BALLARAT\u2019S major choral and operatic companies have been hard at work for the past few months to usher in a collaborative concert this Sunday, hosted by Victorian Opera.<\/p>\n
The show will bring together more than 70 performers from the Ballarat Choral Society, Ballarat Symphony Orchestra and Ballarat Lyric Theatre for a one-hour concert at Civic Hall called The Big Sing.<\/p>\n
VO education manager Tim Ryan said the performance will be the company\u2019s first step in reviving the Ballarat Opera Festival through community engagement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re keen to bring that back as an event in Ballarat,\u201d he said. \u201cPart of that is to have a community element which is what The Big Sing is.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about bringing community arts organisations together, to work together, to explore the art form and put it on stage in an accessible way.<\/p>\n
\u201cBallarat\u2019s always had a really strong culture of opera and opera singers. We\u2019re Victorian Opera, not Melbourne Opera. We\u2019d like to immerse ourselves across the state and Ballarat\u2019s the prime location.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got Anvil Chorus, we\u2019ve got Nabucco, Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves. We\u2019ve got some Donizetti, Verdi, Frosini. There\u2019s a bit of this and a bit of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Ballarat Choral Society will provide opera choruses with accompaniment and overtures from the Ballarat Symphony Orchestra.<\/p>\n
With Ballarat Lyric Theatre\u2019s production of The Sound of Music coming up, actors Anna Marshal and Jenna Featherstone will preview two songs in their roles as The Mother Abbess and Maria Rainer respectively.<\/p>\n
The Big Sing concert is meant to be an annual fixture, set to return next year alongside VO\u2019s Ballarat Arts Foundation fundraiser, with plans from the company to also bring a fully-staged opera to Ballarat for a separate performance.<\/p>\n
Ballarat Choral Society\u2019s musical director Helen Duggan has been leading the group\u2019s regular Wednesday rehearsal to prepare for the show.<\/p>\n
She said it\u2019ll be a great opportunity for the company.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve sung choruses before but we\u2019ve got a real expert [Richard Mills] who\u2019s been working with us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve learnt a lot and I reckon we\u2019re doing quite well. We\u2019ve had good rehearsals and we\u2019re enjoying the languages and they style which we don\u2019t do all that often.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe music itself is in that popular classical vein, choruses that people will either know or be familiar with the style.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tickets range from $15 to $30 and can be booked at bit.ly\/42mjFxl.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BALLARAT\u2019S major choral and operatic companies have been hard at work for the past few months to usher in a collaborative concert this Sunday, hosted by Victorian Opera. The show will bring together more than 70 performers from the Ballarat Choral Society, Ballarat Symphony Orchestra and Ballarat Lyric Theatre for a one-hour concert at Civic […]<\/p>\n