 reviewed by Penny Dodd 19 Apr 2013 |
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Sublime NZ Opera has turned on a superb, classy production of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. The set is restrained, with Shoji screens separating rooms in a Japanese house, and opening up to reveal a beautiful garden. Production designer Christina Smith creates a feeling of enclosure, of a sheltered restricted existence, which only opens up to the full Aotea stage in the last tragic moments. [more] |
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reviewed by Pepe Becker 13 May 2013 |
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Internally passionate yet externally restrained This exquisite production of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly is what one might call a full-emotion-immersion experience: all elements weave together in such a way that the impact of the story speaks directly through the music, filling the heart of the listener with empathy. [more] |
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reviewed by John Button (The Dominion Post) 13 May 2013 |
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Sellout production ticks all the boxes Based on a story by John Luther Long and a play by David Belasco, Puccini's three-act opera is the ultimate tear-jerker and one of the most popular operas in the repertoire. [more] |
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reviewed by Simon Wilson (Metro-Arts-Auckland) 19 Apr 2013 |
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Breathtakingly beautiful There are fashions in violence – the Pulp Fiction gun held sideways came and went, and now, courtesy of Game of Thrones, there’s the sword slipped vertically inside the neck of the armour and run down into the body. Brutal. NZ Opera’s production of Madame Butterfly is up with that fashion ... [more] |
 reviewed by Dawn Sanders QSM 28 Apr 2007 |
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Substance, disappointment, fun for the young, athletic energy … Physically fine-tuned and energised bodies performed to a well-filled Wellington Opera House for Footnote Dance’s first performance of its seven city season ... [more] |
 MADE IN NEW ZEALAND 2012 - FOOTNOTE DANCE COMPANY at Mary Hopewell Theatre reviewed by Jonathan W. Marshall 27 Mar 2012 |
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Revelling in technical sophistication and athleticism Each piece constitutes a short exploration of a theme, and consequently the results themselves tend to be sketch-like. Trancelike Happiness from choreographer Sarah Foster-Sproull (music Andrew Foster) and (Sex) by Ross McCormack (music Jason Wright) largely succeed in overcoming this limitation by merit of some extremely striking and idiosyncratic movement. [more] |
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reviewed by Roxanne de Bruyn 23 May 2012 |
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Art - not just movement For all four works, the stage is very stark and empty, so lighting and music provide the context. The lighting is striking and the music is pivotal to the understanding of the pieces. The dancing is good and solid, with lots of strength and physicality. There is a strong feeling of the inspiration behind the movement inherent in the dancers. There are similarities is the style throughout the pieces – many contortions, isolations, rhythmic repetition and the touching and entwining of the group. [more] |
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reviewed by Greer Robertson 14 Jun 2012 |
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In Fine Fettle Four new works by New Zealand choreographers are presented by six proficient and passionately committed dancers. Undauntedly, they give their all. And all in attendance marvel at the honed physicality and consummate technique the dancers display. [more] |
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reviewed by Sam Trubridge 13 Jun 2012 |
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Footnote's excellent pedigree to the fore It is a wonderfully diverse programme, which the strong company of dancers unite with a common vocabulary. The drama of Trance Like Happiness, the endless movement of Southern X, the earthiness of (SEX) and the crystalline In Pieces: this collection of works describe a contemporary terrain for the body that is emotional, sexual, spiritual, and transient. [more] |
 reviewed by Jan Bolwell 28 Feb 2013 |
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An abstract work between culturally referenced bookends Paying homage to his German roots, Stiefel takes the audience on an exuberant romp through a Bavarian beer hall. On a monumental set which threatens at times to dwarf the dancing, Bier Halle spills out a series of eccentric characters – nerd, flirts, studs, baker, butcher, bird, among others – who communicate appropriate joie de vivre and clearly relish the opportunity to deliver such full throated dancing. [more] |
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