Blue Bottle Productions presents

Offenbach Down Under

Dates: 23, 24, 25, 30th of July, 13th August

Venues: Across the Hunter, see below

Scott Blick and Blue Bottle Production returns once again to bring opera to the Upper Hunter and beyond. Residents have been delighted in previous years with their work in such productions as:Mozart's Bastien and Bastienne (2006), Drusella and Hagatha (2007), Pergolesi's La Serva Padronam (2008), and last year’s Hasse's The Shrewd Maid. Scott Blick, who established Blue Bottle Productions in 2000, is originally from Warners Bay, and now resides in the Netherlands.


Scott said, "I'm often asked why I spend my European Summer holiday break coming back to Newcastle to present chamber opera productions and the answer is simple: I want to offer people something. Living in Europe, and in the Netherlands in particular, I have access to a wider variety of visual and performing art than I do in Australia. I don't say that it's all great, but when you think that I can travel for one hour on the train from Amsterdam to Rotterdam stopping in the Hague where I live, and in the space of that journey I have three cities that collectively have an internationally reknown opera company, contemporary dance company and orchestra, and two top European orchestras and a ballet company it's pretty amazing. Then there are the numerous theatres and the smaller professional music ensembles, dance groups and theatre companies. Of cause the tirany of distance here in Australia, and our smaller population has a big influence on what you can see, as well as where and when. My dream is driven by the a few basic things. I want to bring professional productions to regional audiences and perform for these audiences in their own venues. I want to build new audiences and show people that opera can be interesting and engaging, and not have to depend on lots of lighting effects, or tons of costumes and hugs sets in order to get people in. I also want to build new audiences by offering them an alternative repertoire to the same old grand opera productions that are continually served up. Of course a lot of these operas are wonderful but they're often long, costly to tour, and when they do it's usually in a condenesced format, and the language can sometimes be a barrier for the audience. Lets face it, there are more operas out there than are being offered, and here I'm especially talking about the chamber opera repertoire which is virtually unknown in this country. I deliberately choose pieces that are short, mostly comical, that I translate into colloquial English, and that audiences would rarely, and in most case never have seen or heard in this country. I also do a lot of public and school workshops with the aim of helping people, young and old, develop their performing skills, and to see with new eyes and hear with new ears. Step by step the audiences are building. And maybe one day it will be possible to set up a small full time ensemble of about 5 local singers. Who knows. Time will tell."

 

Offenbach Down Under

This year’s production of Offenbach Down Under, comprises of two halves. The first half of the programme will include excerpts from Offenbach’s La Périchole, La Vie Parisienne, Orphéé aux Enfers and La belle Hélène.

The second half of the programme is devoted to the Australian premiere of Offenbach’s short chamber opera PEPITO. A delightful farce rich in his typically singable melodies, Pepito takes a comic look at love during times of war. They have set the piece in a small Australia town at the end of WWII, and in keeping with our other productions, this Australian premiere will be performed in colloquial English making it more accessible for audiences of all ages, whether seasoned lovers of opera, or total novices.

Music: Jacques Offenbach
Direction: English translation and Set Design: Scott Blick
Starring: Janneke Daalderop, Scott Wellstead and Matthew Baker
Accompanied on piano by Vincent Parmeter

 

Venue Information

Saturday, 24th July, 7:30pm for 8pm.
Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, cnr Bridge and William Sts, MUSWELLBROOK. Tickets available from the Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre on 6549 3880


Sunday, 25th July, 1:30pm.
NERAM, Kentucky St, ARMIDALE. Tickets available from Dymocks, 169 Beardy St. 6771 4558 and NERAM, Kentucky St. 6772 5255.


Thursday, 29th July - 7:30pm.
Sacred Spaces, Sisters of Mercy Convent, Queen Street, SINGLETON. Tickets available from Singleton Organics, 71 John St, on 6572 3444.
This performance was rescheduled from the 23rd. People who purchased tickets for the performance on the 23rd are invited to arrive at 7pm to enjoy a bowl of warm homemade soup prior to the show.  


Friday, 30th July, 7pm.
DAPA Theatre, 145 Beaumont St, NEWCASTLE. Tickets available by calling 0422 189 869 and 4962 3270.


Friday, 13th August, 7:30pm.
Cessnock Performing Arts Centre, Vincent St, CESSNOCK. Tickets available from the Cessnock Performing Arts Centre on 4990 7134.
 

For more information contact Scott Blick on 0422 189 869 or via info@bluebottleproducions.nl.