SYDNEY CHAMBER OPERA & ASKO|SCHÖNBERG for Sydney Festival January 5-8, 2023
“Ambitious and exquisite: Antarctica is contemporary opera at its best. Finsterer conjures a wide palette of sounds for the Netherlands Asko|Schonberg ensemble, from the grey moan of the viola d’amore to the blinding white of high piccolo. She also uses voices for their intrinsic character, their timbre, as much as their ability to convey words and emotions. Jane Sheldon’s unmistakeable, light-filled tone gives the Daughter an otherworldly clarity… 4.5 stars.” - Sydney Morning Herald
“Mary Finsterer's heart-stoppingly beautiful new opera is endlessly absorbing, sonically and visually. The marvellous singers offer even more riches. Sheldon’s high soprano gives ethereal voice to The Daughter, nowhere more affectingly than in a shimmering ode to the Milky Way. An early trio gorgeously intertwines Fraser’s velvety timbre and Petruccelli’s firm, resolute tenor with O’Donoghue’s sumptuous mezzo. All are superb… 4.5 stars.” - Limelight Magazine
“Go with open ears, and leave with an astonishing new vision of what contemporary Australian opera can achieve… 4 stars.” - Timeout Sydney
“This was contemporary opera at its best. 4.5 stars.” - Artshub
“These ravishing voices – solo and in trios and quartets – are spectacularly beautiful and deliver the complex music and often opaque text with exemplary clarity… Antarctica is an achievement of extraordinary beauty. Recommended without reservation. 4.5 stars” - Stage Noise
Photos: Wendell Teodoro