STAGED WORKS AND CANTATAS

From the very first concert, dramatic works have played an important role in the repertoire of the Australian Boys Choir. Although this has sometimes meant the boys dressed up as girls in order to fill all the roles, the chance to act as well as sing has always been popular.

Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial By Jury, Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado were early favourites, along with Jonathan Elkus’ Tom Sawyer. Michael Hurd’s Hip, Hip Horatio and Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo were favourites for a time sung as cantatas and a variety of novel works, including Kattaya, Thank Evans: Australian Foreign Policy and East Timor, Elements of Surprise and Ratbag Shearers have also received outings.

Benjamin Britten’s The Golden Vanity and Ian Cugley’s Sea Changes, written specifically for boys, are perhaps more suited to the performers and have become the dramatic mainstays. Both have been performed a number of times, including on several international tours.

The New York Times commented on the choir’s performance of Sea Changes, “its musical sophistication and the sobriety of its text made the work a more worthwhile showcase for these young singers than the gooey comic 18th-century mini-operas typically offered by other boys choirs. The performance was impressively polished, both musically and dramatically.”