Those at the helm of Victorian Opera have long made bringing the joys of opera to young audiences an important priority. The amount of time, effort, skill, creativity and financial resources devoted to their latest production for children, The Lyrebird’s Voice, confirms the value Victorian Opera attaches to introducing children to stories told through music, singing and visual enchantment at a high level.
This production has been three years in the making and has involved an enormous amount of collaboration between seasoned professionals and young people. Six youth participants of the Work Opera Studio 2023 contributed to developing the story with Peter Rutherford, who also wrote new music in addition to providing arrangements and orchestrations of the many operatic excerpts. The young Cast and Ensemble members included singers in the Emerging Artists program, the VO Ensemble and The University of Melbourne, Master of Music (Opera Performance) students.
Coming from various cultural backgrounds, the six 15-20 year-olds who participated in the creation of the story considered the difficulty of finding their place in Australia, choosing the lyrebird as the protagonist because of its ability to mimic, just as one of the participants tried to mimic her friends in order to fit in. The outcome for Lyrebird, however, is less positive as she becomes an outcast for confusing the other birds with her mimicry and playing silly pranks when they refuse to listen to her warning about loggers destroying another part of the forest. In the end, Lyrebird uses her voice to save the day, helped by animal friends – and the audience.
Instead of a short season in the customary venue of the Arts Centre Melbourne Playhouse, now closed for renovation, Lyrebird is touring outer suburbia, beginning with the new theatre, The Round, in Nunawading. And what a surprisingly splendid theatre it is – a major cultural bonus to the district, and beyond.
In a conveniently steeply raked theatre even children are able to view the stage easily. Having a proper orchestra pit is an asset, although the acoustic did seem to favour the musicians down below (especially the brass) rather than the singers on stage; however, the children’s laughter and their enthusiastic responses when Lyrebird asked them for help indicated that they were able to follow most of Jayde Kirchert’s lyrics and spoken dialogue. Screens showing summaries of the episodes also helped older children (and adults) keep track of story essentials.
Upon entering the auditorium, the audience was greeted with an immense curtain showing an attractive silhouette of a forest scene with a lyrebird sitting on a branch. Generally using shadow play techniques, key slices of the action were projected onto the curtain in ingenious and sometimes hilarious sequences. It made a striking contrast to the vividly coloured set and costumes when it was raised. Complemented by Robert Brown’s atmospheric lighting, Ishan Vivekanantham’s brilliant set and costume designs were absolute winners.
The cast was uniformly strong, but there were some standout performances, with the operatic selections testing singers’ versatility. Michaela Cadwgan was an exuberant Lyrebird, her cheerful charm as she befriends Kangaroo, Echidna, Wombat and Emu engaging. The way she was able to move from the Queen of the Night’s aria to Rosina’s aria from The Barber of Seville to the “Anvil Chorus”, plus snatches from several other operas, was terrific. Vocally and dramatically her performance was well projected and provided a strong central focus.
Joshua Morton-Galea and Alessia Pintabona as the Duke and Duchess of Wattle made an imposing pair, while Bailey Montgomerie was a vocal wonder in his outbursts as Lord Kookaburra. Always vivacious and attentive to theatrical detail, Rachael Joyce made a clear-voiced Lady Lorikeet. Fresh from his Green Room Award triumph for Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role, Douglas Kelly as Lord Emu was once again outstanding, presenting Figaro’s aria with his customary dynamic flair and focused vocal delivery. The four beetles and the nicely synchronised three little birds with their Gilbert and Sullivan number were further lively ingredients of this kaleidoscopically inventive work.
It was a pity that the name of the singer who played the role of the wicked Kitcat wasn’t listed in the program as she was a huge success with her determined licking and sinuous predations. She was a great favourite with the children, and the scene where the cats prowled around the caged birds on a stage drenched in candy pink was a real showstopper.
Any opera lover would find the music great fun as familiar excerpts dovetailed, sometimes seemingly at lightening speed, like “Spicks and Specks” on steroids. The “Flower Duet” from Lakme had a couple of reprises and a ripple of recognition could be heard as audience members recognised the Geelong Football Club song when they heard “Toreador” from Carmen. Naturally, Carmen’s “Habanera” was given to slinky Kitcat, who also joined her wicked feline friends for a delightful version of Rossini’s “Cat Duet”. The music for the happy ending was the “Brindisi” from La Traviata, a celebratory finale to so many opera concerts.
This was an immensely complicated production in all respects, and it is a huge credit to the directorial skills of Elizabeth Hill-Cooper that it ran so smoothly. Credit also needs to go to the 12-piece chamber orchestra and conductor Carlos del Cueto, who all negotiated the rollercoaster of a score so successfully.
As an introduction to opera – or simply dazzling entertainment – The Lyrebird’s Voice is an absolute must see.
Further performances: Darebin Arts Centre on Friday 16 May at 6.30 pm, and Frankston Arts centre on Wednesday 21 May at 6.30 pm and Friday 23 May at 6.30 pm.
Photo credit: Charlie Kinross
__________________________________________________________________________
Heather Leviston reviewed Victorian Opera’s production of “The Lyrebird’s Voice”, presented at The Round (Nunawading) on May 9, 2025.
