State Opera to Present BLUEBEARD'S CASTLE and IL SEGRETO DI SUSANNA Double Bill, April 17-18

For the first time State Opera of South Australia (SOSA) will open its season with a compact, hard-hitting, musical double bill in the intimate setting of The Opera Studio. The dual offering is something wildly different from SOSA's bigger main stage productions and is a bold step in the company's long-term vision to make opera more accessible.

The Double Bill, on April 17 and 18, will feature Bluebeard's Castle and Il Segreto Di Susanna (Susanna's Secret). The one-act operas are fully staged, 'bite sized' productions ideal for people new to opera but also a satisfying musical meal for more seasoned operagoers. Both operas are performed in the same evening.

SOSA CEO and Artistic Director Timothy Sexton said it was great to see the return of the landmark series of double bill operas in the intimate setting of The Opera Studio. "It's a wonderful way to get up close and personal with some great performers in exciting, rare, bite-sized opera repertoire," Mr Sexton said. "Power-packed drama and suspense, sitting alongside situation comedy -- all in the one evening! A wild emotional ride featuring the best of SA's operatic talent in rarely heard works -- it's the perfect opera package!"

Bela Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle is a famous one-act operatic psychodrama, featuring the feared Bluebeard and his wife Judith, exploring the twisted depths of his black soul. Il Segreto Di Susanna is one of Italian composer Wolf-Ferrari's most successful works, concerning a Countess with a secret her husband must not discover. This one-act comic Intermezzo, composed in 1909, is a breath of operatic fresh air -- or is it? This is true soapopera.

Both productions are directed and designed by SOSA's very talented Emerging Artist David Lampard who comments, "although polar opposites, these two works do resonate thematically, exploring notions of secrecy, control, obsession and addiction -- there's also a fun 'twist' that firmly links the pair as part of the one story".

"This has been a brilliantly fun -- and somewhat challenging -- double bill to design. We begin in a world of stylised art deco glamour, and then ascend to the frightening isolation of Bluebeard's castle that echoes Stanley Kubrick's Overlook Hotel," he said.

The Double Bill has a genuinely home-grown flavour, with an all-South Australian cast featuring emerging artists from State Opera SA's James & Diana Ramsay Foundation Opera Program. Baritone Jeremy Tatchell and Soprano Deborah Johnson will star in Bluebeard's Castle while Soprano Naomi Hede and Baritone Joshua Rowe will take to the stage for Il Segreto Di Susanna.

The set has also been constructed in Adelaide by Mr Lampard and the costumes have been made in-house. This is another reinforcement of SOSA's widely recognised commitment to providing unique employment opportunities to South Australia's brilliantly talented singers, directors and designers.

DETAILS:

Performances: 7.30pm Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18.

Venue: The Opera Studio, State Opera SA, 216 Marion Road, Netley

To book tickets call 8226 4790 or visit www.saopera.sa.gov.au/doublebill. Tickets are $35.

For more information, visit www.saopera.sa.gov.au.

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