Events

Curators: Dr Tamara Lewit and Dr Caroline Tully, Honorary Fellows, Classics & Archaeology

This exhibition provides a glimpse into life in the Greek and Roman worlds, through everyday, ritual and luxury objects from the University of Melbourne’s Classics and Archaeology Collection. 

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Guest curators Dr Tamara Lewit and Dr Caroline Tully, both Honorary Fellows in the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, have chosen items that tell a fascinating story of the often-hidden lives of women, men, children, athletes and artisans, rich and poor, in the ancient world – including wine drinking, mourning the dead, and beauty routines. 

The Classics and Archaeology Collection is one of the cornerstones of object-based learning at the University of Melbourne. From the origins of the Collection in 1901 with the donation of five Egyptian papyri, it has played an important role in teaching and research. Now managed by the Museums and Collections department, it has continued to grow through donations and purchases to encompass over 300 objects, with significant holdings of Classical, Cypriot and Near Eastern material. 

The Classics and Archaeology teaching program at the University of Melbourne offers a multidisciplinary perspective on Egyptian, Near Eastern, Aegean, Greek and Roman civilisations and their interactions with each other and the wider Eurasian region from prehistory to late antiquity. It includes the study of archaeology, ancient society, politics, literature, myth and art, and Greek, Latin and Egyptian languages.

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/