1990
Adelaide Festival

Murray Bramwell

It is now only twelve sleeps before the 16th Adelaide Festival opens its many gates, doors and curtains. Already some shows have sold out and others are not far from it. The Vienna Singverein’s Requiem with Erich Bergel and the Sydney Symphony has completely sold out and you will soon have to sing for tickets to their unaccompanied concert of choral music. Some Elder Hall concerts have sold out- including those by Paco Pena and Leo Kottke- and its getting tight for the Kronos Quartet. In the Space, Blossom Dearie and Joe Pass tickets are getting very sparse and Kate Ceberano’s season is completely sold. In response to public demand she will perform an extra gig at Her Majesty’s on
at 8 PM. The Four Guitars concert at Thebarton Theatre is also full up.

In the theatre programme there is intense interest in the Irish Abbey Company’s Shadow of the Gunman, the Leicester Haymarket’s Hamlet,
Australian Nouveau Theatre’s The Imaginary Invalid, Archaos, Lyon Opera Ballet’s Cinderella and A Matter of Chance by the Kosh. Alice in Wonderland, to be performed by Glenn Elston’s players in the Botanic Gardens, has completely sold out and Midsummer Night’s Dream has only a handful of tickets still available.

Now that the enthusiastic reviews are coming through from Brisbane, the first venue for Roy Hutchins’ Adelaide Festival tour, interest in Whale Nation is taking off fast. The same will be true when the Australian Opera opens its six performance sell-out season of Tristan and Isolde at the Sydney Opera House tonight.

The Adelaide Festival offers well over 600 performances and events so it is not so much one festival but a multitude of them – in music, theatre, dance, visual arts and as many hybrids of these as you can imagine. Whatever your taste, there is a programme for you – much of it free of charge or only modestly priced. On the first weekend in March you can come into Elder Park on Friday night to hear the State Opera’s Tosca featuring celebrated soprano Joan Carden and back again on Saturday night for the Don Burrows, James Morrison and Kate Ceberano and a host of other fireworks- and none of it will cost you a cracker.
Many of the performances are modestly priced -some little more than the price of a movie ticket, a great many are less than the cost of a meal. And it is important to remember that in the Adelaide Festival the world comes to you. Artists from all over Europe, Asia and North America travels thousands of air miles to perform – and all you have to do is get into into the centre of town.

One of the secrets of the festival’s success is that ticket buyers not only go for the things they know they will enjoy but they are also prepared to experiment and take a punt on something a bit different and interesting. These impulses are invariably well rewarded and are often the most valued festival experiences. This often creates unexpected hits during festival time which remain talking points long after the season is over. In recent festivals the Rustaveli Company and Sankei Juku come to mind as examples but many others also suggest themselves.

This festival, L’Ecran Humain (the Human Screen) from Canada with their
three-dimensional sound/dance collage, Universe, may well become such a hit as could Theatre Mandragore, the worlds first ‘cinematographic theatre company’ from Belgium. If you are looking for something really off the wall Archaos from France should definitely do the trick. You might well need to have a lie-down afterwards.

In the tradition of the Rustavelis, the Georgian Film Actors’ Studio’s presentation of Don Juan and Bacula’s Pig promise much. Don’t be deterred by the fact that they are performed in Georgian- after the Rustaveli’s Richard III we know that it is not a problem. As the Soviet civil rights movement progresses, more attention will be paid to the courageous contribution made by the Georgian theatre. They are not to be missed.

In the tradition of the Bicentennial festival in 1988, there are some distinguished Indian artists performing – Kathakali, the ethnic theatre and dance company from South India and Ali Akbar Khan, master of the sarod. Festival director, Clifford Hocking, promised that many more strings would be plucked this festival and Ali Akbar Khan’s will be some of the most sublime.

In the orchestral and chamber music programme there is a swag to choose from- soloists such as pianists Melvyn Tan and Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the tenor Peter Schreier (probably the finest performer of Schubert lieder anywhere in the world) as well as chamber groups such as Duo Crommelynk and the Clemencic Consort. In new 20th century music, the marvellous Kronos Quartet are
returning along with one of New York’s most inventive new composers, Steve Reich.

So it’s time to get out the programme , texta and diary and start finalising your particular festival invasion plan. Don’t forget Artists’ and Writers’ Week while you are at it, and the outdoor programme .Just remember, your festival doesn’t have to cost you hundreds – it may be little more than the price of the family’s ice cream.

Preview for 1990 Adelaide Festival . Publication details unknown.