Culture in Melbourne

Melbourne is a city which offers many cultural opportunities. It is possible to experience any kind of musical concert, ballet, musical or play all within one big arts centre complex (looking like the Eiffel Tower).

One evening Evan and we attended a presentation by the Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC) of the Canadian play entitled "The Drowsy Chaperone" with Geoffrey Rush as the lead actor. Of course Evan managed to get us backstage afterwards to see the set and meet some of the crew and cast, and even presented them with the program from the Winnipeg version of the same play held recently at MTC (Manitoba Theatre Centre).

The Melbourne Symphony also is an integral part of Melbourne's cultural scene. We first heard it at a free outdoor concert in the Sydney Myer Bowl within a downtown park. We arrived at the venue well over an hour before the concert to find the area already crowded with people. Rick and I joined the throng in eating our dinner of egg salad sandwiches and wine (yes, it IS allowed in public) in anticipation of the concert. The concert did not disappoint - Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Bruch's violin concerto, and Strauss' Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks were the featured selections. What a great sounding orchestra!

We were so impressed that we bought tickets for a regular subscription concert at Hamer Hall (within the Arts Centre complex) with Ashkenazy as conductor for Faure's Pavane, Debussy's La Mer and Rachmaninov's The Bells, the latter being a work new to us. Here the orchestra was at its best in a hall that uses acoustical donuts suspended from the ceiling that can be placed and adjusted in every and any way to enhance the sound (check out the picture). There were soloists and a choir accompanying the sound of church bells in the last magnificent musical poem. During the intermission we perused the Melbourne Symphony's informational brochure and discovered that none other than our own Manitoba violinist, James Ehnes, and our former conductor, Bramwell Tovey, will be coming here to Melbourne to be part of their cultural scene later on in the year! What a small world! We will undoubtedly hear more of the orchestra as the year unfolds, especially since learning that Karin teaches the son of the Melbourne Symphony's general manager!

Earlier this week we also attended a concert by the Australian Chamber Orchestra, a group of 12 amazing players who are from all parts of Australia and who travel throughout Australia giving concerts. We heard a concert featuring several of their own players as soloists: violin, viola, oboe, cello and double bass. Some of the composers were new to us (Hindson and Schreker), but the music was all enjoyable. Of course, JS Bach's Concerto for Violin and Oboe could not be surpassed!