Set in a heightened contemporary world somewhere between Egypt and Las Vegas, Antonio Cesti’s Orontea offers a delicious taste of Italian opera made fresh for today’s audiences, with the promise of revelry, beauty and laughter.
Despite renouncing love, Queen Orontea finds herself falling for a handsome refugee artist, Alidoro, only to discover that she has most of the women in her court as rivals. Add to the mix her moralistic councillor Creonte, the scheming courtesan Silandra, and the maidservant Giacinta, who disguises herself as a boy – only to accidentally inspire the affections of Alidoro’s lascivious mother, Aristea.
Content Warnings: sex scenes, partial nudity, and use of toy cap guns.
“This agile production… continues Pinchgut’s tradition of playfully reinventing ancient works within a modern dramatic vocabulary, enlivened with generous splashes of the absurd.” ★★★★
“Seamlessly melds the two worlds of meticulously performed Baroque opera, and witty modern zaniness, in one electrifying artistic universe… a fun and bawdy performance, decked with Pinchgut’s trademark light-hearted wittiness, physical theatricality, and absurdist humour. As always, Pinchgut has assembled a stellar cast… [The production] features some of the finest singing and musicianship you’ll hear on Australian stages.”
“Pinchgut’s sumptuous production of Orontea – with its quartet of feisty females – is sparkling entertainment… Orontea is classic entertainment drawing not just belly laughs but whoops of delight from the audience. Beneath the style, there is substance to which we can all relate.” ★★★★★
Cast
ORONTEA Anna Dowsley
ALIDORO Jonathan Abernethy
SILANDRA Sofia Troncoso
CORINDO Douglas Kelly
CREONTE David Greco
ARISTEA Dominica Matthews
GIACINTA Roberta Diamond
TIBRINO Louis Hurley
GELONE Andrew O’Connor
FILOSOFIA / WAITER Allie Graham
AMORE Ryan Smith
SAILOR / WAITER Heath Keating
ORCHESTRA Orchestra of the Antipodes
Creative Team
CONDUCTOR Erin Helyard
DIRECTOR Constantine Costi
MOVEMENT DIRECTOR Shannon Burns
COMPOSER Antonio Cesti
LIBRETTIST Giacinto Andrea Cicognini
SET DESIGNER Jeremy Allen
COSTUME DESIGN Sabina Myers
LIGHTING DESIGN Damien Cooper
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Eve Beck
STAGE MANAGER Tanya Leach
PHOTOGRAPHER Brett Boardman
Film Credits
Executive Producers: Grant Dodwell, Peter Hiscock, Raj Sidhu; Associate Producers: Lucy Clements & Emma Wright; Director: Peter Hiscock; Director of Photography: Paul Howard; Camera Operators: Andrew McClymont, Jose Alkon, Shaun Dougherty; Camera Assistant: Rhys Luscombe; Production Assistant: Michael McStay; Audio: aFX Global; Audio Producer / Engineer / Mixer: Tony David Cray; Assistant Sound Engineers: Tanya Saint James & Miranda Summers; Editor: Peter Hiscock; Colourist: Dan Molony