Emma Matthews: The Space Between

Great

Appreciated the artistry, it pushed boundaries.

I don’t know if it was the choice of items or the venue but this wasn’t quite the Emma we have heard at the opera..maybe it was just us..

Great entertainment

Lovely voice

Strange, but good

A curiosity. Emma's voice is not perfectly suitable for Grabowsky's post-jazz.

I loved the music and Emma's voice but the story was too incoherent for me to truly enjoy it.

Incredible performance! Unusual piece left me moved haunted. So glad I was able to experience this.

Wonderful voice and performance by Emma but the music and show did not do her justice. I was totally confused and the music too erratic for me.

Emma Matthews has a beautiful voice. Bravo to Paul Grabowsky and Steve Vizard for this new contemporary piece of musical art. Surtitles would have helped keep track of exactly what Emma was singing. Really enjoyed the first night.

Great voice, but difficult to hear the lyrics. I would have liked program notes or surtitles. The Music and musicians were excellent, but I would have liked to see them on stage.

Definitely a tour de force and congratulations to the Arts Centre for commissioning it.
However, the words were hard to follow and although the sax provided a foil for the voice, in the end we felt the solo soprano was just 'too much of a good thing'.

Fabulous, a mix of opera, rap opera, if there is such a thing and musical theatre! Enthralling, stunningly presented. Big congratulations to all!

Emma Matthews's performance was absolutely stunning in this production. What a treat to be in the audience for the premier of a new work!

Emma's wonderful voice was on show and it was a delight to hear it but the new music elements of the contemporary form is not everyone's cup of tea....but do applaud the Arts centre for commissioning such new work ....it sure had a great collection of talented artistes and brave production.

it's great to see new, brave , contemporary opera - well done!

Robert: I am not really an opera fan but loved Emma Matthews magnificent voice and dramatic performance

Emma Matthews showed again how extraordinary she is with her gorgeous voice and terrific acting skills. Not an easy piece to understand, but life as a singer isn't easy either. Contemporary opera with a jazz element and a poetic score which takes work to interpret at times. Thank you.

Not for me, seemed very distorted.

I really liked the performance. Emma's voice is incredible!

Loved the music, have been a fan of Paul's for years. Lost the train of thought of the songs a couple of times but a great voice.

What a feat for all concerned, but especially Emma. A great commission from ArtsCentre Melbourne.

Felt like a work in progress. Difficult to understand words at times. Talented musicians and performer but mannered in its staging. Was it opera, jazz, contemporary music?

Learning to appreciate opera more an more.

Beautiful music and powerful voice though the storyline was hard to follow sometime. However, what a wonderful artist! I am her fan now.

I found it a very original production Beautiful singing by Emma Matthews and interesting blend of classical and jazz feel of music by all the musicians

However I found it difficult to follow the story line and felt tit required a synopsis of the story line with the production so the audience could follow all the aspects of the story A bit confusing to follow

Very unusual. I like it.

Exceptional work from all involved! Loved this performance!

Really enjoyed this production with an interesting intertwining of both opera & theatre creating a refreshing theatrical song cycle. Performed within the Fairfax studio at the Arts Centre, it was a simplistic stage yet a perfect intimate setting. It was easy to focus on the the music, with the of piano, violin & saxophone fusing together for some haunting & lyrical tiunes. And of course, I can’t say enough of the stunning vocals of acclaimed soprano Emma Matthews, with her vocal range and capturing the notes clearly and exquisitely.
The whole performance was a very refreshing interpretation of modern arts & opera performance.

Just thought that the score was a delight, interesting and emotional.

First time to see opera - enjoyed the experience

The Space Between was a fabulous performance!

I do believe it was more a form of art than your usual opera. I would say, if it was a set of paintings, it definitely would fall under abstractionism category, kind of fantasmagory expressed in music and vocal. I knew the intended interpretation, but there were so much more possibilities. It will definitely trigger emotions, which ones will depend on your tastes. I did read an interview with Paul and Emma beforehand, so it substituted the need in synopsis or libretto. I do agree that knowing those in advance might help some people relate to the piece more then they did.

Emma Matthews’s voice is beautiful and decadent. She is definitely at the peak of her vocal capabilities, and she shows it with every note she takes (yes- we do hear it still after the curtain falls). It seems like she is really enjoying performing, and it’s something really different from her usual repertoire.

I did like the minimalistic set and how they all work it. Fairfax studio works out for this act, since it creates the sense of enclosure and invites us in to the secrets Emma shares (Was it me missing it or third one is never shared with us?)

I would recommend this show; but ask yourself about your personal tastes in art, and whether this would be your cup of tea to not get disappointed in case it isn’t.

Music absolutely superb. Emma's voice was glorious and the music fabulous. Delighted I went however would have appreciated a synopsis sheet and subtitles. Any lyrics sung in English are never fully understood despite the best efforts of the soprano. Followed most of the storyline. Found it difficult to concentrate for 70 minutes straight. A great theatre idea which needs to be supported. G.

Emma Matthews was brilliant, as ever, considering this was a very unorthodox production, she could have sung a White Pages with the same result. The music is neither memorable, nor melodic. The musings between the violin and the saxophone were the the only highlights of the score. This is not for the traditional opera lovers.

First time to see opera - enjoyed the experience , voice and music were excellent

Utterly intriguing

Voice was magic especially when she hit the high notes and the music that supported it was excellent , story was good but it did lull towards the ending

But the pool in the middle and the way she transported you to the lollie shop and to the sea was just excellent

4 stars

BRAVO.

Wonderful voice and stage presence, but a complex score and story line. I just could not engage with it no matter how hard I tried.

it is very interesting.great blend of jazz and oprea.

The singing and music were well executed. The music was lyrical and interesting throughout with its light and shade and the improvisation by Jamie Oehlers on Saxophone. More could have been made of the musician who are all present but hidden for some reason.
The staging was poor. There is so much potential for using lights and staging these days. Emma's costume to me, was not in keeping with the modern music. It is a one woman show. It needs to be visual. Some words on the lyrics on screen(s) at side of stage would be helpful. I have no idea what the libretto was trying to tell us. The TV screen focused on Paul Grabowsky was a distraction.

Beautiful voice and the music was great. Found it hard to follow the story line

It was a great performance tonight

You couldn't fault either the orchestration nor the superb technique of Emma in a minimalist staging that rightly focused full and deserving attention for what was in many ways a really excellent performance. However, I found it difficult to understand the libretto's purpose and progression and frankly the constant and unceasing same range which had so few highlights in either subject or notes exhausting. Maybe I am too plebeian for this piece, but for me Opera has at least some highs and lows with some drama. A piece which demands concentration for over an hour without pause on one rendition by one performer without this simply for me became hard work rather than entertainment. Perhaps this piece is supposed to rather be Art than entertainment where I should just appreciate how clever it is than be seeking the magic it could have wrought with so much on hand skill.

It was a privilege to witness the performances tonight, the passion energy and acting talent of Emma Matthews is extraordinary, her voice boundless and beautiful, the musicians were scintillating in their technical and beyond abilities, it was entrancing. Thank you.

Its as if David Lynch wrote an opera - utterly surreal and amazing 5 stars!~!!!!!!

Music interesting. Singing good. But what was it all about! Men are useless. A dagger with blood and boiling frogs. Was it operates or a rehearsal for something else? Could have been something I missed by then again did they all try too hard? It was sound and fury signifying nothing.

This would have been a tough gig. Well Done Emma!

Beautiful, and subtle music score by Grabovsky, wonderfully performed. And I loved the way Emma Matthews used her voice - from the operatic to the everyday voice. However it is difficult to understand lyrics when sung in the soprano register (for any performer - and Emma worked hard at being understood), so I missed some of the content. I got bits of the story, but not all, and that was disappointing.

lovely performance, great music, but not really my cup of tea

The story line covers the personal and existential. Intellectually demanding, deeply personal and philosophical. The score was beautiful and dramatic. I enjoyed the show on many levels. Thank you for pushing the boundaries and being brave to present this. May need some synopsis prior to the show so the audience can keep up.