About the show
The NIDA and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music have come together to bring a unique co-production of Benjamin Britten’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ The show is an operatic retelling of William Shakespeare’s classic comedy. The production has been supported by the Nick Enright AM Estate.
The Sydney Conservatorium of Music’s staff and students have been engaged in creative synergies, preparing a wondrous musical playground for the performances. The show brings together the strengths of each school, and for the SCM, it is the only live performance for this semester.
The show’s director, Kate Gaul, says that Shakespeare’s play is imbued with the spirit of music, heard, or implied, exploring the grey areas between the spoken and the sung. The text is rich in inflections which recall musical wrong notes and blues notes, which highlight a vowel rendered ‘out of tune,’ exposing the inner life of a character and their complex, subconscious world. The show’s Overture was composed by Felix Mendelssohn and is generally considered to exemplify in music the world of the forest as imagined by Shakespeare.
Cast
Oberon
Michael Burden
Puck
Isabella (Bella) Piggott
Tytania
Claudia Mackay
Helena
Elizabeth Cooper
Hermia
Olivia Payne
Lysander
Elias Wilson
Demetrius
Jeremy Boulton
Hippolyta
Olivia Swain
Theseus
Yuan Gao
Flute
Alexander Young
Snout
Alexander Caldwell
Starveling
Robert Adam
Snug
Aiden O’Donnell
Quince
Andrew Knight
Bottom
Joseph Jae Kwon Kim
Cobweb
Janine Harris
Peasblossom
Elise Morton
Mustardseed
Lana Kains
Moth
Claire Burrell-McDonald
Ariel
Sofya Kovaleva
Gallery
Creative Team
Director
Kate Gaul
Music Director and Conductor (Con Staff)
Dr Stephen Mould
Vocal Coach and Assistant Conductor (Con Staff)
Simon Lobelson
Assistant Conductor (Con Staff)
Omid Moheb Zadeh
Set Designer
Camille Ostrowsky
Associate Set Designer
Veronique Benett
Costume Designer
Sabina Myers
Lighting Designer (NIDA)
Sophia Wallace
Sound Designer (NIDA)
Sophie Jones
Assistant Director (Con Student)
Hannah Burton
Choreographer (Con Student)
Sofya Kovaleva
Production Team
Repetiteur (Con Post Grad Student)
Alan Hicks
Repetiteur (Con Staff)
Ingrid Sakurovs
Producer/Artistic Planning Manager (Con Staff)
Scott Ryan
Stage Production Coordinator (Con Staff)
Thomas Wade
Senior Lecturer, Voice and Opera (Con Staff)
Dr Rowena Cowley
Senior Lecturer Voice and Stage Craft. Program Leader SCM Music Theatre (Con Staff)
Dr Narelle Yeo
Senior Lecturer Voice (Con Staff)
Dr Anke Ryan
Mr Barry Ryan OAM
Costume Supervisor (NIDA)
Bethany Hewitt
Costume Maker (NIDA)
Elsbeth Cameron
Ori Hiser
Costume Coordinator & Dresser
Sarah Murdoch
Props Co-Supervisor & Maker (NIDA)
Isabell DeLaurentis
Zoe Manning
Costume and Props Specialist
Luke D’Alessandro
Production Manager (NIDA)
Joel Mallett
Stage Manager (NIDA)
Pip Morey
Assistant Stage Manager (NIDA)
Amy Norton
Joel Montgomery
Construction Manager (NIDA Staff)
Nick Day
Fly Supervisor
Jenn Ryan
Head Electrician (NIDA)
Chloe Langdon
Design Assistant (NIDA)
Cosette Mangas
James Stibilj
Props Assistant (NIDA)
Ari Gilbert
Make-up Artists (NIDA)
Anthony Bonfanti
Amy Dillon
Melanie Gjura
Teagan Hay
Ahdinda Ley
Eliza Young
Follow Spot Operators (NIDA)
Madeleine Picard
Jordan Magnus-McCarthy
Cameron Bartie
Amina Osman
Mechanists (NIDA)
Maxime Armand
Cameron Russel
Chris Milburn-Clark
Technical Assistants (NIDA)
India Lively
Bernie Lorincz
Oliver Becroft
* Guest
** Staff
*** Diploma of Stage and Screen Performance
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands on which we learn and tell stories, from the lands of the Bidjigal and Gadigal people of the Eora nation where our campus stands, to the nations across this continent where we teach.
We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders past and present who have cared for land, water and story on these lands for generations. We also recognise the work and strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, workers and creatives within the NIDA Community.
Sovereignty was never ceded. Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.
