A floating toy seller, burning cars and snow — what’s in store at La Boheme on Sydney Harbour
A crescendo of special effects, including one that Danny Deckchair would be proud of, will make for the biggest spectacle Opera Australia has ever staged on Sydney Harbour.
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A crescendo of special effects, including one that Danny Deckchair would be proud of, will make for the biggest spectacle Opera Australia has ever staged on Sydney Harbour.
OA artistic director Lyndon Terracini said director Andy Morton and designer Dan Potra will wow audiences to Puccini’s La Boheme with real burning cars in the student riot scenes, and flurries of snow across the rooftop garret where Mimi is dying of consumption.
Performer Sally Dulson this week rehearsed her arrival as the toy seller Parpignol, held aloft by helium balloons (and a crane that will be barely visible at night).
La Boheme: Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour will be presented on the floating stage at Mrs Macquaries Point from Friday (March 23) until April 22.
Potra said La Boheme has been transplanted to the days of the Parisian student riots. It’s a period that will suit the story of La Boheme in which bohemian young students struggle to live from their art.
Baritone Christopher Hillier, who sings the role of the bohemian Shaunard, will wear a long wig, a garish suit, white shoes and a faux fur coat when he takes to the opera’s floating stage at Mrs Macquaries Chair on Sydney Harbour.
“My family won’t recognise me in this,” Hillier said.
Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour was a great way to introduce new audiences to the art form, Hillier said.
“Most of the audience (for Handa operas) are first time opera goers,” he said.
“There’s no better way to introduce someone to opera than this.
“Opera has a bad rap in that it’s seen as elitist. But it should be like sport. It should be for everybody.”
This is a brand new production of La Boheme, designed especially for Handa’s huge outdoor stage.
The extra space has allowed Morton and Potra to unleash their imaginations and devise radical elements like burning cars in the riot scene.
A special fire gel is applied to the car exteriors, controlling how long the vehicles burn, Potra said.
A snow machine will create flurries of snow, making the sloping stage a little slippery and requiring the performers to wear non-slip soles.
The character of Parpignol makes his entry and exit by flying through the night sky in a garbage bin.
Terracini had a go in the suspended bin the other day.
“It’s a fantastic view up there,” Terracini said.
“It’s not scary, but when the wind came up and there were balloons blowing it was interesting.”
Chorus member Sandy Leung plays the role of a little boy who chases Parpignol and becomes suspended from the bottom of the garbage bin as it sails above the set.
“She’s very brave,” Potra said.
“She’s got harness and safety devices under her costume.”
Hand-drawn projections by Italian artist Marco Devetak will enliven the set, and singers will wear tracking devices enabling them to be automatically spot-lit as they move about the stage.