Arts and culture
Hamlet Glyndebourne Festival
Shakespeare’s plays have frequently been the source of operas. Almost as frequently the operas have been only modest successes. Notable…
Sir Andrew Davis
Operas are subject to changes in fashion, suffering long periods of neglect. One such opera is Thaïs by Jules Massenet.…
Marble relief of a Roman trireme
Readers of Robert Harris’ thriller Pompeii might think they know a great deal about the devastating eruption of Mt Vesuvius…
Simone Young
She’s a local girl who made good — really good. Simone Young was born, educated and trained in Sydney. She…
The Father
A co-production by MTC and STC of a new play which has been acclaimed in Paris, London and New York…
Grace Cossington Smith, The bridge in building 1929
The viewer could treat this exhibition as an exercise in ‘compare and contrast’, or follow my preference and simply enjoy…
Nadine Garner
Three women who shared a flat as university freshers in 1983 and have maintained their friendship through the years are…
Alan Moorehead
He left Melbourne in 1936 to become a famous writer, and he did. Not just a famous writer but a…
Tom Roberts The sculptor’s studio 1884-85
We may have seen them before, but the prospect of the Australian Impressionism show is very alluring; it has now…
Andrew Nicholl A distant view of Derry through a bank of wild flowers
Last week came the welcome announcement of the State Government’s funding of the major extension, indeed doubling, of the exhibition…
Tom Conroy as Winston Smith
‘It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.’ That is the arresting opening line…
A N Wilson and Resolution
A sold-out session at the Sydney Writers’ Festival was an indication of public interest in the writer, A. N. Wilson,…
Jun Chen Grey Red 2017
At the age of 30, Jun Chen arrived in Australia post Tianamen Square. He settled in Brisbane where his first…
Vanessa Downing and Geoff Morrell in Black is the New White
I should have written about this play earlier; it is on now at the Sydney Theatre Company Wharf 1. Black…
Taryn Fiebig for Pinchgut Opera
Baroque opera is increasingly popular in Australia, particularly in recent years through the work of Pinchgut Opera. This administratively tiny…
Elioth Gruner 1882-1939
Last week I lunched at the Coogee Pavilion on the most perfect day. The scene before me was almost identical…
Alexander Campbell
Inheriting abilities from one’s parents is one of the happy accidents of birth. A remarkable example of inheritance of exceptional…
Isaiah Firebrace (centre) with Myf Warhurst and Joel Creasy
It’s been going since 1956. The 62nd season of the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Kiev, Ukraine, starts…
John Olsen, Sydney Sun (or King Sun) 1965
His work has been there for all our adult lives; John Olsen’s artistic vision has become part of our visual…
David Hockney inside the exhibition at NGV
The impressive David Hockney Show which closed recently at the NGV, having attracted big crowds, will have left no one…
Piers Lane
Cyclone Debbie caused the cancellation of the announcement ceremony in Townsville for this year’s Australian Festival of Chamber Music but…
Orb
Photographs of contemporary dance can look like advertisements for underwear; frequently the dancers seem to be clad in their knickers.…
Michael Parekowhai The English Channel, 2015 stainless steel, 257 x 166 x 158 cm.
Australians have a proprietorial interest in Captain James Cook but of course he belongs to the whole world. That is…
Tapestry in progress: Gordian Knot, 2016
For a creative arts organisation to operate successfully in Australia for 40 years is an achievement in itself. The Australian…
Cressida Campbell Margaret Olley interior (detail) 1992 hand-coloured woodblock Private Collection
Margaret Olley had a gift for friendship, that is, in addition to her gifts as a wonderful painter. Among her…
