Opera High Tea – Opera Goes To The Movies
Image: Opera Bites at The Castlereagh Boutique Hotel.
Photo: Michele Mossop
According to Murray Dahm, artistic director of Opera Bites, opera needs to be relatable to the masses and not seen just as high-class entertainment for the elite. With this in mind, Dahm and his company aim for complete immersion of the audience. The idea is to make opera pieces engaging and accessible by demystifying them. This boutique company has performed at pubs, private parties, historic houses and even in backyard sheds. Audience participation is encouraged too. In one production there were fez hats and fake spears set aside for audience members to play Turkish guards and arrest members of the audience. In another, there were lines of dialogue taped under seats and audience members were told when and how to say their lines.
Dahm actually takes the role of MC and explains the operatic piece about to be performed. Operas include; La Boheme, La Traviata, Turandot, Madame Butterfly and, many others with which most of us are familiar with, even if we don’t know it. This, in fact, is the point. As MC Dahm initiates his performers to wander through the audience singing for them, with them and at them. Remember the aria in Priscilla Queen Of The Desert as the bus drove through the desert with the silver cape twirling up to the heavens? Imagine the same moment performed at the now-defunct Taxi Club and you’ve got the picture.
The singers usually number about four or five and are all consummate professionals. Sometimes they will do a full opera but mostly concentrate on the highlights. They have been performing for over 10 years and their newest event Opera Goes To The Movies is accompanied by a high tea in a classy hotel. Their pianist, Zsu Zsa Gizcy, is Hungarian and studied opera in Budapest. Class indeed.
“We come from all walks of life,” says Dahm, “Amongst us is a physiotherapist, a couple of public servants, and even a firefighter. We have come together due to our great love of Opera and we wanted to share it with all and sundry.”
A beautiful sentiment. We all deserve to soar through the heavens on the odd occasion. A natural high. (RLD)
Aug 24. Castlereagh Boutique Hotel, 169 Castlereagh Street, Sydney. $99+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.operabites.com.au
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