Lyric Opera will stage The Children’s Bach, a chamber opera based on the novella by Helen Garner, from 30 August to 7 September 2024 at Theatre Works, St Kilda.
Composed by Andrew Schultz with a libretto by Glenn Perry, this marks the opera’s second full production since its 2008 premiere.
Set in the 1990s on the banks of Merri Creek in suburban Melbourne, the opera delves into the lives of Dexter and Athena Fox and the insulated world they’ve built together. When a friend from Dexter’s past reappears, introducing them to the bohemian underbelly of Lygon Street, the couple’s life begins to unravel.
The Children’s Bach at Theatre Works
- 30 August – 7 September 2024
- Theatre Works, Acland Street, St Kilda
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Directed by Katy Maudlin, the production explores the complex themes of love, freedom, and change. “Our production depicts the world of Melbourne’s Inner North in the 1990s, where simple working-class lives are lured into a bohemian world of late-night bars and clubs on Lygon Street. It’s an exploration of sexual freedom and what is ‘modern life’,” says Lyric Opera’s Artistic Director Patrick Burns.
The cast includes Kate Amos as Athena, Michael Honeyman as Dexter, and Adrian Li Donni as Phillip, with the set design by Jacob Battista. Patrick Burns will conduct the opera, continuing Lyric’s commitment to reviving overlooked contemporary Australian operas.
About The Children’s Bach
The opera is based on the original novella by Helen Garner, who is one of Australia’s most cherished writers. She is known and admired for her fearless honesty in both her fiction and non-fiction. In 2006 she received the inaugural Melbourne Prize for Literature, and in 2016 she won the prestigious Windham–Campbell Prize for non-fiction. In 2019 she was honoured with the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature. It is forty years since the publication of the original work, still regarded as one of her finest, described as ‘one of the most perfect short novels I’ve ever read’ (London Review). The Children’s Bach is named after the music book famous for introducing JS Bach to beginner pianists, which acts a metaphor for Garner’s work.
The opera faithfully recreates the novel’s inner-suburban world. The score plays on the book’s musical references while remaining utterly original. It employs everything from jazz-inspired riffs to fugal structure to accompany the progression of romantic entanglements. Performed by seven singers and a chamber orchestra of six players.
Bookings are available through the Theatre Works website, and seating is limited.
