Local ‘sandman’ John Thiering will join the fun-loving Blush Opera at the Bellingen Fine Music Festival, with his live artistic interpretation of the opera to be projected onto a screen behind the performers.
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Blush Opera formed five years ago as an operatic duo with the specific intention of bringing opera out of the big halls and into venues more familiar to festival and cabaret audiences.
After composer Paul Smith joined the company, they began to create new entertaining and musically interesting operas that aimed to have wider appeal to present day audiences.
“Blush Opera’s best moment,” Paul said, “was when we realised we could really change how people relate to opera when we premiered our first new opera Fancy Me Dead.”
The company likes to use elements of fantasy, sci-fi and surrealism to explore contemporary themes.
On Sunday September 30 at 2.30pm, Bellingen Fine Music Festival’s audience will experience another of Paul’s compositions ‘The Spidermaiden and the Runaway Plum Blossom’, a fun operatic fable for the whole family.
Paul explained that it is not just for kids.
“It is layered and has broad age range appeal, incorporating childlike elements but also exploring quite complex themes, rather like Japanese Anime.”
The talented students from Coffs Harbour Conservatorium’s The Academy, conducted by Blush’s Luke Spicer, will provide the ‘mystical sound world’ for singers Jermaine Chau and Rebecca Moret during this 30-minute chamber opera.
Local sand artist John Thiering will add to the drama of the event by constructing a live artistic interpretation of the opera to be projected onto a screen behind the performers.
John is a sand artist based in Coffs. He recently created six vignettes sand artworks for the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.
Children aged 12 and under are free for all the festival’s concerts so bring the family and enjoy the music.
Details and tickets at www.bellingenmusicfestival.com.au