Sydneysiders would be wise to note that what makes Melbourne’s centre so enviable is the whole box and dice — buildings, laneways, streets, river, trams, parks and plazas, and so on, writes Alan Davies.
Sydney Opera House
Crikey Says: Yipe!
Robert Crumb certainly has a way with words.
theatre reviews 
Partenope — Opera Theatre, Sydney
Handel’s Partenope hardly rates as one of the most famous operas of all time, but it’s definitely one of the most fun. And Opera Australia has given it a whole new lease of life, says Lloyd Bradford Syke.
Daily Proposition: See opera up close, for less
You lose something watching opera in a cinema. But for a fraction of the cost you can watch the world’s best opera performances — while eating popcorn.
Strip down, soap up and Tap a merry dance
What the bloody hell has Tap Dogs got to do with a drag show (Briefs), or an almost epic piece of ‘visual’ theatre (Soap)? Not that much, necessarily, but seeing them back-to-back Lloyd Bradford Syke was struck by coincidences; aesthetic and athletic.
Daily Proposition: See a cowboy opera, or some traditional Mozart
There’s something a little bit old and something a little bit new in Opera Australia’s latest suite of winter wonders in Sydney (and later this year in Melbourne). A little something for everyone, writes Lloyd Bradford Syke.
Kristina, $152m will not save our rotting Opera House
The Sydney Opera House stands as a monument to its city: dazzling on the surface, disfigured and deformed at its core. Kristina Keneally’s latest funding boost is not nearly enough to fix it.
NSW to spend $1 billion on the Opera House — WTF?
The NSW State Government’s announcement over the weekend to fund a renovation of the Sydney Opera House to the tune of $1 billion is either just a furphy or an ill-conceived waste of tax-payers money, writes Nicholas Pickard.
Ellis to Hubble: Get over it
Sorry, Ava, but your ‘interviews’ with Utzon while running the SOH publicity office don’t qualify in my journalistic handbook as “the Australian media”, writes Eric Ellis.
Who interviewed Utzon first?
Why does Eric Ellis persist with the boast that he was the first member of the Australian media to interview Utzon following the architect’s sad 1966 exit from Sydney? asks Ava Hubble.
Letter to Opera Australia
Mrs Hickox’s fame as a singer would appear to be closely linked to her husband while her recording high-point is quoted as a Gilbert and Sullivan role rather than an operatic one, writes a concerned Opera Australia subscriber.
Tips and rumours
Bomb scare on Qantas flight from Bris this morning? My partner was meant to be flying back from Bris this morning when her entire flight was ordered off the plane due to a security breach… Financial issues biting at the Sydney Opera House? News is that there are to be lay-offs across the board. Immigration […]
A Rudd by any other name
A splattering of machine parts, oil, flesh and blood rips apart in front of the Sydney Opera House. The words Portrait of an Exploding Terrorist are printed beneath the image. This is art as protest, oils and canvas as activism. And it was painted by the nephew of the man most expect to become Australia’s 26th Prime Minister.
Windschuttle could be the death of Quadrant: Rundle
Keith Windschuttle’s elevation to the Quadrant editor’s chair would appear to be the most disappointing announcement on the right side of politics since, well since John Howard announced that he was staying on, writes Guy Rundle.
Songs of Australia: from Garland to Bernstein
So, what did our international guests enjoy during the APEC Australia 2007 Gala Cultural Programme?
APEC: Sydney, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet…
We’re still a month away from the APEC summit, but disgruntled Sydney residents have so far tolerated the noise of Black Hawks passing over the city, had their Lord Mayor encourage everyone pack emergency ‘go-bags’ complete with radios and energy bars and had their hospital services cut back.
Time to name names at doctor-drug company nosh-ups
Drug companies will now have to disclose the details of all their wining and dining of doctors, but we still won’t know the names of the doctors who attend these drug company events.
