Never Closer at fortyfivedownstairs; La Traviata at Regent Theatre; Beethoven’s Ghost at Melbourne Recital Centre; Panorama Brasil at The Jazzlab;

THEATRE
Never Get Close ★★★★
fortyfivebelow, until May 24

Grace Chapple Never Get Closer It’s a love story set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles – it’s also a ghost story – and it’s such confident and mature writing that it’s hard to believe this is his first play.

This all-new production, first performed at the Belvoir in 2024, is a perfect fit for Patalog Theatre, a company I have previously compared to the Hayloft Project in terms of talent and prominence; not only because it tends to stick to the works of contemporary British playwrights (Caryl Churchill, Jez Butterworth, Polly Stenham, Simon Stephens), but also because they are strong on intimate, fine-grained ensemble performance. Never Get Closer demands and rewards.

A group of friends who have just finished high school gather to say goodbye to Niamh (Ella Ferris), who is leaving Belfast for London to study medicine. Her best friend Dierdre (Enya Daly) tells a spooky local legend, but the prevailing mood is optimistic.

Together with Connor (Damon Baudin), Jimmy (Ben Walter) and Mary (Molly Holohan), they are excited to be on the cusp of adulthood and are confident that their bond will survive separation.

Years pass, and on Christmas Eve 1987, the friends reunite at Dierdre’s house. A lot has changed in the meantime; especially when Niamh falls in love with Harry, an Englishman (Karl Richmond) who delights in the trauma experienced by Niamh’s friends during a time of terror.

When Dierdre’s whiskey stash is raided, pent-up emotions and tensions erupt, making it difficult to re-establish a real bond between the (still young) members of their circle. I won’t spoil the ending, but I do want to say that it involves a return to the ghost story from the beginning of the game.

Dann Barber and Ella Butler’s fly-on-the-wall set design gives the show a voyeuristic feel. The audience looks at Diedre’s living room from three sides; After the first scene, the curtains are drawn back to draw us even further into the drama.

Director Marni Mount doesn’t waste her concentration and helps deliver one of the best ensemble performances I’ve seen in a while. I loved the lived-in quality of these characters, not only the compelling detail in the individual performances, but also the quality of engagement and responsiveness among the actors.

It is technically incredibly difficult to portray people joking, fighting, and talking to each other in a way that appears to be overheard but still understandable; or depicting all nonverbal communication that occurs between intimates.

The actors create the feeling of having found a family, and the comedy and melodrama of their friendship is balanced by their vulnerability and the pain they endure, all adding to the impact of the play’s climax.

With such an outstanding ensemble performance, you almost hope Patalog Theater’s next stop will be Chekhov, but if Chapple continues to realize his talent and passion as a playwright, his next work will be just as welcome.
Reviewed by Cameron Woodhead

OPERA
La Traviata ★★★★
Regent Theatre, until 16 May

La Traviata It is the most performed opera in the world. It is timeless. And it’s truly timeless, not the tame marketing rhetoric put out by companies adhering to a contemporary perspective. Those who do not go to the opera will recognize the Parisian prostitute and her naive lover from Baz Luhrmann’s opera. Moulin Rouge!

This is the development of the character; It is said that the role of Violetta Valéry required three different voices. If you had your choice of date, perhaps Joan Sutherland’s vocal fireworks in Act I, II. Renée Fleming’s lyricism and richness in Act III and III. The whole nine yards of vocal emotion in Act 1 (take Maria Callas). Most divas are always suited to one act more than others.

Melburnian Stacey Alleaume, III. The curtain is Violetta. Here, in Opera Australia’s latest production, Alleaume’s final moments are both magnificent and heartbreaking; The volume control is stunning. Act I’s young, enthusiastic Violetta also delivers a dazzling vocal performance. Alleaume replaces the role with Maria Laura Iacobellis.

as Alfredo New Zealand tenor Filipe Manu It masterfully portrays Alfredo’s mastery along with an even, strong Italian voice.

The role of Giorgio Germont, Alfredo’s father, is sung by Ukrainian baritone Andrii Kymach, who, despite having an impressive voice, is barely five years older than Manu. Length and gray hair dye does not weigh down. OA should definitely bring Kymach back, but not for this role, at least not yet.

Conductor Giampaolo Bisanti makes his debut and Orchestra Victoria gives an exciting performance under his supervision. An unfortunate side effect of the Regent’s highly elevated conductor’s podium was that Bisanti’s many and varied hand gestures were so distinctive that he almost became the show’s best supporting actor.

It looks like The OA Elijah Moshinsky production of Verdi’s masterpiece has finally been discontinued. This production, which premiered in Brisbane in 2022, is directed by Sarah Giles, with modern sets and costumes by Charles Davis, and is a welcome, unquestionably successful alternative.
Reviewed by Bridget Davies

MUSIC
Beethoven’s Ghost ★★★★
Musica Viva Australia, Melbourne Recital Centre, 12 May

Bringing together three stellar artists as a piano trio for the first time, this beautiful program was both an outpouring of high-octane musical energy and an unforgettable celebration of artistic synergy.

From the beginning of Beethoven’s “Ghost” Piano Trio, violinist Kristian Winther, cellist Timo-Veikko Valve, and pianist Aura Go seemed driven by a subdued enthusiasm that made for an exciting ride even as it occasionally threatened minor instabilities.

Probably based on his ghost hamlet and witches Macbeththe famous slow motion appeared with impactful spectral sounds, all dispelled by a masterful cat-and-mouse finale.

Melbourne composer Melody Eötvös’ RegnareEucalyptus regnans, a new commission from Musica Viva, is inspired by the mountain ash, the world’s tallest flowering plant. This tree, which needs fire to regenerate, brings to the composer’s mind a sovereignty based on endurance, not domination.

The initial restless, impassioned rumbles in the piano were balanced by calmer, sometimes soaring elements in the violin and cello. In its more rhythmic moments, there was a slight tip of the hat to Australian composer Ross Edwards, but Regnare pointedly confirmed a world far beyond the dire threats of sword-rattling.

Lili Boulanger D’un soir triste (Of A Sad Evening) seemed full of forebodings about the composer’s impending death. Evoking so much emotion from the pulsating accompaniment and mournful turns of melody and harmony, the players defended this forgotten masterpiece with empathy.

Ravel’s Piano Trio is a predominantly optimistic affair, although it was conceived in the shadow of mental depression and war. Having reveled in sparkling exoticism in three of the four movements, the actors performed the gloomy Passacaglia in the third movement like a lost soul seeking peace.

Characterized by admirable ensemble and unforgettable solos, this flamboyant trio could captivate any ghost wandering around.
Reviewed by Tony Way

JAZZ
Panorama Brazil: The music of Hermeto Pascoal ★★★★
JazzLab, May 9

When Brazilian composer Hermeto Pascoal performed in Melbourne in 2012, his restless creativity and invention were on constant display as he moved from keyboard to horns, from melodica to whistled melodies over a bottle of water.

The instrumentation in Saturday night’s tribute to Pascoal was more conventional, save for the brief appearance of a squeaky toy pig, but the exuberance of Pascoal’s spirit flowed through every tune.

Melbourne drummer-percussionist Alastair Kerr has long been a passionate exponent of Brazilian jazz, and his magnificent Panorama Brasil quartet formed the core of this concert, a tribute to Pascoal, who passed away last year. Kerr also served as the evening’s cheerful MC, shedding light on the late composer’s influence and originality, the variety of rhythms and styles his music embodies (forro choro, frevo) and its often complex and unpredictable structures.

There was nothing academic or mysterious about the group’s presentation. On the contrary, this was music that burst from the stage with irresistible energy and vitality, as Kerr and his colleagues (pianist Matt Boden, bassist Jorge Albuquerque and brilliant flautist Yael Zamir) handled every tempo shift, tonal shift and rhythmic fullness with apparent ease.

The various guests who joined the band throughout the night were equally adept at ensuring the elaborate arrangements felt as airy as a summer breeze in Rio. Open Forro BrazilAdam May played a remarkably masterful melody on four-string cavaco, backed by Kerr’s nimble percussion and the dual guitar accompaniment of Paul Carey and Rose M. Gonzalez. Doug de Vries (on seven-string guitar) performed a charming duet with pianist Barney McAll; The duo handled a complex theme with thrilling synchronicity.

Pascoal’s best-known melody, My babyWhile Zamir’s flute darted and danced like a hummingbird, Kerr’s polyrhythms evoked a full percussion section and the entire band brimmed with Pascoal’s famous enthusiasm and enthusiasm.
Reviewed by Jessica Nicholas

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