Opera Bites: Introducing Opera At The Pub Is A Stroke of Genius

The troupe of four, called Opera Bites, has done it again with their show Opera Royalty, referring not only to the many royal characters – kings and queens, princes and princesses etc – that figure in the long history of opera, but also to the many performers, such as Callas, Pavarotti and Sutherland, who have come to be known as “opera royalty”.

Thus, the program selected by the group for this production features such arias as Nessum dorma, None shall sleep, sung by Calaf, il principe ignoto (the unknown prince) who falls for Princess Turandot (Puccini), and Purcell’s heart-rending lament by Dido, queen of Carthage, who sings this moving aria when her Trojan lover Aeneas leaves her behind on the north African coast and returns home to Italy. 

Tenor Benjamin Oxley was indeed brave to take on Nessum dorma, the aria that Pavarotti made his own when he performed it for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Certainly, much sleep was lost in anticipation of that game!

And Mezzo Eliane Morel moved me to tears with her rendition of Dido’s Lament, the “suicide aria” that Purcell wrote as a passacaglia in G minor.

The group consists of the two singers mentioned above as well as soprano Rae Levien and bass Murray Dahm, who doubles up as a most amusing and informative MC for their performances.

Murray and Benjamin teamed up to sing what I call the “bromance aria,” that is, the duet from Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers, another exquisitely beautiful piece of music.

And Rae and Eliane combined their voices to sing the lively Letters aria from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.

There’s simply too much on the extensive program to tell you all about it!

The upstairs lounge at the Harold Park Hotel has been the comfortable venue for Opera Bites since 2010, although the troupe performs at other venues as well, such as the Castlereagh Boutique Hotel, for special shows such as Mother’s Day.

The group knows how to charm the capacity crowds at the Harold Park Hotel, most of whom admit to being first-timers. I guess the good news spreads quickly. 

It was a stroke of genius by the group to introduce the glorious sounds of opera to people who, for whatever reason, might be unwilling (or unable) to visit the Opera House. The hotel offers an informal environment, you don’t have to get dressed up, it’s easy to find a park, and it’s probably a quick ride home.

Furthermore, Opera Bites can be relied on to make the evening both instructive and entertaining, so a good time is always had by all.

Well done Opera Bites!