First, I’d like to pay my respects to Steve Irwin who tragically died Monday filming a documentary for his daughter Bindi. He was one of a kind. Steve Irwin was a passionate environmentalist and conservationist and he probably did more for Australian tourism than any other bloke. He was a wildlife warrior who brought immense joy to millions of people, especially children. My own brother used to do a great Crocodile Hunter impersonation. Australia lost part of its own heart that day, and even more devastating, a family lost their father. He will be greatly missed.
This past weekend was the conclusion of the Melbourne Opera Company’s Don Giovanni tour I have been involved with. We have performed in towns all over Victoria, including Sale, Geelong, Frankston, Ballarat, and of course, Melbourne. We also went “overseas” to Tasmania and performed in the city of Hobart. What follows are some observations from the tour. (All photos taken in Hobart, Tasmania)
First off, I count myself lucky to have been included in Don Giovanni. In Die Fledermaus and La Traviata, I sat 3rd stand in the 1st violins – basically at the back of the section. I think they were testing me out to see if I fit in. When I wasn’t called (at first) to play in Don Giovanni, I thought the worst. But about 2 or 3 weeks after they began the tour, I received a call from Tatiana (the Concertmaster). She apologized for not having asked me to play sooner, but that they were using a reduced-sized orchestra for the tour. One of the violinists came down with an arm injury and so she asked me to pinch hit and come to Sale with them. I was to play the 2nd violin part this time. Mind you, everyone else had been to rehearsals and had already performed the opera a couple of times. I was about to play an opera I’ve never played before with only a short sound check rehearsal beforehand – can you say terrified? The conductor of this group is notorious for yelling at people who muck up (or giving them the death stare during a performance). But he actually talked to me briefly before rehearsal and said, “You’ll be ‘right.” I breathed a half-sigh of relief.
It was great to see my Russian friends again after a few months of hiatus. The company arranged for a bus to take us to and from Sale, which was almost 3 hours away from Melbourne. I sat with my stand partner from the past 2 operas, Sascha #2. (There are 2 Sascha’s in the 1st violin section.) She and I are the same age, born in the same month. It’s fascinating to know someone who experienced the other side of the cold war. She is one of the kindest, most genuine people I have ever met.
Sale is a little country town in an area called Gippsland. It’s nothing much to look at, as it’s not located on the coast and the city centre is about 3 blocks long. The population is less than 15,000 people and I reckon they don’t experience much in the way of culture. We did perform to a full house, but you wouldn’t have known it from the applause (or lack thereof). They didn’t clap after any of the arias or chorus numbers, and barely made a noise at the end of the 1st Act or the Finale. They must have been too unco (uncoordinated) to put their hands together.
Maybe it was the potato soup they fed us for dinner, but I was so gassy during the opera! Nothing like sight-reading during a performance when you’re also trying to stifle farts. I was inconveniently seated right in front of center stage, so I’m hoping that nothing lethal escaped and disturbed the singers… Needless to say, my first performance was a little less than fulfilling. Given my stress level, I felt like I had just finished competing in a triathlon. Then we got to sit on a bus for 2 hours and 45 minutes, returning to Melbourne at about 2:15am.
Next up we went to the port city of Geelong - the 2nd largest city in Victoria with a population of about 190,000 people. It is located 75 kilometers south west of Melbourne on the Bellarine Peninsula. Geelong is the gateway to the scenic Great Ocean Road, and home to the 2nd oldest Australian Rules Football club in the world, the Geelong Cats. I drove Sascha #2 after enjoying a beautiful Russian lunch and watching “The Art of the Violin” DVD. We managed to get a little bit lost on the way, but thanks to very friendly staff at the petrol station we made it there on time. I played the 2nd violin part again, this time sitting at the 1st stand with Clare. Having had the music to practice with at home, I felt much more at ease this time. And I didn’t have the farts either! The audience seemed much more alive than the bumpkins in Sale.
The most memorable thing about Geelong was its Performing Arts Centre. It was a state of the art venue befitting a city of great stature and fine culture. I was not expecting such a high standard from Geelong – I truly underestimated this place. See for yourself on the website. I do hope this will not be the last time I play here.
The 3rd stop on the tour for me was the city of Frankston. Frankston is very familiar to Lachlan and I because his grandparents live there, and Lachlan works in the town just north. When we lived in Crib Point during our first 5 weeks in Australia, Frankston was the closest “big city.” Actually, it’s not very big – only about 50,000 people live there. But compared to Crib Point it was New York City. Like Geelong, Frankston is on the coast, but it’s on the other side of the bay on the top of the Mornington Peninsula. And it’s only 40K’s from Melbourne. So this time, Lachlan and I drove down there together and Lachlan went to see the opera for the first time.
The best part about Frankston was stopping at a café on the beach before the performance and having a cappuccino. The Frankston Arts Centre is also quite nice with a beautiful art gallery. Small towns should all be so fortunate. Lachlan really enjoyed Don Giovanni, especially the funny role of Leporello the servant. We perform the operas in English and use a lot of current lingo and jokes to draw in the audience. Sometimes the orchestra is up high enough to actually watch the recitatives and it’s always very entertaining.
We then played a few shows in The Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne. This time, I was asked to play the 1st violin part and sit with Sascha again! Tatiana called me her Universal Soldier. It was nerve-wracking to switch parts, but fun to sit next to my friend. And it’s always great to play for the “home crowd.” We had the most appreciative and boisterous audiences in Melbourne. After the final performance, there was a reception with wine and sushi! The orchestra thought the food was just for them and we gobbled it down like the ravenous monkeys we were. But it was meant for everyone – audience and company alike! Ooops. During the reception, they announced the upcoming season featuring The Barber of Seville, Carmen, and Madame Butterfly. How cool is that?
I wasn’t actually meant to go to Hobart, Tasmania, but someone dropped out at the last minute. So, the Universal Soldier was asked to fill in with just a couple days notice! I was getting used to this, and my poor students were also getting used to me rescheduling their lessons. But I couldn’t say no to Tazzie!! We met at the Melbourne Airport and flew in to Hobart as a group. Then a bus took us from the rinky-dink Hobart airport to our accommodation, which was actually a fairly nice hotel only a few blocks from the theatre. Speaking of the theatre, we performed in the oldest working theatre in Australia, the Theatre Royal. It was absolutely gorgeous, but freezing cold!! What is up with Australia and it’s adversity to heating?
Hobart is the largest city in Tasmania with over 200,000 people. It has become the homeport for Australian and French Antarctic operations, which should give you a sense of how close it is to Antarctica. The scenery is amazing with mountains and water surrounding the city. Sailboats and catamarans filled the harbor, and we enjoyed the freshest seafood you can imagine for our late lunch (our expense). After the sound check rehearsal, we were supposed to get soup and sandwiches for dinner, but we only got tomato soup. We did give an exceptional performance in the icy-cold theatre, and they invited us to come back as many times as we want in upcoming seasons. They gave us a nice reception afterwards with wine and a small cheese platter. By this time we were ravenous monkeys again and there wasn’t enough food. After a few glasses of wine, we walked back to the hotel and all went to our rooms and crashed from exhaustion.
The next morning we were told that there would be breakfast for us in the hotel, but it wasn’t complimentary. None of us wanted to shell out $10 for hotel eggs, so a group of us went to a nearby café instead. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we were let down by the lack of food provided on this trip! And we weren’t even paid until we were on the way to the airport. We received a measly $80, which after food expenses was about $50. Ah, how we musicians suffer for our art!
This is turning into my longest blog to date, but I have to tell you about Ballarat before I finish. We were to give 2 performances, one on Saturday night and one on Sunday afternoon, so most of us decided to stay overnight. Had we known what we were in for, I think everyone would have gone back to Melbourne and come back the next day.
Ballarat is the largest inland city in Victoria and the 3rd largest inland city in Australia. Here was the site of the Australian Gold Rush in 1850, and during that time Ballarat was the largest city in Victoria. It has maintained some of that original charm, and is now home to 90,000 folks. We ended up in the suburb of Wendouree just next door, where there wasn’t anything to do. The inept management booked us in a caravan park where we were supposed to have single rooms in a cabin. Cabinet would be a more appropriate term. We were put a trailer with two bedrooms – one with a double bed and the other with 2 bunk beds (4 tiny kids beds within arm’s length of each other). It was so awful that all we could do was laugh in complete horror. And 6 of us were to share one tiny bathroom. What were they thinking???
Well, despite these setbacks, we gave two great performances for very reserved audiences. I don’t think they had ever seen an opera before so they must have been in shock. Our conductor was so pleased that he told Tatiana “THIS is our violin section!” It was a great thing to hear, knowing that I now had security in the orchestra. Our tour seemed to be a huge success, and I was their Universal Soldier and lone American. I can’t wait to learn The Barber of Seville!
Let’s start with the location. Kensington is an inner-city suburb of Melbourne, located just west of North Melbourne. It’s a small village, but it has everything one could need: plenty of cafes, a flower shop, an ATM, a couple small grocery stores, a clean skin wine shop, a post office, 2 train stations, a pharmacy, a fruit and vegetable shop, a pub, an upscale bar, beauty salons, and a few take-away food places. If you still can’t find what you need, the city is just 2 stops on the train. Who could ask for anything more?
As you enter, there is a very long hallway straight ahead that goes past the 2 bedrooms and into the lounge room. There is a beautiful archway in the middle of the hall, and recessed lighting adds an elegant touch. The hardwood floors have a rustic look to them. They are a honey colour with yellow hues in-between the floorboards.
a nice old fireplace that we haven’t utilized (but it makes a great place for my pig collection). Each bedroom also has a small electric wall heater that is much easier to ignite.
As we make our way to the end of the house, we have the kitchen. Here the floor changes to a charcoal and brick red tile. The roomy kitchen is galley style with counter tops on either side. And now I’m actually using my cookbooks to make meals instead of just making my mouth water. There is a sliding door that leads to a modest paved courtyard. The rim of the courtyard is lined with different plants, including 4 rosemary bushes. So Jackie has a small area to relieve herself when necessary.
That about wraps up the tour of our new home. I hope that some of you will have the opportunity to see it (and us) someday. Until then, stay in touch – leave comments, send emails, or even give us a call on our new American phone number. Let me know if you need it. Shiver me timbers!! Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!
