AUTHOR: Margaret Arnold

Dark Haired female flautist

12th PSMF Opens with Godfather, Father & Son

 9th January, 2019

For a weekend, I based myself at Flinders, a beautiful little town on the Mornington Peninsula, with the opportunity to immerse myself in music.  Festival Director Ben Opie has expanded the annual Festival to include thirty events spanning the first two weeks of January, and a wide variety of venues, including wineries, an art gallery…Read More

Der Rosenkavalier

 11th August, 2018

Richard Strauss’ romantic comedy Der Rosenkavalier, has been an audience favourite since its first performance in 1911, and Thursday evening was no exception, with the good-sized audience engaged throughout. Melbourne Opera’s fabulous opening night demonstrated just how entertaining, funny, poignant and enjoyable four hours (including two intervals) in the theatre can be. Richard Strauss is a…Read More

Hamer Singers Debut Concert

 9th December, 2017

In choral circles Christmas is more about revisiting old favourites and giants of the repertoire rather than trying out something new, expect perhaps for some shorter items in a weighty program. So it was  with particular interest that Classic Melbourne accepted  an invitation to the Hamer Singers Debut Concert – As One Who Slept, on December 3, 2017,…Read More

Voyage of Time

 8th October, 2017

One of the great challenges of reviewing a performance is to remain in the moment with the music, and not allow oneself to drift into a private reverie. Last night’s Melbourne Festival presentation of Terrence Malick’s film Voyage of TIme, accompanied by a live orchestra and chorus,  (which attempts to encompass the lifespan of the universe) was my…Read More

Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets -Review

 3rd October, 2017

    Merlyn Theatre at the Malthouse oozed the atmosphere of a Speakeasy, well past closing time, for this co-production of Victorian Opera and the Malthouse, Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets. The Victorian Opera Chamber Orchestra, tuning in the pit, gradually took over from a recording, with a slow, slightly out of tune repetitive chorus…Read More

Music in the Round – Abbotsford Convent

 27th September, 2017

It’s Sunday in September, Spring is in the air, and Melbourne weather is predictably unpredictable. What better way to while away a day than within the walls of the picturesque and historic Abbotsford Convent? Since launching in 1972 at Montsalvat under the auspices of the Australian Musicians Guild, Music in the Round also took place at…Read More