Events

The Faculty of Education and ACHPER (Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation) presents the 2023 Fritz Duras Memorial Lecture delivered by Adam Goodes and Dr Baden Pailthorpe.

Bringing physical education into conversation with culture, creativity and technology

The 2023 Fritz Duras Lecture, delivered by long-time collaborators Adam Goodes and Dr Baden Pailthorpe, will reflect on Margaret Williams-Weir, Australia’s first Indigenous university graduate and a PE teacher taught by Fritz Duras. Adam and Baden will chart the links between physical education, sport and creative arts, and technology, and the relevance of these links to the future of education in Australia.

Registration is essential.

Die Zauberflöte ‘The Magic Flute’

(1791)

Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder

Music arranged and directed from the keyboard by Donald Nicolson

Stage Direction by Jane Davidson

Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte ‘The Magic Flute’ is replete with symbolism and ritual. It deals with themes of good vs evil, enlightenment vs ignorance and champions truth above all. Sometimes, it takes a while to uncover the truth, and many characters are not as they first appear.

The princess Pamina has been abducted and her mother The Queen of the Night (famous for her coloratura aria) enlists Tamino to help her to reclaim her daughter. To aid him on his perilous journey, he is given a magic flute and a companion named Papageno. Papageno is a very likeable bird-catcher who wants someone to love. Tamino, Papageno, and Pamina go through several trials to see if they are worthy to attain wisdom and knowledge. In a culmination of all the story lines, Pamina and Tamino vanquish darkness in their final trial through fire and water, Papageno meets his true love (Papagena), and a balance between light and darkness is restored in the land.

This amazing tale is being brought to life using multimedia in an exciting new arrangement by composer and keyboard player Donald Nicolson. This will be a show not to be missed.

The production is a collaboration between Master of Music (Opera Performance), Bachelor of Music (Voice), Master of Production (Stage), and Melbourne Conservatorium of Music orchestra students, and draws on experienced alumna, Ruth Blythman in the role of Queen of the Night.

Content Note: This perfomance includes a depiction of attempted suicide.

Program

Wed 6 Dec and Fri 8 Dec

First Lady: Lisette Bolton
Second Lady: Maria Woolford
Third Lady: Saskia Mascitti
Papageno: Nicholas Beecher
Papagena: Amanda Hargreaves
Pamina: Jesse Linke
Tamino: Mitchell Sanders
Monostatos: Hartley Trusler
Speaker/Armed Man 2: Noah Straughan
Priest 1/Armed Man 1: Metehan Pektas
First Spirit: Lily Ward
Second Spirit: Sofia Imperatore
Third Spirit: Qiulian Axtens
Sarastro: Zhuoyang (Sunny) Li
Queen of Night: Ruth Bythman (Guest Alumna)

Thurs 7 Dec and Sat 9 Dec

First Lady: Breanna Stuart
Second Lady: Chloe James
Third Lady: Genevieve Droppert
Papageno: James Billson
Papagena: Amanda Hargreaves
Pamina: Jesse Linke
Tamino: Joshua Morton Galea
Monostatos: Cen Wei
Speaker/Armed Man 2: Noah Straughan
Priest 1/Armed Man 1: Metehan Pektas
First Spirit: Lily Ward
Second Spirit: Sofia Imperatore
Third Spirit: Qiulian Axtens
Sarastro: Zhuoyang (Sunny) Li
Queen of Night: Ruth Bythman (Guest Alumna)

Chorus
Sopranos: Lily Flynn, Charlotte, Mia Koutsoumidis
Mezzi: Kate Pengelly, Olive Cullen, Stephanie Macindoe, Cate Dunstan, Ela Sailsbury
Tenor: Matthew O’Leary, Metehan Pektas, Hartley Trusler, Cen Wei
Baris: Leyland Jones, Isaac Burgess, Harrison Amos, Declan Farr

ACCESSIBILITY

Union Theatre on Level 2 of the Arts & Cultural Building is wheelchair accessible via the Ground and 1st Floor lift. To read more about access services available at Union Theatre, please visit: https://umsu.unimelb.edu.au/express-yourself/theatre/how-to-get-here/access-info/