An international late summer festival showcasing visual, performing, literary and media arts held every two years in Adelaide, South Australia.
Christian Spuck’s balletic incarnation of Verdi’s Messa de Requiem thrilled the opening night crowd; Marie Collier and Tito Gobbi performed classical vocal masterworks; and DH Lawrence poured a vision of radical tenderness into Lady Chatterley’s Lover at Adelaide Writers’ Week.
WOMADelaide
A truly iconic open-air festival of the World Of Music Arts & Dance since 1992, Adelaide’s WOMAD is an award-winning celebration of the best in music, art and ideas. Held on the traditional lands of the Kaurna People at Botanic Park / Tainmuntilla, WOMADelaide brings together performers from diverse geographic and artistic backgrounds across a vast 34 hectares of parkland. The program features an outstanding mix of internationally acclaimed theatre productions, eclectic world-class musicians and captivating dance pieces, alongside renowned writers and striking visual arts displays.
This year, WOMADelaide presents the Australian premiere of Bettrofenheit, a new dance theatre work from the much sought-after choreographer Crystal Pite. Drawing inspiration from Nikolai Gogol’s farcical Government Inspector, it is a deeply political and human tale of corruption and greed set to pulsating techno-beats. Also making a return is the acclaimed French aerial circus company Gratte Ciel with their Australian exclusive of Place des Anges, an extraordinary nightly performance featuring breathtaking acrobatics and death-defying theatrics.
Also joining the lineup is Germany’s self-described ‘techno marching band’ MEUTE, whose high-octane shows have redefined brass bands across the globe. Their pulsating rhythm section and horn players transcend musical barriers to elicit crowd-hyped movements, while their remix of Flume’s You & Me has amassed more than 57 million YouTube views. Eclectic Norwegian folk-pop singer AURORA will make her Australian festival debut. With her soaring vocals and distinctive stage presence, she is an artist sure to win fans with her powerful live performances.
Tracker
A decade after it first opened its doors, the Adelaide Festival is now a major player on the world’s cultural map, regularly making the top 10 of Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel listings. The city’s riverbank precinct is home to a diverse array of events that celebrate Australia’s national diversity and showcase its local talent.
From a performance by the world-renowned Australian Dance Theatre to the Australian premiere of a commissioned work, 2023 will feature some of the festival’s most anticipated highlights. Tracker is a new dance-theatre production based on the life of Wiradjuri elder Alec Riley. It traces the path this man, who served with NSW police for 40 years, carved through colonial systems and Indigenous lore. Performers Tyrel Dulvarie, Rika Hamaguchi, Ari Maza Long and Kanie Sultan-Babij will show how a man who lived in both cultures was able to create a unique path forward.
Also on the program is a world premiere of the opera Watershed: The Death of Dr Duncan, starring yidaki master William Barton. The new work, created by former joint artistic directors Rachel Healy and Neil Armfield, is a powerful oratorio that illuminates emotional and imaginative truths about the death of this essential historical figure. It joins a host of other musical performances, including the Sydney and Melbourne symphony orchestras, Dave Brubeck’s jazz quartet and a visit from Yehudi Menuhin and Hephzibah Menuhin.
The Golden Cockerel
Rimsky-Korsakov built his opera on a poem by Alexander Pushkin, which had the burnished aura of legend and was a popular source for tales of oafish Tsars who go off to war without reason or good sense, only to come to tragedy. The purely human nature of the story allowed the composer to camouflage his opera’s political commentary behind the mask of a fable.
Act I starts out a little uninspiring. We’re introduced to a daffy Tsar, his dull (as in not particularly sharp) sons, the Housekeeper and her befuddled General, and eight “Boyars” (advisors).
As if to keep this from sounding like a satire of Czar Nicholas II, the Astrologer suddenly materializes and promises the Tsar that he will protect the Golden Cockerel, whose watchful squawks warn him of danger, in return for whatever he asks of him. The Tsar agrees – without really knowing or caring what the Astrologer wants.
This all leads to the wedding of the Tsaritsa and her husband Dodon, which is promptly turned into a bloodbath by the rooster’s cunning. The Tsar is pecked to death as a gruesome finale to this fantastical melodrama. Interestingly, Konstantin Stanislavsky rewrote the libretto for this work to make it more dramatic. This reworked version was premiered in 1909 at Zimin’s Moscow private opera, with a set designed by Ivan Bilibin.
Impermanence
The impermanence of everything is an undeniable truth that is a feature of reality. This is because everything that exists now was once not there. The concept of impermanence is a fundamental part of the philosophy of Buddhism and other Eastern religions. In Buddhist teachings, impermanence is known as anicca, and it serves as one of the three marks of existence. Impermanence is also a central concept in Western philosophy, particularly the thought of Heraclitus and his doctrine of panta rhei (everything changes).
The City of Whyalla’s UneARTh Festival will again bring an eclectic mix of performers, artists and stall-holders to Ada Ryan Gardens over Easter next year. The event features a variety of events, activities and performances from local musicians to international entertainers such as Hans.
It’s not enough to understand the concept of impermanence; you must be willing to fully accept it. Only then can you move from samsara and suffering to nirvana. This positive acceptance of impermanence is the foundation of the spiritual path. It’s what the 12th-century Zen master Dogen called Buddha Nature. Unlike Heraclitus, Dogen didn’t see impermanence as a problem to be overcome. Rather, he saw it as the very nature of the spiritual life.