Sydney Entertainment Centre
Forget it -- ballet here is a joke. Sorry, it stinks! Go to the football instead.Dance companies
The Australian Ballet | The Bangarra Dance Company | The Sydney Dance CompanyThe Australian Ballet
This is undoubtedly the main ballet company in Australia, though I may be biased -- having just passed beyond the stage of being a youth subscriber, we got brilliant seats when the Opera House opened, and we have been sitting in the same seats, centre of G row, ever since. We have watched dancers arrive, go through their careers, and be relegated to walk-on parts. We keep paying up -- so you aren't going to get any unkind comments here. They were founded in 1962, and I have been going since 1966, as near as I can work out.Begin at the Australian Ballet website. When you search through, you will find that they are in Sydney in the period April-June and again September-December (roughly). If you are here at other times, you may need to look elsewhere.
What to expect: this is a classical company, but at least one program a year will have three shorter pieces, at least one of them a bit adventurous. On the other hand, the company has at least one full ballet each year, though it won't necessarily be a 'white' ballet.
Tips: The loges are generally bad news for ballet. See the comments elsewhere about the loges. Most of the best eats are taken by subscribers, but the box office often gets a few returns that you may be lucky enough to get. I don't know the details: you will need to ask.
The Bangarra Dance Company
They seem to call themselves the Bangarra Dance Theatre these days, but whatever they are called, they are young, fresh and adventurous. They are Aboriginal dancers, but they present a mix of Aboriginal and modern dance. They are good enough to appear from time to time with the Australian Ballet. What more could you ask? Well how about this: they have just been at Sadler's Wells, Salford and Aldeburgh!
There used to be Bangarra videos. but they seem to have disappeared in 2009. I'm leaving this here to check up next time I revise this page.
To find out more, look at the Sydney Dance Company website.
You generally get a smallish cast with at least one 'name' actor (scratching my head, Warren Mitchell has appeared there, so have John Howard (the actor, not the pseud), Reg Livermore, Garry McDonald, Greta Scacchi, Henri Szeps and Lorraine Bayly).
One of the best things is that you can eat on the premises from 6 pm -- and they know they have to serve you so you can get to the performance. Good food, good wine, mice coffee -- you could do worse.
There are a number of pleasant and remarkably cheap eateries in Cleveland Street and Elizabeth Street, and there is a bar for interval drinks. Be aware that you can order and pay in advance, and avoid the crush, if you wish. Talk to the barman before the performance.
Cleveland Street joins City Road at this point, and there are a number of good eateries down the street. I could take you to them, but I don't know their names. Later, OK? Meanwhile, just walk down the hill, look around, and if you find a good one, let me know!
More to come
An excellent venue, but also worth going to in the day time, because there are some excellent eateries and coffee places along the waterfront. There are also a few buses running around there, but they are a bit hard to nail down (and I think they have now stopped running. It's a brisk 15 minute walk from Circular Quay.
More to come
More to come later
Back to the top
Back to the top
I am just scratching the surface here. To get a fuller run-down, see http://www.amcoz.com.au/composers/default.asp. This covers both past and present composers in Australia, and links to individual biographies. Another good site with lots of links is http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/composers/
When time allows, I will probably add to that list, and give some of those people entries. They are all well worth pursuing and collecting.
Back to the top
If you like piano in large lumps, be aware of the Sydney International Piano Competition. On my sums, the next one should be in 2008. I certainly hope so -- each of the last four is associated in my mind with the book I was writing at the time: the competition is broadcast in full on ABC-FM, and these days, I manage to make it to a few of the rounds as well.
Back to the top
They tour, so you can find them anywhere: check their site for details. Chase them -- there is a real joy in seeing people enjoy performing the way these four do.
Back to the top
It would be more appropriate to recall her as a soprano of amazing skill (that link needs Flash, but it has a number of samples). Strongly recommended: Simple Gifts, but check around to see what else is available.
Back to the top
Not to be missed: The Piazzolla Project, Saffire, Sirocco, Gondwana, who don't appear to be performing still, but this link gives you a chance to buy their CDs. Charlie McMahon is amazing. My favourite: "Let the Dog Out".
Back to the top
Back to the top
David Williamson
Back to the top
Les Murray |
Mark O'Connor |
A. D. Hope |
David Campbell
Back to the top
Back to the top
They have their own web site: http://www.orpheum.com.au/.
380 Military Road, Cremorne, 9908-4344.
There is a web site for the Dendy chain at http://www.dendy.com.au/
Halfway along the eastern side of Circular Quay. 9247-3800
Back to the top
This file is http://members.ozemail.com.au/~macinnis/syd/theatre.htm, first created on April 20, 2006. Last recorded revision (well I get lazy and forget sometimes!) was on September 5, 2009: links are bring checked and gaps are being filled.The Sydney Dance Company
This company was in financial difficulties, but they seem to be afloat again now. They have along track record of adventurous and innovative dance, so if you can support them, please do!
Australian choreographers and dancers
This is a stub for future development -- bear with me!
Stanton Welch
Stanton Welch
to come
Back to the top
Drama
Drama venues |
Playwrights
Drama venues
The Ensemble |
The Belvoir |
The Seymour Centre |
The Wharf Theatre |
The Drama Theatre at the Opera House |
Glen Street Theatre |
Riverside Theatre, Parramatta
The Ensemble
This is one of my favourites, offering theatre-in-the-round in a converted boatshed. You can find them on the Web at http://www.ensemble.com.au/index.asp.
The Belvoir
The Belvoir opened again on October 4, 2006. I will have more to say when I have tried the new venue (it hasn't happened in three years, because I've been busy and I've been going to other places). To find out more about the Belvoir and Company B, see their web site.
The Seymour Centre
The Seymour centre is a group of theatres and performance spaces, located on City Road, opposite Victoria Park, near the University of Sydney. It is part of the University, which explains their web address: http://www.seymour.usyd.edu.au/.
The Wharf Theatre
Walk around from Circular Quay, away from the Opera House, and go under the Harbour Bridge, veering to the right. Look for the stairs down, and off you go. It is the home of the Sydney Theatre Company. There is also a theatre on the other side of Hickson Road, and I'm mixed up about which one is which. To eat before the theatre, get to the position in the third photo below. Walk through, turn left, and head for the pizza place whose name escapes me. You'll come to it before you reach piers 8/9, which is the abode of my favourite Sydney publisher, Pier 9. I should know the name, as I have eaten lunch and dinner there often enough!
Pictures above, from left to right:
The Drama Theatre at the Opera House
This is a hidden surprise, on street level on the western side of the Opera House, the side nearest the Harbour Bridge.
Glen Street Theatre
Youc can find them on the web at http://www.glenstreet.com.au
Riverside Theatres, Parramatta
For more information, see the theatres' own site.
Back to the top
Music performances
Music venues |
Australian orchestras and ensembles of note |
Interesting musicians |
Australian composers of note |
Musica VivaMusic venues
Concert Hall at the Opera House |
City Recital Hall, Angel Place |
The Verbruggen Hall at the Conservatorium
Concert Hall at the Opera House
This is the largest performance space in the Opera House, and was originally meant to be for opera and ballet, until a dirty bit of politics caused the two theatres to be swapped. If you just want to go there to see something, anything, you have a better chance of attending a performance here, because there are more seats, and they all have reasonable sight lines. Be aware, though, that you may crick your neck a bit from some of the seats on the side, if you insist on watching the performance, and the first few rows at the front aren't the best for watch orchestral performances.
City Recital Hall, Angel Place
The Angel Place hall is hidden away, north of Martin Place, between George Street and Pitt Street. They have a nice web site at http://www.cityrecitalhall.com
Verbruggen Hall at the Conservatorium
A great little centre in a maginificent historical setting. It has all been done up in a very sympathetic way to reveal the history of the site. that wasn't easy, as they kept running into old convict roads and the like: the original conservatorium building was the stables of Government House. Get there early and look at the historical/archaeological displays.
Australian orchestras and ensembles of note
The Sydney Symphony |
Australian Chamber Orchestra |
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra |
Musica Viva (OK, not an orchestra, but they didn't fit elsewhere)
The Sydney Symphony
Until recently, this was the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, but somebody got enthusiastic. Read more about the Sydney Symphony here.
Australian Chamber Orchestra
The ACO is an amazing set of performers, and they get about a bit, but if you find them in town, catch them!
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra
This interesting orchestra has a wbsite: http://www.brandenburgorchestra.org.au/.
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
While choirs are in a different section, the Sydney Philharmonia choirs are commonly found in major orchestral works that call for a choir, so I have left them here. They have four choirs, the largest having 450 voices. Go to their site, check out their program.
Musica Viva
This is an amazing national entrepreneur. Check their website, http://musicaviva.com.au/ or http://www.mva.org.au/ to see what they are putting on — you may like it!
Interesting musicians
Australian composers of note |
Interesting Australian pianists |
Interesting Australian guitarists |
Interesting Australian music groups |
Singers and choirs
Australian composers of note
Ross Edwards |
Elena Kats-Chernin |
Peter Sculthorpe |
Carl Vine |
Nigel Westlake |
Other composers worth consideration
Peter Sculthorpe
I have followed Sculthorpe since his Sun Music in the late 1960s, when the Australian Ballet used that music. He has been consistently interesting.
Elena Kats-Chernin
Another Oz composer (we poached her!). I think I first really noticed her when she did Wild Swans for the Australian Ballet, though I had heard some of her piano rags before that. Born in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), we have had partial ownership of her since 1975. She had 13 years in Germany but returned here in 1994.
Ross Edwards
His piano concerto was played at the London Proms in the mid-1980s, and The Times sniffed that it was "the sort of work that gave A-Major a bad name". It gets air time here, and people quite like it. Bollocks to The Times, then! If you are looking for an evocative, fresh and different Australian piece to take home, look for his Dawn Mantras. This went out to the world at the start of the new millennium: if you remember seeing singers on the top of the sails of the Opera House, you have heard Edwards. It feartures the most amazing introduction from dijeridu, followed by a children's choir.
Carl Vine
to come
Nigel Westlake
to come
Michael Atherton
I had the good fortune to meet Mike Atherton when he was artist-in-residence at the Australian Museum, so I have paid attention to his music when it was played. You should do so as well.
Other composers worth consideration
In no particular order, pay attention to Percy Grainger, Miriam Hill, Peggy Glanville-Hicks, Moya Henderson, James Penberthy, Don Banks, Ann Carr-Boyd, John Antill, Dulcie Holland, Miriam Hyde, Eric Gross, Nicholas Routley, Colin Brumby, Alfred Hill, Dorian Le Gallienne, Gerard Brophy, Nigel Butterley, David Stanhope, Larry Sitsky, Michael Easton, George Dreyfus, Felix Werder, Andrew Ford, Vincent Plush, Margaret Sutherland, Martin Wesley-Smith, Richard Meale.
Interesting Australian pianists
Roger Woodward |
Tamara Anna Cislowska |
Duncan Gifford |
Daniel Hill |
David Helfgott |
Simon TedeschiRoger Woodward
to come
Tamara Anna Cislowska
See this biography for more.
Duncan Gifford
to come
Daniel Hill
to come
David Helfgott
to come
Simon Tedeschi
to come
Interesting Australian guitarists
Gareth Koch |
Slava Grigoryan |
Saffire |
Karen Schaupp |
Antony Field
Gareth Koch
You can read about him at http://www.garethkoch.com/. You can buy a boxed set of four of his CDs through the site: I particularly recommend his Carmina Burana for solo guitar.
Slava Grigoryan
He plays sometimes with his brother Leonard, and also with Saffire, but you can also catch this classical guitarist on his own.
Saffire
Guitar quartet with their own web site, where you can buy their CDs: there are two so far, and samples are available on the site. The names may be familiar: Gareth Koch, Slava Grigoryan, Karen Schaupp and Antony Field.
Karen Schaupp
to come
Antony Field
to come
Interesting Australian singers
Teddy Tahu-Rhodes |
Sara Macliver |
Yvonne Kenny |
David Hobson |
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs |
Gondwana Voices
Teddy Tahu-Rhodes
OK, to be fair, he is a New Zealand baritone, but he works mainly in Sydney, and should not be missed. See his guest soloist page at the ACO site .
Sara Macliver
Soprano: to come
Yvonne Kenny
Most Australians will recall Yvonne Kenny as the singer who remained composed while a bogong moth landed on her during the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Sydney. In truth, it wasn't a bogong, but a hawk moth instead.
David Hobson
Excellent tenor. Seek him out! He and Teddy Tahu-Rhodes put out an excellent CD of light classics in 2009. It was called You’ll Never Walk Alone, which gives you a feel for its contents. The catalogue number is 4763284, and you can get it at the ABC Shop, which also does online sales. (These nice people also stock a number of my books, but that's beside the point.)
Gondwana Voices
If you are looking for a refeshingly different sense of Australia, look for this national children's choir. They have a website at http://www.gondwanavoices.com.au/, and they have two CDs out now. If you go to the recordings tab, you can hear some short samples. The records include music by Michael Atherton and Elena Kats-Chernin.
Interesting Australian music groups
Sorry, no rock bands here -- I don't know enough to judge them. If intelligent rock is your thing, consider My Friend the Chocolate Cake. Being an wrinkled elder, I alarmed them once by identifying them while they were waiting in the green room to perform on a TV show -- I was there to promote one of my books, and knew about them through my son. I would listen to them anywhere, but I don't think they would like me caling them rock.
Leading literati
Australian poets of merit |
Australian novelists |
Australian playwrights
Australian playwrights
For starters, go the Currency Press site, or go to their list of plays or their list of authors.
Louis Nowra
See also Drama
David Williamson
THE standard Oz playwright, who has been steadily producing gentle plays looking at the Australian human condition. He announced recently that he was retiring, but new work keeps surfacing.
Louis Nowra
My wife's elderly aunt used to say she was tired of all the carry-ons on ths stage, that she would settle happily for more re-runs of Charley's Aunt. I thought she was just a bit batty, but 35 years on, I am starting to agree. Louis Nowra doen't write light froth nad bubble, alas, but if he is confronting, he is also interesting. Work out where you stand on Wilde re-runs, and you decide.
Alex Buzo
Australian poets of merit
Some names not otherwise mentioned: John Tranter, Kenneth Slessor, David Malouf, Douglas Stewart, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Gwen Harwood, Dorothy Hewitt. Most of those are published by Angus and Robertson. Dead poets of a certain degree of deadness will be found on the literature page.
Les Murray
Undoubtedly the best-known of modern poets in Australia, and the one you are most likely to find. Look for The Vernacular Republic, but there are others back to the joint volume The Ilex Tree that he did with Geoff Lehmann. His The Biplane Houses came out in mid-2006.
Mark O'Connor
My favourite that is in print is The Olive Tree, because it contains his Reef Poems -- turn straight to The Beginning (page 16) if you are a diver or snorkeler. Mark is a mate, but buy his book anyhow. Buy five -- he is working on a challenging PhD project and needs the money. Your friends need the books.
A. D. Hope
to come
David Campbell
David Campbell died some years ago, but his work should still be in print. Check for his Collected Poems, published in 1989 by Angus and Robertson.
Australian novelists
To come: Peter Carey, Tom Keneally, Tim Winton, David Malouf, Kate Grenville are just a few to look for until I do something more about them.
Classical music on radio
This part is easy, because it is already on the Conditions page.
Cinemas
to come
Cremorne Orpheum
This is one of those fine old art deco movie theatres with a Wurlitzer. Sadly, it is rarely played (look for the link to their Wednesday lunches if you want to catch it), and most of the time, you won't even be in the right theatre, as there are about six halls inside the building. There is a bar upstairs (wine and coffee), fine chocolate icecreams, and capable staff. They also sell books of ten tickets at a discount rate. They tend to carry most of the art-house movies in one of the smaller venues, so they are worth hunting down.
Dendy Opera Quays
Mostly art-house, elegant theatre, bar selling wine, beer and other stuff, and you can take drinks in with you, but you need to buy your ticket before ordering drinks, to comply with the licensing laws (which are stupid). They offer all sorts of special deals, so check their web site of you will be using them a few times.
The Randwick Ritz
To come, once I have visited it. Find them at this link.
The Roseville Cinema
Near Roseville station, on the other side of the highway, there are good eateries around the area, and they tend to have the art-house movies that you also find at Cremorne.
© The author of this work is Peter Macinnis. You are free to point at this page. Copies of this page or set of pages may be stored on PDAs or printed for personal use. You can't contact me at macinnis@ozemail.com.au, but if you add my first name to the front of that email address, you can -- this is a low-tech way of making it harder to harvest the e-mail address I actually read.
So far, there have been
visits to pages on this site. G'day! Counter reset in mid-September, 2006.
Back to the main Sydney page or to the the menu page