A Brush with the Victorian Opera: ‘Noye’s Fludde’

By Andrew Mott

I have to tell you about a truly remarkable event which took place last week.
Over a dozen Blackburn musicians (along with some students from Melbourne High School) were invited to form the Chamber Orchestra for the Victorian Opera’s first season production: Benjamin Britten’s Noye’s Fludde.

In twenty years, I have not witnessed a more amazing educational and sheer musical experience.

For the entire second week of the holidays and over the final weekend, the orchestra and cast rehearsed every day to stage a professionally-produced opera, with principal vocal roles and chorus, conducted by young protégé, Nicholas Carter. And they ended this incredible week with five packed-house performances, finishing Sunday July 2 (the night before school started again) and all held at Space 28, VCA.

The Musical Advisor was Richard Gill (Head of the Victorian Opera), and an internationally renowned conductor and music educator. He led all rehearsals and ensured that the musicians discovered exactly ‘why’ and ‘how’ of every step along the way. It became a rare journey of discovery for instrumentalists and singers.

At each point at which he stopped in rehearsals, he explained ‘why’, he quizzed musicians directly - and in depth - as to what was happening, what their role was, how were they relating to those around them, could it have been improved and if so, how.

The passage was run again and more probing questions deftly thrown at unsuspecting players, so that every member of the orchestra had a huge investment in the final result.

So the ‘process’ (ie the rehearsal) became the most important thing, nothing else. As a result, the performances were more an active result of some incredible development sessions throughout the week, and the orchestra and singers knew exactly what they had to do.

Every one of us as musicians, can recall sitting at interminably long rehearsals, sometimes without much action happening for us. But there was no idleness here! Perhaps because Mr. Gill comes from a world where time is money, where there is no unnecessary rehearsing or time wasted, and professional musicians are there to play and do everything it takes to do a first class job.

But also because he understands that any musical project is not worth anything unless the ensemble is working with each other at the highest levels of cooperation and understanding. Only then will a performance be outstanding.

Gill’s mission is to re-energise opera in this state and he has just assumed his position as head of the new company. As part of that drive, he realises the importance of educating the younger generations, both as audience and active participants. He is an outstanding advocate for music education and all that it instils in our younger generation. And this is why he saw a production of this nature to be of such great importance