Culture vultures should hurry to our favourite arts venue, Carriageworks, for the Australian premiere of a cutting edge new opera work, An Index of Metals. Expect innovation, complexity, and risk-taking staging (nude male dancers for start) by the innovators at Sydney Chamber Opera, Ensemble Offspring and Helpmann Award winning Director Kip Williams. This is opera but not as you know it.
This is the first time that this work by cult Italian composer Fausto Romitelli has been brought to life on stage anywhere in the world. It was widely praised at its world premiere in 2004 and remains the composer’s most ambitious undertaking before his untimely death the same year. Director Kip Williams (STC’s Suddenly Last Summer, Macbeth, SCO’s The Lighthouse) meets Romitelli’s challenge with his own bold aesthetic. The extraordinarily ambitious work was inspired by everything from rave music to ancient initiation rituals.
But the scale and complexity of the work comes as no surprise: the creative team are all individually known for their innovation and ambition. An Index of Metals will make for compelling viewing: as well as a thrilling and inspirational performance by soprano Jane Sheldon, the work will also stand out due to the nudity on stage. Ten burly male performers will perform without clothes at opening night, to enhance the already dramatic theatrical staging featuring complex video installations, elaborate lighting and thrilling musical performances to create a fiercely modern, edgy and complex new work.
An Index of Metals is the first work to be unveiled by Director Kip Williams since he won the prestigious Helpmann award earlier this year, despite being a first time nominee and just 29 years old. His latest creation is widely anticipated, not least because of Kip’s increasing profile as a star firmly on the rise. It’s only on until this Thursday so don’t delay!
AN INDEX OF METALS:
DATES: 16-19 November 2015
TIME: 8pm
PLACE: Carriageworks, 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh.
COST: $35
BOOKINGS: www.carriageworks.com.au
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