''Voss'' is an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

by Australian composer

Richard Meale Richard Graham Meale, Member of the Order of Australia, AM Member of the Order of the British Empire, MBE Australian Academy of the Humanities, FAHA (24 August 193223 November 2009) was a highly-regarded Australian composer of instrumental works ...

with

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

David Malouf David George Joseph Malouf (; born 20 March 1934) is an Australian poet, novelist, short story writer, playwright and Libretto, librettist. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2008, Malouf has lectured at both the University ...

. It is an adaptation of

Patrick White Patrick Victor Martindale White (28 May 1912 – 30 September 1990) was an Australian novelist and playwright who explored themes of religious experience, personal identity and the conflict between visionary individuals and a materialistic, co ...

's novel of the same name. The opera was commissioned by The Australian Opera, and premiered at the

Adelaide Festival The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

in 1986. It was reprised in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

in 2022, in a co-production by

State Opera South Australia State Opera South Australia (SOSA) is a professional opera company in Adelaide, South Australia, established in 1976. History State Opera South Australia was established in 1976 as a statutory corporation under the ''State Opera of South Aus ...

and

Victorian Opera Victorian Opera is an opera company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company was founded in 2005 by the Victorian Government as a replacement for the Victoria State Opera. It commenced operations in January 2006 with Richard Gill a ...

Commission

In 1977,

impresario An impresario (from Italian ''impresa'', 'an enterprise or undertaking') is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, Play (theatre), plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film producer, film or ...

and administrator Peter Hemmings, general manager of the Australian Opera (as

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, New South Wales, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with t ...

was then known), commissioned Meale to write an opera based on ''Voss'', Patrick White's 1957 novel.

Work in progress

White's novel was predominantly set in Queensland, and appropriately, Meale's librettist for the opera was Queensland writer, poet and playwright David Malouf. Malouf completed the libretto in 1978, but ''Voss'' would not be performed until 1986.

Performances

Twelve minutes of ''Voss'' – the "Garden Scene" – was a feature of the 1982

The Australian Opera conducted by Stuart Challender premiered ''Voss'', directed by

Jim Sharman James David Sharman (born 12 March 1945) is an Australian director and writer for film and stage with more than 70 productions to his credit. He is renowned in Australia for his work as a theatre director since the 1960s, and is best known in ...

on 1 March 1986 at the

Adelaide Festival Theatre Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first capital city multi-purpose arts centre and the home of South Australia's performing arts, was built in the early 1970s and designed by Hassell Architects. The Festival Theatre opened in June 1973 wit ...

. The production was given a second run in 1990 with Geoffrey Chard, who reprised the titular role. It was conducted by Dobbs Franks. ''Voss'' also enjoyed a successful run at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

in 2008. The Australian Opera production was directed by

, with Stuart Challender conducting, and starring

Marilyn Richardson Marilyn Richardson (born 10 June 1936) is an Australian operatic soprano. She sang Laura in the first performances of Richard Meale's opera, ''Voss''. Career Born in Sydney on 10 June 1936, Richardson studied singing and piano at the New So ...

and

Geoffrey Chard Geoffrey William Chard AM (born 9 August 1930 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) is an Australian opera singer. He was a foundation member of the National Opera of New South Wales."''The Dictionary of Performing Arts in Australia — Oper ...

. The opera was revived in 2022 in a joint production by

and

. Samuel Dundas played Voss, while

Trevor Jamieson Trevor Jamieson (born 7 March 1975) is an Aboriginal Australian stage and film actor, playwright, dancer, singer and didgeridoo player. Early life Trevor Jamieson was born on 7 March 1975 in Subiaco, Western Australia (WA). He grew up in th ...

played Dugald. Originally scheduled to be performed in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in August 2021, owing to a fifth

lockdown A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the season was cancelled and rescheduled to a single performance in Adelaide. The option of viewing a performance

livestream Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming media, streaming of video or Digital audio, audio in real-time communication, real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature ...

ed from the

on 7 May 2022 and viewable for six months was made available. The production was well-reviewed, with two critics giving it four out of five stars.

Recording

The Australian Opera's production was recorded by the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

in 1986 and released internationally on the

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

label in 1987. The recording received the

ARIA Award for Best Classical Album The ARIA Music Award for Best Classical Album, is an award presented within the Fine Arts Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", and have been given ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

. In 2011, ''Voss'' was added to the

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...

(NFSA) of Australia's

Sounds of Australia The Sounds of Australia, formerly the National Registry of Recorded Sound, is the National Film & Sound Archive's selection of sound recordings deemed culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant and relevant for Australia. It was fo ...

registry.

Roles

The roles on the recording were as follows:

''The Voss Journey'' (2009)

''The Voss Journey'' was a four-day event which included seminars, concerts, films, and exhibitions inspired by the novel, hosted by the NFSA in collaboration with

Canberra International Music Festival The Canberra International Music Festival is a music festival based in Canberra, Australia. It was founded by Ursula Callus (1939–2001), former President of Pro Musica Incorporated. The first Festival was originally called the Canberra Int ...

and many other institutions. It included presentations by many of the artists involved in the staging of the opera.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Voss (Opera) English-language operas 1986 operas Operas Operas by Richard Meale Operas set in Australia Operas based on novels Opera world premieres at the Adelaide Festival Theatre