Opera without curtains

First published on 16 Feb 2012. Updated on 16 Feb 2012.

The diva emerging through a spotlit crimson curtain to bask in applause is an icon of opera, but is it always necessary? Some of the finest musical drama in Australia comes on stages that couldn’t fly a Valkyrie, with no curtain, no set, and sometimes no costumes or props.

The technical term for this kind of production is “opera in concert.” Fans who care more about the orchestra than the theatrical scenery and lighting get better value for their ticket dollar this way. “Why spoil good music with bad acting?” is a harsh expression of the reality that the best voices don’t always come in the most agile packages. If your big drawcard is a Pavarotti who’s going to “park and bark” anyway, why not dispense with the clown suit and the stabbings and just have him stand in one place?

The operatic repertoire includes many great works that are too expensive, long or complicated to stage very often. Tchaikovsky, famous for his six symphonies and three ballets, wrote ten operas; his second most popular is The Queen of Spades. At the year’s end Vladimir Ashkenazy will conduct a concert version on the Sydney Symphony’s home turf of the SOH Concert Hall, where they will have the acoustic advantage of not being crammed into the Opera Theatre’s tiny pit. Sydney Opera House. 7pm. $35-139. Dec 1, 3.

Early in opera’s development, dramatic realism was not the major concern it became for Puccini and theverismo movement, and staging was much less elaborate, so an unstaged version is not a great leap from the original. In 2010 the Song Company added just a couple of period instruments and one actor, Drew Forsythe, to mount a highly successful commedia dell’arte-style opera, Orazio Vecchi's 1597 L'Amfiparnasso (pictured).This month they perform a similar “madrigal comedy” written in 1623, Banchieri’s The Boat from Venice to Padua, a kind of early-Baroque Gilligan’s Island on the Venetian lagoon. Each character is sung by all voices in the ensemble simultaneously, so there would be little point in specific costumes. “Realistic dialogue hadn’t been invented,” says Artistic Director Roland Peelman. So why bother trying to retrofit realism on works that were never designed for it? Love in Venice City Recital Hall Angel Place. 7.30pm. $15-$59. Wed Mar 14.

In September, the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, known for their historically sensitive performances on period instruments, take on their first full opera in concert. Artistic director Paul Dyer chose Monteverdi’s 1607L’Orfeo, widely considered the first full opera. “It was originally performed in Mantua in a tiny space, so a concert version is natural,” says Dyer. He has splurged his budget on several outstanding soloists, including Fiona Campbell and Sarah Macliver from Perth and Markus Brutscher from Bavaria. City Recital Hall Angel Place. 7pm. $26-$167. Sep 19-21, 25-26.