Recorded live at the Adelaide Festival Centre in South Australia, this production displays the magical partnership between Christine Walsh and Kelvin Coe who between them danced as guest artists with companies as diverse as the Bolshoi Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre and Sydney Dance Company.

Christine Walsh, Kelvin Coe, Elizabeth Toohey, David McAllister
The Elizabethan Melbourne Orchestra / Noel Smith

Carmen is a timeless tragedy, never more relevant than today. It is a tale of desire, seduction, jealousy and betrayal. And in this, Ted Brandsen’s minimalist production, the devastating finale is heightened by the complete lack of artifice. Rodion Shchedrin’s fluid and muscular musical adaption fits this raw and original performance by the West Australian Ballet like Carmen’s red dress – tight, revealing and, like the production, impossible to ignore. Filmed in 2002 at His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth.

Benazir Hussain, Daryl Brandwood, Errol Pickford, Melissa Aurisch
West Australian Ballet / West Australian Symphony Orchestra  Nicolette Fraillon

Benjamin Britten's haunting adaptation of Henry James' classic ghost story about a governess put in charge of two mysteriously possessed orphaned children. The tension spirals throughout this masterpiece of psychological terror. As the screw is tightened, the nerves of the governess are strained to breaking point. Filmed at Her Majesty's Theatre, Perth.

Eilene Hannan, Margaret Haggart, Anson Austin, Wendy Dixon
The West Australian Symphony Orchestra / David Stanhope
Director: Neil Armfield

Francesco Cilea’s most popular work is based on the 1849 play by Eugene Scribe and Ernest Legouvé. Adriana Lecouvreur is a star of the stage who could seemingly have any man she desires, but when she falls hopelessly in love with the Count of Saxony, she discovers he's already been promised to the Princess of Bouillon, leading to a battle of wills between them. Filmed in 1984 at Sydney Opera House.

Joan Sutherland, Heather Begg, Anson Austin, John Shaw
The Australian Opera Chorus / The Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra / Richard Bonynge / John Copley

Sung in Italian with English subtitles

 

Partly based on the 1766 English comedy ‘The Clandestine Marriage’ by David Garrick and George Colman, Domenico Cimarosa’s Il matrimonio segreto was a widely popular example of opera buffa in its day. This sparkling comedy tells the story of Geronimo, a wealthy citizen of Bologna, who is trying to arrange aristocratic marriages for his two daughters, Carolina and Elisetta. However his plans seem destined to fail as his daughter Carolina is already secretly married to Paolino, his young secretary. Through a series of humorous situations the young couple confess their marriage and all ends well.

Enrico Fissore, Valeria Baiano, Antonella Bandelli,
Carmen Gonzalez, Roberto Coviello, Paolo Barbacini
Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana / Francis Travis
Harpsichord-master Marco Balderi
Stage Director Filippo Crivelli