The Visitors
Based on the play The Visitors by Jane Harrison.
'The Visitors' is a universal examination of how we view the unknown. Watch as a multi-generational group of clan leaders from different areas and backgrounds gather to puzzle over the mystery that has landed at their doorstep as the tall ships sail into Tumbalong (Darling Harbour) on 26 January 1788.
Don't miss this world premiere First Nations opera that preview audiences have described as "brimming with Australian talent in every area" and "mesmerising at every single point – with an ending that is just as captivating as its opening".
First developed as a play, then adapted into a novel, and now a new opera commissioned by Victorian Opera, 'The Visitors' is a creation of Muruwari librettist and playwright Jane Harrison, with music by Dharug composer Christopher Sainsbury. Deeply rooted in Aboriginal customs, humour, and language, 'The Visitors' wide-ranging musical influences include jazz, modernist composition, birdsong from the Tumbalong sandstone outcrops and gullies, as well as songs of traditional First Nation's music from Sydney.
Featuring a showcase of incredible First Nations operatic talent from across Australia, 'The Visitors' will take you on a revelatory ride with emotional epiphanies along the way, and as the curtains fall you will be left wondering "What would I have done?".
The Visitors | Trailer (60sec) from Victorian Opera on Vimeo.
Feedback/Comments
Nice vocals and interesting way to portrait Australian history.
Fine performance
Wonderful
A powerful show. Beautiful vocals especially the female performers. The exposition could be integrated a little better.
Staging was good, venue and collection of tickets are easy. Music and lighting were strong. Would love to see the play it's based on.
Beautifully written, staged and performed. Thought provoking and powerful. Highly recommended for everyone.
Enjoyed it very much
Outstanding. Thought Provoking. beautifully executed. So poignant given the referendum NO vote.
Thank you this was a great experience
Powerfully contrasted the cultural thinking and values of First Nations people to that of the colonisers, knowing what unfolded with the dark history of this place. All the more poignant following the referendum and the hate speech and ignorance on show with the NO campaign. We need this truth-telling to open hearts and minds, and done so beautifully. Thank you.
Incredible show! I wish I could see it again.
This show was an outstanding performance. The show was very though provoking and those performing did an excellent job. It was well worth attending.
Some strong and some not so strong performances
Fantastic production. Shame that the screen could not be seen from where we were sitting as this would have enhanced the experience…
Absolutely fabulous!
I'm not used to opera, but this was so interesting. Beautifully done, a little disturbing, sad, thought provoking. Well worth seeing.
Respectful production of true events told from the perspective of First Nations people, amazing voices.
Enjoyed this thoughtful look at the options available to the indigenous peoples and the choice made.
Loved it! ????
Somewhat disappointing (but high expectations), particularly the score. Voices - A+
A thought provoking, poignant and often disturbing interpretation of the first landings of the first ships, particularly in lightbif the recent Referendum.
Excellent, dramatic stage production and beautiful voices talk a story that is ultimately heart breaking, given the ultimate results.
The end leaves the audience with so many questions unresolved and much to ponder.
Nice! I like it.
The singing and acting was beautiful and the subject needs to be addressed much more these days especially in our current situation.
There were some beautiful melodies interwoven but it lost its forward drive and climax from halfway through the performance and started becoming repetitive and therefore boring.
Superb voices for all performers.
Stark set and lighting enhanced the magnificent voices of the cast. It was a bit of a tonic after being disappointed with the referendum outcome. How much better off would this land be if the British had been just visitors.
A very interesting perspective on how our different First Nations may have deliberated the quandary of welcoming or repelling the colonists.
An interesting take on the arrival of Europeans from the indigenous perspective
Beautiful voices of the performers
It was interesting the singing was fabulous.
Beautifully sung and performed on a simple but striking set. The story was universal and clearly depicts the dynamics and deliberations of a culture in a challenging confrontation. Highly recommended to see and would be great as an education piece in school curriculum.
A historical story in opera in a lovely venue.
The performance was so good, beautiful voices, well sung and artists working together to portray a story that had myself talking about it with the person I attended with...
Beautiful and engaging First Nation story telling performance
good perfermance
Fabulous production. Heartbreaking in the light of the Australia’s rejection of the voice.
How ironic - especially in view of the recent referendum where the majority of Australians voted NO to giving the First Nation People a voice when looking at the overall conclusion of the opera The Visitors. The terrific cast of singers telling the intriguing story about a group of Aboriginal elders deciding (voting on) not to kill the invaders but showing their culturally inherit hospitality first, expecting the 'visitors' to share their philosophy and vision of caring for the country as they do, were supported by a great orchestra under the baton of Phoebe Briggs filling the room with Sainsbury's pleasantly melodic contemporary music. Writers are known to often be visionary foreshadowing future developments - let The Visitors's message turn from the ironic comment it became after the referendum into the optimistic vision that deserves to be realised. Go and see this important artistic dream...
Great performance. And perfectly timed for the political situation. Really Enjoyed seeing such an alternative view of history. Great singing and diverse cast... Bring us more of the see please
Outstanding performance and cast, great harmony and amazing voices., humour included, and reflecting a clear theme of our Aboriginal past.
An amazing opera. Simply superb!
It exceeded my expectations.
All of the performers had beautiful voices.
A night of magic!
beautiful show ,maybe should have been performed prior to referundum
A beautifully haunting experience makes me want to see it again.