A Night at the Opera…

Who would have thought I could write the words for a short opera? Well, on Saturday 6th April ’19, months of work came to fruition when ‘The Painting’ was performed at the QLD Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane.

The Painting is the outcome of a collaboration between myself and composer Jaidyn Chong, sung by Jola Kudra and Kristian Scott, with piano by Matthew Garvie.

Our short opera was one of four collaborative works between Griffith Creative Writing and Conservatorium of Music students. They were presented as part of NOW – the New Opera Workshop by QLD Conservatorium, Griffith University and Opera QLD on 5 -7th April.

When I was originally approached about being involved in the project in November 2018, I really had no idea about anything opera-related, but the opportunity was way too good to miss. I didn’t even know that the text of an opera is called a libretto, and we were to be ‘librettists’. We were encouraged to just be ourselves and write creatively, so some poetry/prose flowed out of me, I came up with a concept and a story, and The Painting was born. Jaidyn Chong then worked his compositional magic and created a haunting, beautiful soundtrack for the story.

Jaidyn and I went back and forth with the music and the words until about February, then we finalised the piece, and performers and a pianist were cast. Throughout the process, we had the opportunity to attend Ariadne Auf Naxos (above), and met Patrick Nolan, Artistic Director & CEO of Opera QLD, for creative direction on our pieces. With the help of our Conservatorium mentors for the project, Nicholas Cleobury (Head of Opera), and Gerardo Dirie (Head of Composition), The Painting was rehearsed over several weeks, and presented on the 6th April.

I had a ball travelling up to Brisbane to see this amazing project come to life. It was surreal watching our pieces sung so beautifully, and we were all blown away! Massive kudos to my fellow writers Bridget Thomas, Hailey Quiazon and Indyana Horobin, and huge thanks to everyone who worked hard to bring it all together. Can’t wait to see if The Painting might have further life with the inclusion of stage directions and the actual painting that lies at the heart of this emotive piece. Watch this space! Here it is – The Painting…