Article - Opera in the Paddock

in the
Celebrating 10 years
30 new england focus

Opera in Paddock celebrates 10 years of song and music.
magic under the
focusfeature
Inverell’s popular Opera in the Paddock will celebrate its tenth birthday
this year on Saturday, March 19. It’s a fine record for an event which had
originally been planned as a one off in 2002.
wept along by the enthusiasm of
supporters, organisers Peta and
Bill Blyth have stayed with the
concept that originally inspired
them, bringing fine music and
singing of the highest professional standard to
country audiences.
For Peta, a soprano dubbed affectionately
as the Delungra Diva, this year is also
significant because of the death of Dame Joan
Sutherland, whom she once understudied at
Opera Australia.
This year’s concert will include a tribute to
Dame Joan Sutherland and the Bel Canto repertoire,
which she and her husband Richard
Bonynge championed.
Fittingly, Opera Australia will be a performance
partner for the anniversary concert
through the sponsorship of
two artists from the company:
tenor David Corcoran
and soprano Annabelle
Chaffey. They will perform
with Paddock veterans
mezzo soprano Elizabeth
Campbell, baritone Shaun
Brown, bass David Hibbard,
Peta Blyth, pianist David
Miller and conductor Tim Sexton and the
Mimosa Chamber Orchestra. Tenor Virgilio
This year’s concert
will include a tribute
to Dame Joan
Sutherland and the
Bel Canto repertoire,
which she and her
husband Richard
Bonynge championed.
Marino is the newcomer.
The 2011 program will include arias, duet
and trio from Donizetti’s La Fille du Regiment
The famous tenor aria Pour
mon ame will be sung by
tenor Virgilio Marino.
Other highlights will include:
Oh mio Fernando from
La Favorita, sung by Elizabeth
Campbell; duets from Don
Pasquale; Bellini’s I Puritani
and Norma. Opera Australia
artists tenor David Corcoran
and soprano will perform arias and duets from
Verdi’s Rigoletto. The tribute will conclude
with the final trio from Gounod’s Faust.
The second half of the program will feature
the quartet from Puccini’s La Rondine and
Haberna from Bizet’s Carmen and works by
Bernstein and Sondheim, finishing with a
Viennese segment by Strauss and Lehar.
Once again a German, Italian and French
Art song recital will be held in the Inverell
Town Hall on Friday, March 18 at 6.15pm as a
precursor to the opera concert.
Tickets are available online at
www.operainthepaddock.com.au or from
Inverell Visitors Information Centre; phone
6728 8161.
Proud supporter of the Opera in the Paddock
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new england focus 31

Opera in the Paddock celebrates 10 years of song and music.
focusfeature
Top Performers
Some favourite performers and veterans of the Paddock stage return this year to
be part of the anniversary concert on Saturday, March 19 at Mimosa, Delungra.
in the
paddock
RICHARD TORBAY
lthough they all perform
nationally and internationally,
they love coming to the
Paddock,” says organiser Peta
Blyth of her co-performers.
“They have great respect and affection for our
audiences and their response to the music and
singing.”
This year’s line up includes:
Shaun Brown, baritone, has appeared with
Opera Queensland in numerous productions,
performed extensively as a soloist in Australia,
England, Germany, France and Italy. 2011 sees
Shaun perform Gugliemo in Così fan Tutte
with Opera Queensland.
Elizabeth Campbell is one of Australia’s
most distinguished operatic mezzo sopranos
and leading concert artists
and recitalists. In 2010
she performed the roles of
Marcellina in The Marriage
of Figaro, Amneris in Aida,
Mrs Sedley in Britten’s
Peter Grimes with Opera
Australia.
Annabelle Chaffey,
soprano, has performed in many roles with
Opera Australia and with West Australian,
Australian / Italian
tenor Virgilio Marino
studied in New York
and has performed
throughout Australia
and in the US,
Germany and Italy.
Queensland and Victorian Opera Companies.
In 2010 she took the role of Violetta in La
Traviata for Oz Opera.
David Corcoran, tenor,
is a principal artist with
Opera Australia. In 2011
he performed as the Duke
in Rigoletto and is currently
playing Pinkerton in Madam
Butterfly for OA.
David Hibbard, bass, has
taken major roles with the
English National Opera, Opera Australia,
the Cologne Stadtsoper and the Bremen
Stadts – Theatre. Most recently he performed
as Ramphis in Aida and Dr. Bartolo in the
Marriage of Figaro for State Opera Of South
Australia.
Australian / Italian tenor Virgilio Marino
studied in New York and has performed
throughout Australia and in the US, Germany
and Italy. In 2011 Virgilio performs Harry, La
Fanciulla del West, Ferrando, Così fan Tutte,
and Spoletta, Tosca, for Opera Queensland.
Peta Blyth, soprano, has performed with
the Australian Opera both in the chorus and
in principal roles as well as in Queensland,
Hong Kong and New Zealand. In 2010
Queen’s Birthday Honours List, she was
awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia
for contribution to the performing arts,
especially opera.
Timothy Sexton is
a freelance composer,
conductor, arranger,
singer, writer, adjudicator
and broadcaster. He is
Head of Music at the
State Opera of South
Australia. In 2003 he was
awarded a Centenary Medal for Services
to Music and in 2009 named South
David Miller is one
of Australia’s leading
chamber vocal
musicians and vocal
accompanists. He is
regarded as ‘the role
model of Australian
accompanists’.
Australian of the Year in the Arts.
David Miller is one of Australia’s leading
chamber vocal musicians and vocal
accompanists. He is
regarded as ‘the role
model of Australian
accompanists’, and in
the Queen’s Birthday
1995 Honours list he was
appointed as a member
of the order of Australia
for his service to music.
He is Head of Ensemble Studies at the
Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
he only Opera in
the Paddock concert
I have missed was the first one. Since
then I have brought a group of friends
each year and for all of us it has
become a must on the calendar, because it is
such a unique and enjoyable event.
What draws us each year is the high quality of
the performers, the wonderful atmosphere in the
paddock and the enthusiasm and good will of
the audience.
Peta and Bill Blyth’s emphasis on singing and
music of such high professional quality, the
excellent sound and lighting and a wonderfully
varied program have made Opera in the Paddock
one of the key events in the New England North
West.
It has also become well known to the State
Government, and I am pleased to say that our
submissions to the NSW Ministry for the Arts and
the Minister for Tourism have been successful
over the last nine years. In recent months the
event has received Region Flagship funding and a
grant from the Ministry for the Arts.
The tenth anniversary is a great landmark.
My wife Rosemary and our friends will be there
on March 19 to celebrate and congratulate the
Blyths on their tremendous contribution to our
region.
Richard Torbay
Member for Northern Tablelands.
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32 new england focus new england focus 33

focusfeature
Opera in the Paddock celebrates 10 years of song and music.
Concert
The concert expanded through
the help of friends and sponsors.
pera in the Paddock started 10 years
ago as a one off concert on a home
built stage in a natural amphitheatre
at Mimosa, a mixed farming
property near Delungra.
It germinated as an idea after soprano Peta
Blyth tried out an aria or two in the paddock next
to the house that she and her farmer husband Bill
were renovating.
“It was at night that I would go and sing
outside,” she says. “The sound would just
rebound around the hills … it was amazing.”
That high acoustic quality played on her
mind and finally led to an invitation to opera
colleagues, tenor David Hamilton, pianist David
Miller and flautist Paul Curtis to perform with her
at a small concert in the paddock.
Word got around, and instead of the 100 or
so they were expecting, more than 650 people
turned up, some wearing formal evening clothes,
with wine and food, tables and chairs to sit under
the stars and hear the singers.
A few days later letters flooded in, pressing the
Blyths to make it an annual event. People who
rarely got a chance to hear professional singers
were enchanted with the quality, the concept, the
setting, the informality.
That first concert set the style of the event
which now attracts an audience of 1,500 or
more from northern NSW, southern Queensland,
Brisbane and Sydney. People still bring their
picnics, chairs and tables, the singers are all
professional opera performers and the small stage
has been extended three times to include an
orchestra and extra singers.
“We would not have reached this tenth
anniversary without a tremendous amount of
support from our local MP Richard Torbay, Inverell
Council, original sponsors the New England Credit
Union and Allianz Insurance, Country Energy,
Malachite Resources Ltd, WHK and QantasLink,“
Peta Blyth says. “The German Consulate sponsors
a recital at the Inverell Town Hall on the Friday
evening before the opera concert.
“This year we have some new Silver Sponsors,
NAB and Telstra Inverell, as well as Friends of
Opera in the Paddock, which started up recently.
“They have raised approximately $6,000 to
sponsor conductor Tim Sexton and additional
musicians for the Mimosa Orchestra, which is a
fantastic contribution.
“We started very modestly and each year have
improved the event technically and artistically.
We were delighted when Events NSW Regional
Event Manager, Steve Keogh listed Opera In
the Paddock as ‘one of the key regional cultural
events in NSW’ alongside such events as
Tamworth Country Music Festival, Countrylink
Parked Elvis Festival and Bathurst 1000 Racing
Festival.
“Without the enthusiasm of our supporters
and the generosity of our sponsors, this would
not have been possible, and we are most grateful
for their continuing support.”
New England Mutual is proud to
support Opera in the Paddock
and many other local
community events.
Talk to us about all your banking needs.
132 067 www.communitymutual.com.au
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34 new england focus

Benefits to the
in the
paddock
Opera in the Paddock premiered back in 2002, and over
the last 10 years it has grown to become the highest yield
event in the region, according to Tourism NSW figures.
he concert single handedly fills
Inverell and surrounding towns
to capacity, with economic
benefits for accommodation
houses, restaurants, cafés and the
shopping precinct.
Many businesses have found it their most
profitable weekend of the year, with well over
$600,000 injected into the local economy.
It also enables a number of professional
singers and musicians in the region a rare
opportunity to perform with some of Australia’s
top artists.
Each year Opera in the Paddock has engaged
Martin Hansford from nearby Bingara, who
worked as a sound engineer at the Sydney
Opera House, and more recently Roy Jeffrey,
who was head of ABC lighting for 37 years.
“We’ve developed a terrifically professional
team, which has been crucial to the success of
the event,” Peta Blyth says.
“Our vision has always been to produce fine
quality music in the country.”
Opera in the Paddock will be held on
Saturday, March 19. A recital of art songs will
be held at the Inverell Town Hall the night
before the main event. Tickets are available
online from www.operainthepaddock.com.au
or from the Inverell Visitors Centre on 1800 067
626.
> Opera North West develops regional
program
Opera in the Paddock comes under the
umbrella of Opera North West (OPNW), which
was formed to develop a wider program of fine
music concerts in NSW country regions.
This year there are plans for concerts
in Walgett, Quirindi, Grafton and Coffs
Harbour, following the success of three
Serenade concerts in Armidale, Gunnedah and
Tamworth in November and December.
The company’s expansion plans have been
boosted with a $20,000 grant from Arts NSW
to assist with the extra concerts and also to
mark the tenth anniversary of the Paddock
concert.
Artistic director Peta Blyth says the concerts
will begin on a smaller scale, employing local
professional musicians and singers who have
worked for the company over the years.
OPNW has supported and will continue to
support several young professional artists such
as Lexi Hutton, Milica Ilic and Zoe Taylor.
“We have built a repertoire that
encompasses a wide cross section and variety,
and it makes sense to use this further,” she
said. “It will provide much needed platforms
to perform for young singers who are starting
their careers – something that we have
integrated into Opera in the Paddock over the
past few years.
“Opportunities like this are greatly valued in
regional areas. I have singers contacting us to
perform.”
new england focus 35