Patricia Maunder has been an arts journalist for more than 20 years, contributing to publications in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK including The Sydney Morning Herald and Opera magazine. She is based in Melbourne, but considers Montreal her 'other' hometown after living there in 2012-16. For more about Patricia, visit her website.
A much-loved 1991 production evoking Fellini’s post-war glamour and grime is revived with three talented young principals, including Mongolian baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat in the title role.
A fine cast led by Maija Kovalevska conveys the timeless beauty and emotion of Puccini’s Parisian melodrama, but the 1930s Berlin setting remains an imperfectly realised transformation.
The quality cast purred, but glorious roars are required to jolt audiences from placid enjoyment of Opera Australia’s gorgeous 24-year-old production of this Verdi classic.
Through youth, technology and playfulness, Victorian Opera's production of Gertrude Stein's avant-garde curiosity becomes a refreshing look into the future.
Opéra de Montréal's belated première of Strauss' take on the Greek tragedy is worth the wait, as soprano Lise Lindstrom and wunderkind conductor Yannick Nézét-Séguin lead an exciting, music-driven production.