Your guide to world class performances & shows
Welcome to this year’s souvenir Live At Avoca magazine! We love to bring you the best of the best from home and around the world, be it films, festivals, beautiful wares or the best in live music. We have a long tradition of selecting just what our audience is looking for.
LIVE AT AVOCA is by no means a complete listing of all of this year’s live music – it’s a sample to entice and intrigue. Stay tuned to our email newsletter and website for more great music!
Live Music is one of our specialities, always magnificent! From Australian soprano June Bronhill to New York Met Opera’s Amelia Farrugia; the Big Old Bus Band to Janis Siegel of Manhattan Transfer; pianists David Helfgott, Simon Tedeschi & Tamara Anna Cislowska.
& all the team at Avoca Beach Picture Theatre
Norman & Beth
Jazz greats such as Adrian Cunningham, Bob Conway, Tricia Evvy, Monica Trapaga & Hetty Kate. Too many to mention – all at the top of their game giving their all. The Theatre is a favourite with musicians and singers who revel in the wonderful acoustics and the friendly atmosphere. For the audience, always an exceptional experience – in the performance, the sound and the intimate space that exudes atmosphere.
Now, a word from some of our performers: “Once again had an absolute ball“
tremendous Theatre this is.
“What a Keep on bringing culture to people’s lives.”
- Hughie Big Ol Bus Band
wonderful monument
“a to the artform. “
- Tony Fenelon - Roland World Concert Artist
- Simon Tedeschi – International Concert Pianist
great joy
What a to be in this beautiful Theatre - David Helfgott – International Concert Pianist
“What a treat, we had a ball!“ - Monica Trapaga - Jazz Singer beautiful audience, beautiful beautiful sound!” “A pleasure to perform at the greatest - Hetty Kate - Jazz singer Picture Theatre in the World. “
“A room and
- Damian Wright -Flamenco Guitarist
*Please note all events are correct at the time of printing and are subject to change without notice
Janet Seidel Present
s
Friday 7th April at 7:30pm - $28.50 The Janet Seidel Trio bring us our favourite George & Ira Gershwin pieces. The revered George & Ira Gershwin shone, their music synonymous with the sounds and style of the Jazz Age. From their 1924 Broadway hit LADY, BE GOOD! until the early death of George, the brothers worked almost exclusively together, with dozens of scores for Broadway and Hollywood. Elevating musical comedy to an art form with their trilogy of political satires — STRIKE UP THE BAND, the Pulitzer Prize winning OF THEE I SING, and its sequel, LET ‘EM EAT CAKE, they raised popular
Gershwin musical theatre to a new level of sophistication. Their classic folk opera, PORGY AND BESS is constantly revived throughout the world. The proliferation of recordings of their music testify to its continued relevance and popularity. The Janet Seidel Trio’s exemplary interpretations of the Gershwin Brothers’ music make for a sensational evening, headed by Australia’s First Lady of Jazz, Janet Seidel on vocals & piano, David Seidel on bass and Chuck Morgan on guitar with special guest, UK drummer Cyril Bevan with many sold out gigs in England’s top venues on their recent tour – now they are here at Avoca Beach Picture Theatre!
Book Online You can now book online for ALL our films & events simply go to avocatheatre.com.au
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Dorian Mode Pr
esents
Friday 28th April at 7:30pm - $28.50 International Jazz Day is always BIG at the Theatre! This year we give a nod to FRANK SINATRA with multi-award winning jazz singer/musician & laugh-out-loud author DORIAN MODE & his Jazz band. Old Blue Eyes’ huge contribution to music continues with his velvety voice, punchy phrasing and musicality. He phrased like a horn player whilst conveying the depths of a song. In his movies we see Sinatra’s unique gifts coalesce with humour and a twinkle. Dorian Mode’s SCREEN SINATRA has sold out around the country exploring Sinatra’s life in film including Young At Heart, All Of Me and All The Way.
Luxuriate in Sinatra’s music with From Here to Eternity, Three Coins in a Fountain, and the beautiful Someone to Watch Over Me, amongst many more. A natural entertainer, Dorian Mode and his band will share with you the films of Frank Sinatra with lots of laughs along the way. The show is highly entertaining, peppered with fascinating anecdotes about Frank’s life and unique vocal approach. ‘Dorian Mode is unquestionably one of Australia’s great jazz artists.’ (Sydney News Critics Choice) SCREEN SINATRA explores Old Blue Eyes in film, a format that Sinatra reveled in.
A Most Welcome Gift The perfect gift for anyone, anytime.
Our range of Gift Cards can be used in so many ways! Take in a movie, come to a concert, enjoy a glass of bubbly, buy a beautiful soap, candle or clothing for yourself! Or perhaps a combination of them all!
Buy in store, over the phone or online
WORLD CLASS PERFORMERS › Flautist Jane Rutter › Pianist Tamara Anna Cislowska › Cellist David Pereira › Violinist & Artistic Director Christopher Latham
Saturday 13th May at 7pm - $49.50 Be uplifted & enriched. Colour-soaked images of Monet’s works, paired with music of the time by Ravel, Debussy & other French composers. Featuring Australia’s favourite flautist, Jane Rutter and violinist and Artistic Director of the Gallipoli Symphony, Christopher Latham - both recently honoured with France’s cultural honour, as Chevalier de L’Ordre des Arts et Lettres - and ARIA award-winning pianist and Classic FM presenter, Tamara-Anna Cislowka and cellist David Pereira. Be transported to France in the last days of the Belle Epoque, in the story of the iconic artist CLAUDE MONET losing his greatest gift – his ability to see.
Facing the death of everything he loves, everything meaningful to him, Monet creates more work than any other artist during WW1, as he looks back on the world that is being lost – “le monde perdu”. This concert of sublime visual projections and French music brings together the paintings Monet created at Giverny during the Great War including his Japanese Bridges, Water Lilies, Weeping Willows, and the Alley of Roses, alongside music written in 1914-1918 by serving or volunteering French composers such as Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Charles Kœchlin and Lili Boulanger. The interlacing of sublime French music & masterpieces will make for an event that will lift the audience to new heights and stay with us all for many years to come.
Joanna Weinberg Presents
‘The Piano Diaries’ Friday 26th May at 7:30pm - $28.50
The Piano Diaries is the story of Joanna Weinberg’s life written on her piano; a life drenched in music and art, love and disappointment, escape, migration, joy, despair… and an indomitable belief in the power of music! Funny, fierce, sexy and sassy, it’s a story that crosses continents & decades & dances its way across musical genres – powerful, passionate & toe-tapping. This songwriter/vocalist/actress paints a kaleidoscope of rich imagery in her songs that transcends genres with perfect pitch and flawless intonation. Brilliant original songs hold the audience spellbound. The show features Joanna herself on our grand piano and vocals along with Kate Adams on cello.
Concertante Ensemble Present Karina Moss Hollands Maggie Ferguson Francis Carreon Isabella Brown
Friday 2nd June at 7:30pm - $15 to $40 Concertante Ensemble is a highly motivated, professional string chamber orchestra with a core of 11 players, bound together by a common vision to bring exceptional quality chamber music with Australian and international performers. Following sellout concerts, Artistic Director and solo violinist Karina Moss Hollands and special guest artists Maggie Ferguson (Bandoneon), Francis Carreon (Piano) and Isabella Brown (Bass) present the popular and innovative EIGHT SEASONS.
Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’ meets Piazzolla’s ‘The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires’ in a stunning juxtaposition of musical styles, exemplifying the insistent rhythms and languid gestures of the Baroque and the sensual, abrupt mood changes of Latin American Tango. Piazzolla’s distinctive music combines jazz & the Argentinian tango of his native land with classical forms and 20th Century harmonic ideas. In the Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, he takes a tango-inspired work and combines it with elements easily recognizable from Vivaldi, also presenting a solo violin featured within an orchestral texture in highly virtuosic style.
Third Wednesday of every month at 11:30am - Just $19.50 Starting with Fish and Chips before coffee & cake in our garden, then it’s into the old world charm of the Theatre for quality live entertainment before the audience favourite film for the month. A great day out!
RUSALKA Mon 24th April at 11:30am Kristine Opolais stars in a new production of the opera that first won her international acclaim, Dvořák’s fairy-tale opera about the tragic water nymph Rusalka. Sir Mark Elder conducts Mary Zimmerman’s new staging, which also stars Brandon Jovanovich as the human prince who captures Rusalka’s heart.
LA TRAVIATA Sat 20th at 9:30am & Mon 22nd May at 9:30am Sonya Yoncheva brings her acclaimed interpretation of the doomed courtesan Violetta Valéry to Live in HD audiences for the first time, opposite rising American tenor Michael Fabiano as her lover, Alfredo. Thomas Hampson sings one of his most acclaimed Met roles as Giorgio Germont, Alfredo’s disapproving father.
AUG
- Coming Soon -
19th June
15th & 17th July
5th & 7th August
ART ON SCREEN ART ON SCREEN
Raphael: Lord Of The Arts
Michelangelo
27th & 29th May
22nd & 24th July
Eugene Onegin
The Cherry Orchard
Anna Karenina
10th April
1st & 3rd July
12th & 14th August
LYRIC OPERA WINTER Gala
Sally-Anne Russell Angela Brewer Richard Lane Shane Lowrencev
Conductor Steven Stanke Lyric Opera Central Coast Orchestra
Sunday 16th July at 1pm
&
Simon Tedeschi John Bell Present
Friday 16th June at 7:30pm - tickets: $59 A tale of shipwreck & heartbreak from two of Australia’s great storytellers. Drama, pathos, adventure and tragedy take form in a rare performance of Richard Strauss’ famous melodrama. John Bell powerfully presents Alfred Lord Tennyson’s story poem Enoch Arden in a rare performance of Richard Strauss’s melodramatic setting for piano and actor. One of Australian theatre’s most illustrious figures, John Bell has assisted in the development of our nation’s rich artistic culture, as founder of Bell Shakespeare and as actor and director.
‘Enoch Arden’
Simon Tedeschi is a much loved pianist renowned as a storyteller in music, most recently in his acclaimed recording of Mussorgsky’s colourful Pictures at an Exhibition, launched here at Avoca Theatre and his premiere performance of Rachmaninoff’s 4th Piano Concerto. Richard Strauss’s musical accompaniment for Tennyson’s powerful long poem underlines the moments of drama, pathos, adventure and tragedy. This rich, philosophical narrative inspired some of Strauss’s most intriguing music & was one of the composer’s biggest hits. Enoch Arden is now a curiosity, awaiting the persuasive advocacy of artists such as John Bell and Simon Tedeschi, who will revive the art of the melodrama, with its fundamental meeting of word and music.
e i l l Bi iday Hol ite With
& h W c i r d o R g n u o Y Tiana Friday 25th Aug at 7:30pm - $28.50
A double bill night of Jazz greats Billie Holiday and Bill Evans. Following a sell out performance last year with Matt Baker, Tiana Young returns to our stage as special guest for this night to remember with the Rodric White Quintet. Billie Holiday, legendary performer, Jazz musician & singer-songwriter, is one of the most influential singers. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered new genres of singing. With her strong vocal delivery & incredible improvisations, Billie’s golden voice and imaginative music captures hearts. We’ll be swooned by her songs God Bless The Child, Don’t Explain, Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans, No Detour Ahead.
The Place For Fish & Chips
Beach Front Alfresco Dine In or Take Away 4381 0600 BYO Always Welcome Open Until 8pm 7 Days a Week 1/85 Avoca Dr, Avoca Beach NSW
Jazz pianist and composer BILL EVANS continues to influence music & Jazz, with much of his music considered ‘standards.’ Known for his highly nuanced touch, the clarity of the content and his chord voicing system, he recorded over 50 albums with 31 Grammy nominations. His inescapable influence on the very sound of jazz piano has touched virtually everybody of prominence in the field, and he remains a monumental model for jazz piano. Of his many works, tonight we will hear Come Rain or Come Shine, All Of You, DOLPHIN DANCE, Someday My Prince, Time Remembered…
MIMOSA DUO ALBUM LAUNCH
Friday 20th Oct at 7:30pm - $28.50 Avoca Beach Picture Theatre are thrilled to have been chosen to launch MIMOSA DUO’S next incredible CD. Mimosa is an exciting guitar/violin duo. Their repertoire consists of Gypsy jazz, French parlour, Argentinian tango, Celtic rhythms, Cuban son, Classical music plus their own arrangements of songs by various artists. Mimosa is an outstanding duo featuring Morgan Haselden on guitar and Phoebe Haselden on violin, with vocals from both! Classically trained, their repertoire is a colourful collage.
The gypsy jazz music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli now have a permanent place in the Mimosa repertoire and lie deep within their swinging hearts. Mimosa have performed internationally and all over the country and are garnering a large and enthusiastic following. A night of stunning music from around the world celebrating their latest CD. Mimosa Duo ‘express, deep from within their swinging hearts, a joyful virtuosic mix of their delicate classical repertoire, some more upbeat gypsy jazz, with a few spin balls in between.’
CHARITY EVENTS Fun, Easy, Successful!
We love to partner with people to raise funds for charities, great causes, schools and clubs. And it’s never been easier to pull together a great fundraising event! Call Luke or Beth on 4382 1777 & we’ll take you through the very simple process.
Friday 27th october at 8pm adults: $40 | conc:$35 | student: $15 book online - avocatheatre.com.au
Sancha and the Blue Gypsies Friday 17th Nov at 7:30pm - $28.50 Sancha and the Blue Gypsies are a take on traditional folk, blue grass, jazz and gospel tunes. With a lifetime of performance experience between them, this joyous collaboration of some of Sydney’s most respected musicians are headed our way. This will be a night of musical joy! The lineup features Sancha Prowse for Vocals & Mandolin, Marcus Holden - Violin, Mandolin, Guitar, Vocals, Garry Steel on
Accordion & Stan Valacos on Double Bass and Guitar. ‘Sancha and the Blue Gypsies bring the best of the gypsy music world, unforgettable toe-tapping tunes, with the best of the folk world, sing-a-long, heart-felt classics, together in one incredible show.’ ‘The quality of their musicianship & their intimate relationship with the audience makes this show something you won’t forget.’
Funky, Eclectic and Unique Wares
Located in Bateau Bay Square & Avoca Beach Picture Theatre
AND
The perfect place to kick back & unwind is Avoca Theatre’s Café & Wine Bar. Come soak in the ambience and relax on the Theatre terrace or our garden by the sea. Shady umbrellas, ocean breeze, chilled wine, good friends. A peaceful haven on the beach. A great selection of wine, beers and bubbly are complimented by fine coffee and a wide selection of tea. Indulgent cakes, wholesome biscuits, luscious slices to nibble on – and gluten free selection too! Just sit back and relax in our Café and Wine Bar, or bring your drink into the Theatre to enjoy with the show.