorianOpera’s The Turn of the Screw coming up at the magnificent @PalaisTheatre.

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@ukcoffeebeat @acoco_go @YarraCouncil It was definitely enthusiastically received by the couple of hundred who came out for it.

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Something fun for Sunday arvo — Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld reimagined by @acoco_go in the great outdoors at @YarraCouncil’s Fairfield Park with the Yarra River in the background. This could be a performance that’ll have everyone holding onto their hats!

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Offenbach’s little operetta is enhanced further by the comic English translation, with little touches like “Cutie is my Jupi,” while the ensemble of 9 never put a foot wrong — nor a note, for that matter — in what is a brilliantly sung, danced and acted, panto-like entertainment.

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A delightfully melodic treasure in a riverside bush setting — and a helluva hoot, both in the heavens and in hell — this arvo’s @acoco_go Orpheus in the Amphitheatre @YarraCouncil’s Fairfield Park gleamed from start to finish.

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@acoco_go @Qantas Thanks so much for the message! Was today’s performance cancelled? I will try to make it tomorrow but will not be able to confirm until the morning.

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On my way home with @Qantas QF154 AKL-MEL after a fab week of family research and opera. Sure to be back for more of the same!