The City of Stonnington will give summer the ultimate send-off with its popular free three-part concert series, The Classics 2016.
Saturday evening in February (6,13 and 27 February) will be dedicated to a different classic genre, from opera, to Broadway, to symphony, with some of Australia’s best talent coming together in a celebration of these much-loved musical styles.
Opening the series on Saturday 6 February at Prahran’s Victoria Gardens is The Classics: Opera. The highly regarded Artistic Director Suzanne Chaundy returns off the back of the 2015 event to lead an all-star cast of Australia’s finest opera singers for ‘Mozart’s Magic by Moonlight’. Audiences can expect stunning performances of Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Fiagaro (The Marriage of Figaro), Cosi Fan Tutte and more.
With an extensive and diverse international career spanning over 20 years, Chaundy directed Melbourne Opera’s 2015 season of Weber’s Der Freischutz to much acclaim, with The Australian applauding her direction as “tremendously imaginative”.
Shifting the focus to musical theatre the following weekend on Saturday 13 February is The Classics: Broadway. Directed by Gary Young, triple-threat stars including Rhonda Burchmore, Silvie Paladino and Kane Alexander will take to the stage in Ardrie Park, Malvern East. Friends and families can enjoy all the musical theatre classics in ‘Lullaby of Broadway – a Celebration of Great Broadway Composers’.
The final event of the program, The Classics: Symphony, concludes the series in the picturesque Malvern Gardens on Saturday 27 February. Directed by Roy Theaker, the Stonnington Symphony will be joined by special guest Ella Hooper for a stunning, sunset-lit finale. Ella Hooper is best known as the lead singer of rock band Killing Heidi, as a popular presenter on 2Day FM, and as a team captain on the revival of the ABC’s Spicks and Specks.
Opera – Saturday 6 February, 7.30pm – Victoria Gardens, High Street, Prahran Broadway – Saturday 13 February, 7.30pm – Ardrie Park, Ardrie Road, Malvern East Symphony – Saturday 27 February, 7pm – Malvern Gardens, High Street, Malvern. Free entry. More: www.stonnington.vic.gov.au/theclassics.
