Idomeneo: an opera review by Alex First
July 7, 2023 by Alex First
Superb staging is a hallmark of Mozart’s dramatic opera Idomeneo, set on the island of Crete shortly after the Trojan War. Read more
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – a movie review by Alex First
July 3, 2023 by Alex First
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a fitting tribute to one of the greatest action heroes of the big screen. Read more
Eight Seasons – at the Great Synagogue: a music review by Shirley Politzer
July 2, 2023 by Shirley Politzer
Vladimir Fanshil, conductor, pianist and founder of Live at Yours, promised us “an immersive musical experience in the architectural marvel that is the Great Synagogue” and that’s exactly what we got on Tuesday night for the “Eight Seasons” concert. Read more
Is God Is – a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
June 27, 2023 by Alex First
Revenge is the cornerstone of Is God Is, an incendiary play that explodes onto the MTC stage. Read more
Book review – Care and Covenant- A Jewish Bioethic of Responsibility
June 27, 2023 by Rabbi Jeffrey Cohen
Rabbi Jeffrey Cohen reviews Rabbi Jason Weiner’s book. Read more
Mozart as Wolfgang would have heard his music
June 26, 2023 by Alan Slade
In a program titled “MOZART”, Richard Tognetti and his Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO), augmented with musicians from the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) and guest musicians, gave the audience at Sydney’s City Recital Hall a real treat. Read more
Aida – an opera review by Murray Dahm
June 20, 2023 by Murray Dahm
Verdi’s Aïda (1871) is a remarkable opera for all sorts of reasons. Read more
Broadway Diva at The Butterfly Club – reviewed by Alex First
June 15, 2023 by Alex First
Olivia Ruggiero is talented. No doubt about it. Read more
Chorus Oz – Mahler’s 8th Symphony – reviewed by Shirley Politzer
June 15, 2023 by Shirley Politzer
Do you like to sing in the shower? Dance around the house singing songs? Have you always wanted to share your love of singing but perhaps have no opportunity, then Chorus Oz is for you. Read more
Rigelotto: Reviewed by Murray Dahm
June 14, 2023 by Murray Dahm
Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto (1851) was the composer’s sixteenth opera. Read more
Robyn Archer: An Australian Songbook – reviewed by Alex First
June 13, 2023 by Alex First
The highly entertaining two-hour show could be called the soundtrack of the glorious Robyn Archer’s life. Read more
The Culture: a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
June 12, 2023 by Alex First
Will (Mina Asfour) and Katie (Laura Jackson) are millennial best friends who live together. Read more
Death of a Salesman – a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
June 8, 2023 by Alex First
Almost three-quarters of a century after it was written, the power, passion and desolation intrinsic to Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (1949) remains intact.
A mass that pleased the masses
June 8, 2023 by Fraser Beath McEwing
For Mozart fans, last night’s concert by the SSO was a welcome and balanced blend of the master’s work. Read more
Rocky Horror Show – a Melbourne theatre review
June 7, 2023 by Alex First
Half a century on, the Rocky Horror Show remains a delightful, bizarre and engaging romp that encourages audience participation. Read more
Euphoria: an installation at the Melbourne Town Hall
June 6, 2023 by Alex First
As Gordon Gekko, in the 1987 Oliver Stone-directed hit film Wall Street, Michael Douglas said “greed, for lack of a better word, is good”…writes Alex First. Read more
Climbers – a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
June 4, 2023 by Alex First
It’s all good, clean, innocent, engaging, adventurous and flirtatious fun, until it isn’t. Read more
The World According to Dinosaurs: A Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
June 2, 2023 by Alex First
Having just sat through The World According to Dinosaurs, I am sorry to say I can’t really tell you much about the narrative, save for an extinction event.
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Jacky – a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
May 30, 2023 by Alex First
Racism, disadvantage, “the mob” and money collide in the incendiary new work from Declan Furber Gillick, five years in the making. Read more
Back in Oz: Mamma Mia!
May 29, 2023 by Henry Benjamin
This show is not for you if you hate ABBA’s music, great singing, great dancing, great production and a custom-built heart-warming story incorporating lyrics sung by the Swedish four. Read more
Worstward Ho: a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
May 27, 2023 by Alex First
Irish writer and Nobel Prize winner Samuel Beckett’s works can be difficult to get your head around. Read more
Catch Me If You Can: The Musical – a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
May 25, 2023 by Alex First
Tony Burge, who assumes the role of lead FBI agent Carl Hanratty chasing boyish con man Frank Abagnale Jr. excels in Cloc’s production of Catch Me If You Can. Read more
Verdi’s Requiem: A concert review by Shirley Politzer
May 24, 2023 by Shirley Politzer
Verdi’s Requiem, his largest and most significant choral work, performed recently by the Sydney Philharmonia Festival Chorus and Orchestra, is a musical setting of the Catholic funeral mass for four soloists, a double choir and orchestra. Read more
I Wanna Be Yours – a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
May 23, 2023 by Alex First
Navigating the vicissitudes in a relationship can be tricky at the best of times, but cross-cultural unions, more often than not, face additional difficulties. Read more
Beautiful Highness: a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
May 22, 2023 by Alex First
Today, deteriorating mental health is spoken about far more often than it used to be, which is a good thing, but what does it look like up close and personal? Read more
A blend of the familiar, the unfamiliar and the new: Music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
May 18, 2023 by Fraser Beath McEwing
Having Wolfgang in your name would seem to direct your destiny towards musical composition. It certainly did with Erich Wolfgang Korngold, (1897 – 1957) whose only symphony was played by the SSO last night. Read more
Book Club: The Next Chapter – a movie review by Alex First
May 14, 2023 by Alex First
Book Club: The Next Chapter is a feel-good sequel to the 2018 film Book Club. Read more
This middlebrow concert was a sheer delight – a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
May 12, 2023 by Fraser Beath McEwing
While my reviews usually concentrate on the Emirates Master Series because that’s supposed to attract the most musically sophisticated crowd, last night’s SSO program of the Rach 2 and a Respighi tone poem was a delicious diversion. Read more
Once (Darlinghurst Theatre Company) – A Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
May 10, 2023 by Alex First
A brilliant slice of musical theatre, Once has an inspiring, ear and eye-pleasing balance of heart and humour. Read more
Happy Days (MTC) – a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
May 8, 2023 by Alex First
Absurdist and existential, Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days is a play strictly for selective tastes. Read more
