The Children's Bach is a chamber opera by the Australian composer Andrew Schultz to a libretto by Glenn Perry, based on the 1984 novella of the same name by Helen Garner. The work was commissioned by the Melbourne-based group Chamber Made and their Artistic Director Douglas Horton with the aid of an Australia Council Project Fellowship; it premiered at the Malthouse theatre's Merlyn Theatre on 20 June 2008.

Roles

Role Voice type Premiere cast, 20 June 2008
Conductor: Brett Kelly
DexterbaritoneAndrea Carcassi
Athenamezzo-sopranoKathryn Grey
Billy,
their son
Jackson Cairnduff/
James Christensen
PhilliptenorJames Egglestone
Elizabethmezzo-sopranoDimity Shepherd
Vicki,
Elisabeth's sister
sopranoTeresa 'Tess' Duddy
Poppy,
Phillip's daughter
Hannah Kostros/
Alexa Madden
DirectorChris Kohn
Lighting designRichard Vabre
DesignDale Ferguson
Sound designRussell Goldsmith

The work is of 80 minutes duration and is scored for a cast of six, and six instrumentalists (violin, cello, double bass, clarinet, percussion, piano).

Synopsis

The Children’s Bach is a contemporary story set on the banks of Merri Creek in inner-suburban Melbourne. Dexter and Athena live in a ramshackle house with no TV and an outside loo. But they are comfortably happy although life with their disabled son, Billy, has taken its toll. Against this family crashes another; Phillip, Elizabeth and Vicki: urbane, musical and stylish. And like most crashes there’s collateral damage.

from the program notes[1]

References

  1. "What's On". Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne. 2008. Archived from the original on May 26, 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2008.
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