Post by Talissa on Mar 24, 2007 7:50:52 GMT 11
www.smh.com.au/news/arts/now-its-jones-the-opera/2007/03/23/1174597894640.html
I do have to say that first line frightened me somewhat
FIRST it was Judge Judy, now it's Judge Jones.
The radio broadcaster Alan Jones is preparing to trade the microphone for the stage in September to play the judge in the opera Dead Man Walking at the State Theatre.
Its producers, Andrew McManus and Nicole Alexander, were remaining tight-lipped yesterday about Jones's non-singing role, at least until the production's official launch on Monday.
It is understood that Jones, a friend of Alexander's who has been instrumental in the show's fund-raising, was keen to star in Jake Heggie's acclaimed opera about Sister Helen Prejean's experiences of death row and the convicted murderer Joe de Rocher.
Like the film Dead Man Walking, which won Susan Sarandon an Oscar as Sister Helen, the opera is based on Prejean's novel and presents a realistic and thoughtful look at the brutality, machinations and plight of the killer and the people around him.
Securing the services of the "voice of Struggle Street" is considered a canny move to bolster the opera's chances at the box office. A three-week season is envisaged but it may prove a hard sell given the disturbing nature of the work.
But Dead Man Walking, with a libretto by Terence McNally, comes with a good pedigree. It earned high praise and four Helpmann Awards when it was produced in Adelaide in 2003 by the State Opera Company of South Australia.
The baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes will reprise his role as the condemned man in director Nigel Jamieson's production, and Kirsti Harms and Catherine Carby will alternate in the role of Sister Helen. The cast also includes Elizabeth Campbell, Jud Arthur, Tiffany Speight and Hayden Tee.
Jones was unavailable for comment yesterday.
The radio broadcaster Alan Jones is preparing to trade the microphone for the stage in September to play the judge in the opera Dead Man Walking at the State Theatre.
Its producers, Andrew McManus and Nicole Alexander, were remaining tight-lipped yesterday about Jones's non-singing role, at least until the production's official launch on Monday.
It is understood that Jones, a friend of Alexander's who has been instrumental in the show's fund-raising, was keen to star in Jake Heggie's acclaimed opera about Sister Helen Prejean's experiences of death row and the convicted murderer Joe de Rocher.
Like the film Dead Man Walking, which won Susan Sarandon an Oscar as Sister Helen, the opera is based on Prejean's novel and presents a realistic and thoughtful look at the brutality, machinations and plight of the killer and the people around him.
Securing the services of the "voice of Struggle Street" is considered a canny move to bolster the opera's chances at the box office. A three-week season is envisaged but it may prove a hard sell given the disturbing nature of the work.
But Dead Man Walking, with a libretto by Terence McNally, comes with a good pedigree. It earned high praise and four Helpmann Awards when it was produced in Adelaide in 2003 by the State Opera Company of South Australia.
The baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes will reprise his role as the condemned man in director Nigel Jamieson's production, and Kirsti Harms and Catherine Carby will alternate in the role of Sister Helen. The cast also includes Elizabeth Campbell, Jud Arthur, Tiffany Speight and Hayden Tee.
Jones was unavailable for comment yesterday.
I do have to say that first line frightened me somewhat
