Final cast members were announced today by producer Craig Baldwin in association with Hayes Theatre Co for the upcoming chamber opera The Turn of the Screw. For the first time, opera will fill the intimate Hayes space from 16 August with Benjamin Britten’s spine-chilling masterpiece The Turn of the Screw. Helmed by celebrated director Craig Baldwin (Consent, John and The Flick for Outhouse Theatre Co), The Turn of the Screw will feature some of Sydney’s finest rising opera stars.
Julie Lea Goodwin (The Merry Widow, The Phantom of the Opera) will join Sophie Salvesani (La Traviata, West Side Story) alternating in the role of the Governess. Catherine Bouchier (OA’s The Love for Three Oranges) and Classical Voice student at Sydney Conservatorium of Music Georgia Cooper will play Miss Jessel. In the role of Miles will be Addy Robertson (Theys at the Hayes) and Flora will be played by Sandy Leung (Handa Opera’s Carmen).
They will be joined by previously announced cast members Kanen Breen (The Merry Widow, Sweeney Todd) and Ben Rasheed (Tosca, Rigoletto) who will alternate the role of Peter Quint, and Margaret Trubiano (Carmen) and Ruth Strutt (The Magic Flute, Opera Up Late) who will share the role of Mrs Grose.
Director Craig Baldwin said, “Australia has such a depth of home-grown opera talent, it’s exciting to be showcasing so many of them in this cast. Hearing their extraordinary voices up close in the Hayes is going to be a one-of-a-kind experience.”
This gripping tale unfolds in a remote English manor, as a young governess arrives to care for two orphaned children, Flora and Miles. She soon discovers that the grounds, and the children themselves, are haunted by mysterious apparitions. As the governess fights to protect her wards from the sinister forces that surround them, the line between sanity and madness becomes thrillingly blurred.
Britten’s evocative score weaves a web of tension, combining hauntingly beautiful melodies with dissonant harmonies, perfectly capturing the ghostly ambiance of Henry James’s classic gothic novel.
Presented in whisperingly intimate proximity, this is an opportunity not to be missed. Be immersed in the eerie sounds and psychological suspense of one of the world’s most popular operas. Prepare to question the boundaries between the material and the supernatural, and become enthralled by the dark recesses of the human mind.
Hayes Theatre Co, 19 Greenknowe Ave, Potts Point
16 August – 15 September
