CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN

Bringing opera to a young audience can be a challenging undertaking. With her new production of Cunning Little Vixen, director Kate Gaul hopes that, “those who perhaps haven’t seen much opera will be surprised at just how accessible the work is.”

For Gaul, “moving opera out of the Opera House is a great step in encouraging curious and maybe younger audiences.” Being staged at CarriageWorks, a space that, “lends itself to works like opera,” the classic modernist opera tells the interlocking tales of sexy foxes, bitchy hens and diva dogs. Promising to be a multi-layered parable of the inevitable cycles of nature, birth and death, the Czech masterpiece by Janacek has been remade by Jonathan Dove in a new, tasteful, English translation.

“I hope the audience engage with the timeless story of life, death, love and everything in between,” says Gaul. “It’s a beautiful work composed at the end of a life – so it’s very ‘easy’ in the sense that the composer is at the height of his powers, and has also re-engage with life’s innocence.

“I know audience will be impressed with the cast of young, ambitious artists involved,” she concludes.

Jul 30-Aug 6, CarriageWorks, 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh, $30-60,