Photo: David YoungAbout
The Minotaur Trilogy was an exquisite mythological meltdown – an epic journey into a new kind of opera. In this extraordinary work Chamber Made Opera cast its decidedly unorthodox gaze over the ancient Greek legend with The Minotaur Trilogy resulting in an unconventional opera told over three suitably epic chapters.
Taking its inspiration from Monteverdi’s famous lost opera of which the celebrated Lamento d’Arrianna is the only fragment that remains – this work found the ageless story of thwarted love, misplaced heroism and tragic human failings twisted, inverted and collapsed, a strange new mythology conjured from a familiar tale.
Collaborators
Margaret Cameron, Co-creator
David Young, Co-creator
Deborah Kayser, Performer
Caroline Lee, Performer
Hellen Sky, Performer
Matthias Schack-Arnott, Percussion
Anastasia Russell-Head, Harpsichord
Michael Roper, Architect
Awards
2012 Winner, APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards Victorian Performance of the Year,
Presentation History
2012 Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne [October]
Reviews
'Opera takes bull by the horns…'
'More house party than grand opera, Chamber Made Opera inverts the scale of traditionally large productions.'
'Opera buffs looking to challenge themselves should also grab a ticket to Chamber Made Opera’s extraordinary and ambitious The Minotaur Trilogy, a three-part monster that tackles Greek mythology with a modern fearlessness. Chamber Made Opera has long been a unique outpost on Australia’s performance landscape, and after several years of increasingly prolific work, this may well be the company’s most striking production so far.'
'It’s a show that’ll send traditionalists running for cover but for seekers of truly innovative art, Minotaur is a must. It is a wholly unique experience, unlike anything else this side of dreaming.'
'Wholly absorbing. A compelling sense of ritual.'
'As the first part of a trilogy, The Island sets a stunning precedent for the future works, and as Ariadne puts it at the beginning of The Island: “even if I were to die, I would return.'
Partners
Minotaur the Island was co-commissioned by Ten Days on the Island and Dr. Peter Gillingham.
Minotaur the Labryinth and Minotaur the Boats were co-commissioned by Michael Bink (in memory of Kim Glover), Fiona Sweet & Paul Newcombe, Helen & Peter Murdoch, Meg Morriss, Susan Pelka and Anonymous (2).
Presented by Chamber Made Opera and Melbourne Recital Centre in association with Melbourne Festival.
