 Renowned conductor joins MacKillop team Artes Christi have scored a major asset by securing the services of renowned conductor Timothy Chung as the musical director and conductor of MacKillop. The new musical on the life of Australia's first saint will have its premiere season in Sydney from October 1 with performances to follow in Melbourne from 23-24 October.
Mr Chung has over 20 years experience as a conductor with the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Sydney University Musical Society and the Macquarie University Singers with his previous conducting work including Faure's Requiem, Vivaldi's Gloria, Schubert Mass in G and 'Mostly Mozart' at the Sydney Botanical Gardens. He has also conducted the musicals Joseph and the Amazing Colour Dreamcoat and Godspell as well as over a dozen performances of Handel's Messiah. As an additional benefit, Mr Chung has also conducted several concerts and musicals alongside the Melbourne based Opera soloist Joanna Cole who will be playing the lead role of Mary MacKillop. 'I am deeply honoured to have been asked to be a part of what is going to be an incredible debut production,' said Chung. 'I'm also particularly impressed by the quality of the music and the singers in the production. All the principals as well as the adults and children's choruses will provide powerful musical support for Joanna who will naturally be fantastic as the lead.' Mr Chung is also himself regularly engaged as a soloist and performer including previous work for the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and Choir, The Sydneian Bach Choir and The Renaissance Players. Assistant Director Emma O'Shea is also excited about the music: "The composer Xavier Brouwer has brought the Mary MacKillop story alive in sometimes quite remarkable ways. There is no doubt that this is going to be a very dramatic as well as inspiring musical." Following a special Parish promotion across NSW and Victoria, MacKillop has also now sold over almost 2,000 tickets across the 13 performances to be held in Sydney & Melbourne. "We've received an overwhelmingly positive response from both the Catholic and wider community. We had certainly hoped, but never expected to have the first wave of tickets be so well received," said Anthony Mason, the Company Manager. MacKillop runs from 1-9 October at the Seymour Centre (Sydney) and 23-24 October at the Besen Centre (Melbourne). Joanna Cole gets into MacKillop habit Australian opera singer Joanna Cole has donned the habit and joined with the 80 other members of the cast of the musical MacKillop for her first rehearsal in Sydney.
Joanna, with more than over 20 years' experience in lead roles such as Lucia in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto here and abroad is excited about the role of Mary MacKillop. "I feel incredibly privileged to be cast as Mary MacKillop," she said. "Mary was a very special woman who faced some extraordinary opposition throughout her life. "So the chance to tell her story and bring her charisma to the stage is one I feel very honoured to have been given." Joanna Cole is no stranger to playing strong iconic women having previously taken on the demanding role of Lindy Chamberlain in Opera Australia's 2002 production of Lindy. Director Anthony McCarthy is pleased to have someone of Joanna's calibre as part of the MacKillop cast. "Having such a seasoned performer as Joanna is a wonderful addition to the production," he said. "I'm now certain we will be able to do this work the justice it deserves." While the excitement of the casting certainly heightened the enthusiasm of the cast, the reality of the rehearsal process soon set in. As Joanna says "the best thing about performing a new work is that you have the ability to make it your own but at the same time it adds a new level of complexity to the rehearsal process." MacKillop opens in Sydney on October 1 before travelling to Melbourne on October 23. 'Looking for Mary' We are currently looking for an Australian woman to play the lead role, Mary MacKillop. This role requires a performer who can bring to life the incredible charisma of Mary MacKillop from her earliest years as a young teacher, to the founding of the Josephite Sisters, the establishment of over 100 schools and multiple works of charity, to her final years when she was frequently sick and frail but continued her work all the same. We are also looking for actors to play the supporting roles of Mary's father Alexander, her mother Flora, Fr Tenison Woods (the co-founder of the Josephites), Bishop Sheil (who excommunicated Mary) and Pope Pius IX (who blessed Mary and the Josephite rule). For more info on how to audition see below under Audition Now! |
