Victorian Opera 2016 - The Pied Piper - Programme

THE PIED PIPER A N E N C H A N T IN G NE W P RO D U C T I O N B Y RI C H A RD MIL L S 28 - 30 July

T HE P IED P IP ER

SYNOPSIS The townsfolk of Hamelin happily go about their lives. The children eat treats from Beatrice Brittle’s lolly shop, they attend classes with Miss Rosemary Sprig and the Town Crier announces the town’s news.

The rats are removed from the town, yet Mr and Mrs Mayor refuse to pay the Piper his fee.

As a lesson to them, he uses his magical music to lead the children away from Hamelin; the townsfolk are frozen by his magical music and can’t stop him.

Hamelin is being exploited by the scheming Mayor and his wife, as the greedy couple try to profit every cent they can from the little town. Miss Sprig can see through Mr and Mrs Mayor’s deceptions and consults her wise friend the Owl.

The Owl flies to tell the Piper that not all the folk of Hamelin are like Mr and Mrs Mayor.

The next morning the Piper returns with the happy children and suggests Miss Sprig as an alternative Mayor in the next election.

Miss Sprig is elected and rewards the Piper for his good work.

One night, an army of rats invade and cause havoc across Hamelin. The townsfolk are distraught and call for a solution. A mysterious Piper arrives in the town with his assistant, a talking Cat. He offers to lead the rats away with his magical music; Mr and Mrs Mayor agree to his fee.

Illustrations © Candice MacAllister

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VIC TORIAN OP ER A

PRODUCTION Ensemble

2 8 - 3 0 J U LY 2 0 1 6 ART S CEN T RE MEL B OURNE, P L AY H O U S E

Barbara Ackland, Elise-Marie Addams, Sarah Berry, Jenny Bolger, Judith Clark, Kerry Clarke, Suzanne Coburn, Margaret Crichton, Aziza De Fazio, Beverley Douglas, Molly Ellery, Janette Fly, Belinda Graham, Barry Gration, Christopher Harris, Beverley Hastie, Victoria Hayes, Yaqirah Herut, Andrew Howell, Ann-Kathrin Hurrle, Jane Kelley, Bernadette Kurczycka, Andree L'Estrange, Caitlin Lawson, Tim Le, Lillian Li, Katie Long, Nathan Mackie, Terence Maher, Anna Markowicz, Ian Marshall, Mary Marshall, Nathan Michael, Karen Mulvany, Hong Yuan Ni, Bev Robinson, Anne Shepherd, Alison Slater, Gabriella Sutanto, Shana Sutclife, Alan Tait, Rosemary Tait, Jeannie Taylor, Dylan Travis, Elspeth Vines

Composer & Librettist Richard Mills Running time is approximately 65 minutes.

Creative Team Conductor Simon Bruckard Director Derek Taylor Assistant Director Libby Hill Set & Costume Designer Candice MacAllister Lighting Designer Joseph Mercurio Production Manager Luke Hales Stage Manager Andrea Corish Assistant Stage Manager Katharine Timms Repetiteurs Phoebe Briggs, Phillipa Safey, Katherine Day Head Electrician Peter Darby Head Mechanist Kieran Santoso

Orchestra Flute Kim Falconer Oboe Ben Opie 1st Clarinet Kenny Keppel Bassoon Colin Forbes-Abrams 1st French Horn Alex Morton Percussion Arwen Johnston Piano Katherine Day

Cast Pied Piper Carlos E. Bรกrcenas The Cat Stephanie John Rosemary Sprig Elizabeth Barrow Mr Mayor Nathan Lay Mrs Mayor Fleuranne Brockway Town Crier Jacob Lawrence Beatrice Brittle Kirilie Blythman Owl/General Rat Lisha Ooi

Acknowledgements Victorian Opera would like to thank Resolution X, CVP, Scenic Studios, Creffields Digital Print, Implant Media, Harrison Cope, Duran Reid, Kate Glen-Smith, Steven Veale, Ryan Meeking, Carlton Gardens Primary School and Matt Hobson.

Children/Rats Alex Bradshaw Allen, Ryan Balas, Sue Zen Karanjit Chan, Giulianna Concel, Ida Currie-Hitchcock, Yvie Currie-Hitchcock, Nikita Archibald-De Boers, Raven Archibald-De Boers, Dominique Doig, Trisha Dorale, Maya Dymott Khuong, Harvey Garnaut, Luis Garnaut, Jaden Gomez, Sylvia Grant, Alice Kennedy, Sophia Krabeleski, Yoyo Li, Aurora McDonald, Ana Mihalic Tynan, Jon Poon, Rithika Ramesh, Luke Shiell, Jessie Sun, Athena Tan, Nathaniel Tan, Noelle Toh, Grace Wilson, Amy Zhao, Catherine Zhao

Government Partner

Foundation Partner

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Regional Partner

T HE P IED P IP ER

REGIONAL TOUR Port Fairy

Bendigo

9 October, 3:30pm The Stadium portfairyspringfest.com.au

4 November, 6:00pm & 5 November, 2:00pm The Capital thecapital.com.au

Mildura

Shepparton

20 October, 7:30pm Mildura Arts Centre milduraartscentre.com.au

11 November, 7:30pm Westside Performing Arts Centre riverlinksvenues.com.au/spaces-for-hire/westside

Warragul 27 October, 11:00am & 7:30pm West Gippsland Arts Centre wgac.com.au

Albury/Wodonga 16 November, 7:30pm Albury Entertainment Centre alburyentertainmentcentre.com.au

LAUGHTER AND TEARS A passionate affair unravels the lives of a theatre troupe in a bold reimagining of the famous opera Pagliacci from Victorian Opera and Circus Oz. 3 Performances Only! 13, 16, 18 August, Palais Theatre, St Kilda.

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