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Mary Finsterer's Chamber Opera Antarctica Premiered at the Holland Festival

Jun. 23, 2022

On June 5, Australian composer Mary Finsterer's chamber opera, Antarctica, was premiered at the Holland Festival by the Sydney Chamber Opera and Asko | Schönberg under the baton of Jack Symonds, with stage direction by Imara Savage and set and costume design by Elizabeth Gadsby. The plot of the opera follows a group of explorers in their travels through the Antarctic who come across a girl who was preserved in ice in the 19th century and now retells her experiences. Mary Finsterer and dramatist Tom Wright have set their tale of exploration on the continent which was long known as the perennial ice sheet. The Antarctic has preserved the geological history of the earth like a book and can now tell its own story. The composer notes, "In a time when anthropogenic climate change is destabilizing all centers (political, cultural, scientific), Antarctica becomes a stage for a drama of the future."


(Holland Festival 2022: in conversation with Mary Finsterer – Antarctica)

To learn more about Mary Finsterer, visit: schott-music.com.

Mary Finsterer
Antarctica
chamber opera for 5 voices, 1 actor and ensemble with electronic accompaniment
Libretto (Eng) by Tom Wright
1(afl).0.eh.1(bcl).0-1.1.1.0-perc-hp-pno-str(1.1.1.1.1)
90'

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