CLARE BOWDITCH - APRA

If a picture could speak a thousand
words, this photograph of bass, Conal
Coad, would represent not only a
quintessential backstage moment but
tell also of the months of preparation
and collaboration that precede an
opera’s opening night. It evokes for
me one of many glimpses I’ve been
privileged to have of this extraordinary
world of make-believe and the very
real hard work and talent that creates
it nightly in the Opera Theatre or
Melbourne’s State Theatre.
Coad was captured leaving his
dressing room moments before
going on stage in Manon. He paused
to check his attire, the creation
of designer Roger Kirk and the
costumiers and seamstresses who
work in Opera Australia’s Wardrobe
Department. The telephone at the
ready hints at the activities of a
whole world backstage while the
singer’s attention to every last
detail reflects the culmination of his
musical preparation and the creative
endeavours of many others to ensure
the show goes on.
Writer Annarosa Berman and I spent
two years documenting such moments
to produce The Company We Keep:
an intimate celebration of Opera
Australia. Published in July to coincide
with the company’s 50th birthday,
the book showcases the behind-thescenes
life of what Richard Hickox
calls “one of the world’s last great
ensemble companies”.
The Company We Keep: an intimate
celebration of Opera Australia is
available from selected bookstores in
most cities (rrp $49.95). For further
information contact Annarosa Berman
on (02) 9818 5370 or Emma Williams
at Opera Australia on 0413 985 291.
MOMENTS
IN MUSIC
Conal Coad at the Melbourne
Opera Theatre
By Bridget Elliot, bridgetelliot@optusnet.com.au
Have you
got a photograph
that captures a
moment in music?
Send your
submission
with 250
words on why
it’s special to
asarris@apra.com.au
and it could
appear on the
back of the
next Aprap.
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