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Articles by Chantal Nguyen

Chantal Nguyen
Chantal Nguyen
Chantal has a background in ballet and contemporary dance, and was the first Australian to complete the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in Higher Level Dance. She has completed violin studies, and plays regularly in Sydney ensembles. She also dabbles in folk songs and subversive musical parody.
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Behind the scenes: Opera Australia’s vast, digital Ring cycle

By Chantal Nguyen, 06 October 2023
“Go digital!” was the brief to director Chen Shi-Zheng, who has employed cutting-edge visualisation technology and motion-tracking for the 15-hour Wagner cycle in Brisbane.
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Trans-Pacific space-age Wagner: Chen Shi-Zheng’s hybrid Ring cycle

By Chantal Nguyen, 07 July 2023
The first director of Asian descent to stage Der Ring des Nibelungen in its entirety talks about his refusal to follow existing formulas in this new production for Opera Australia.
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Heart of darkness: Opera Australia's gothic Don Giovanni returns

By Chantal Nguyen, 09 January 2023
Andrei Kymach and Yuri Kissin deliver standout Australian debuts in a revival of Sir David McVicar's dark, unshrinking Don Giovanni.
****1
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Fair Verona comes to Sydney: the Australian Ballet's heartrending Romeo and Juliet

By Chantal Nguyen, 02 December 2022
The Australian Ballet do full justice to Shakespeare's epic tale of star-crossed lovers. Featuring a restaging of John Cranko's famous ballet, the first in almost twenty years, both the ensemble and leads shine in bringing Verona to life. 
****1
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Hallberg showcases new talent in Australian Ballet's Instruments of Dance

By Chantal Nguyen, 16 November 2022
Australian Ballet's latest triple bill features fresh young talent and new names to watch in creations by Wayne McGregor, Alice Topp and Justin Peck.
****1
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Elijah Moshinsky's chocolate box Traviata is back Opera Australia

By Chantal Nguyen, 25 October 2022
Gorgeous sets and costumes aren't quite enough to make this La traviata revival sparkle.
***11
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Girl power: Pinchgut's “Women of the Pietà”

By Chantal Nguyen, 13 September 2022
Celebrated soprano Miriam Allan headlines this energetic program of music written for the female orphan musicians of Venice's famous Ospedale.
****1
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Pavel Kolesnikov: Glenn Gould’s curse and collaborating with Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker

By Chantal Nguyen, 02 September 2022
Pavel Kolesnikov never intended to play Bach's Goldberg Variations – such is the shadow cast by Glenn Gould – but then choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker proposed something unusual. 
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Send in the clowns: Alexei Ratmansky revives Harlequinade for the Australian Ballet

By Chantal Nguyen, 20 June 2022
A lovingly reproduced historical reconstruction, but is it enough to connect with modern Australian audiences?
***11
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Kunstkamer: The Australian Ballet's “beautiful monster” is dance perfection

By Chantal Nguyen, 05 May 2022
The Australian Ballet's impressively-danced Kunstkamer is a work of astonishing scale, originality, and warmth, choreographed by Paul Lighfoot, Sol León, Marco Goecke and Crystal Pite.
*****
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Slick but disjointed Anna Karenina premieres in Sydney

By Chantal Nguyen, 06 April 2022
Yuri Possokhov's Anna Karenina aims to be a dark psychological drama, but its uneven character development and unengaging choreography fail to satisfy.
***11
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Sunlight on stage: Opera Australia's Marriage of Figaro returns

By Chantal Nguyen, 30 January 2022
Three outstanding debuts and a warm and funny ensemble shine in David McVicar's naturalistic Marriage of Figaro. 
****1
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Legacy and innovation in Bangarra's Wudjang: Not the Past

By Chantal Nguyen, 22 January 2022
Stephen Page's swansong as Bangarra's Artistic Director is an ambitious exploration of genre-transcending storytelling. 
****1
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Go Gaga for Ohad Naharin's Decadance in Sydney

By Chantal Nguyen, 10 January 2022
Sydney Dance Company excels in Decadance, a rare chance for Australian audiences to see work by Ohad Naharin, founder of the Gaga method.
****1
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The after party you can't miss: Pinchgut's Platée

By Chantal Nguyen, 03 December 2021
In arguably its best production to date, theatre luminary Neil Armfield combines with Pinchgut and Erin Helyard for the first time to deliver this electrifying production of Rameau's comic masterpiece, Platée.
*****
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Australian Ballet is back with a bang in its Celebration Gala!

By Chantal Nguyen, 26 November 2021
After two years of pandemic disruptions, the Australian Ballet celebrates its return to the stage with this gala of impressively-chosen showstopper pas de deux.
****1
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Gifts of gold: Bangarra's SandSong

By Chantal Nguyen, 14 June 2021
Bangarra's first full-length work in three years is a treasure trove of cultural and historical insights about Australia's vast and mysterious Kimberley region. Not to be missed.  
****1
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Harbourfront spectacular: La traviata's dazzling return to Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour

By Chantal Nguyen, 29 March 2021
Fireworks, party boats, Violetta swooping from a giant chandelier: soprano Stacey Alleaume triumphs in this magnificent restaging of Francesca Zambello's spectacular waterfront La traviata.  
****1
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Fascist Tosca revived by Opera Australia

By Chantal Nguyen, 04 March 2021
John Bell's reworking brings Tosca to 1943 Nazi-ruled Rome, featuring gorgeous sets and Carmen Giannatassio's striking Opera Australia debut in the title role.
****1
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Sydney Dance Company seizes the moment with Impermanence

By Chantal Nguyen, 19 February 2021
SDC delivers this long-awaited world premiere by Rafael Bonachela, featuring a Bryce Dessner score performed to perfection by the Australian String Quartet.
****1
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