The Children's Bach, Op. 74, is a chamber opera by the Australian composer Andrew Schultz to a libretto by Glenn Perry, based on the 1984 novella of the same name by Helen Garner. The work was commissioned by the Melbourne-based group Chamber Made and their artistic director Douglas Horton with the aid of an Australia Council Project Fellowship; it premiered for a run of 15 performances at the Malthouse Theatre's Merlyn Theatre on 20 June 2008."The Children’s Bach, Op. 74 (2008), program notes", andrewschultz.net
The opera was performed and recorded at the 2019 Canberra International Music Festival, conducted by Roland Peelman."The Children's Bach, recording details (2019), includes libretto The Lyric Opera of Melbourne and Theatre Works gave the work its second full staging in August/September 2024."The Children’s Bach in Melbourne", 29 July 2024, andrewschultz.net"Lyric Opera of Melbourne: The Children’s Bach", Limelight, 7 September 2024
Roles +RoleVoice typePremiere cast, 20 June 2008Conductor: Brett KellyDexterbaritoneAndrea CarcassiAthenamezzo-sopranoKathryn GreyBilly,their son Jackson Cairnduff/James ChristensenPhilliptenorJames EgglestoneElizabethmezzo-soprano Dimity ShepherdVicki,Elisabeth's sistersopranoTeresa 'Tess' DuddyPoppy,Phillip's daughter Hannah Kostros/Alexa MaddenDirectorChris KohnLighting designRichard VabreDesignDale FergusonSound designRussell Goldsmith The work is of 80 minutes duration and is scored for a cast of six, and six instrumentalists (violin, cello, double bass, clarinet, percussion, piano).
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