Arts and culture
David Hockney
Born in Yorkshire 79 years ago, he fell in love with the idea of California as a child via Hollywood…
Kevin Jackson as Nijinsky
In 1981, at the Sydney Theatre Company, we presented a stylish production of Chinchilla, a play by Robert David MacDonald…
Ladies in Black
David Jones administration may be moving to Melbourne but that won’t worry Sydney: it knows where DJ’s really belongs. Reading…
Paul Dyer & ABO section leaders
Announcements of 2017 seasons are coming thick and fast. The Sydney Theatre Company, having lost an artistic director on the…
Pirramimma, Wentworth Falls
Gardens are one of the indicators of civilisation. It is said that the first references to gardens occurred about 4,000…
Maxim Vengerov
Sir Andrew Davis, chief conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, described its recently announced 2017 season as ‘a marvellous feast…
Martha Argerich
This is the time of the year when the major performing arts companies announce their seasons for next year, beginning…
John Armstrong
‘What is art for?’ is a question too rarely asked. The question is posed, and answered, in the book Art…
Sculptures at Barangaroo
The most significant enhancement to Sydney Harbour since the restoration of Walsh Bay, the Barangaroo development is coming into its…
The Ring Cycle
Although it was premiered in Bayreuth in 1876, it was another 122 years before The Ring Cycle by Richard Wagner…
Archibald portraits
‘A portrait is a painting with something wrong about the mouth’ is a quotation attributed to John Singer Sargent, painter…
Disney’s Aladdin
To my parents in the 1930s, the name Disney meant Mickey Mouse. Now the name is associated not only with…
Mozart’s operas
A couple of weeks ago Opera Australia celebrated its 60th Anniversary with a gala concert at the Opera House. Surprisingly…
Amber Scott and Adam Bull in Swan Lake
Amid predictable demands for increased funding for the arts, The Australian Ballet is setting off on its 25th ( yes,…
Jonathan Church
To mis-quote Lady Bracknell: losing an artistic director after just 9 months ‘smacks of carelessness’. That is exactly what has…
Piers Lane
David Speers was irritated when Bronwyn Bishop spoke about the Sydney International Piano Competition when he wanted her to dish…
Conductor Antony Walker
He was the most successful and influential composer of the classical period; Josef Haydn (1732-1809) wrote 108 symphonies, 68 string…
Barry Humphries
A failed political experiment that began nearly 100 years ago, the Weimar Republic (1918-1933), still holds considerable fascination for many…
Eoin Andersen
Zurich’s loss was Melbourne’s gain in 2015 when Eoin Andersen became Concertmaster of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Having begun violin…
Culture buff
It was a big week for art auctions; Sotheby’s grossed $14.2 million over May10 & 11, their best result since…
Roberto Alagna as Pinkerton at the Met 2016
Born in France of Sicilian parents, Roberto Alagna has been one of the opera world’s outstanding tenors for nearly 25…
Wednesday Lily and Otto by Myriam Kin-Yee
To be celebrating the 200th anniversary this year of the Royal Botanic Gardens is quite astounding. Just 28 years after…
Artist’s impression of proposed new museum at Parramatta
There is an interesting article in the latest issue of Apollo, the international art magazine, a stablemate of The Spectator…
Helen Garner
True crime is the genre of literature based on actual crimes and the real life perpetrators. Initially popularised in the…
Sachin Joab in STC’s Disgraced
Our grandmothers told that we shouldn’t discuss politics or religion in polite society. Apparently that was not a lesson learned…
