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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'John Marsden and Shaun Tan's haunting picture book tells a story we all know: a story of colonisation, civilisation and progress — a story about displacement, destruction and culture clash. And in that landscape, it tells a story of hope taking root.
'It's a story for young people, it's a story for old people, it's a story for all of us.
'Opera Australia and Barking Gecko Theatre Company have assembled some of Australia's foremost creative talents to collaborate on a new opera for children and families.
'Gabriela Tylesova's kooky sets and costumes realise Tan's pictures in all of their mystical wonder, while Lally Katz has turned Marsden's spare poetry into an enchanting libretto. To write the score, Kate Miller Heidke: the butterfly-voiced, classically-trained indie-pop singer who is as at home on the charts as she is performing at the Met. As well as composing The Rabbits, Kate will perform in this production.' (Production summary)
Teaching Resources
Production Details
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An Opera Australia and Barking Gecko Theatre Company co-production. In association with West Australian Opera. Commissioned by Melbourne Festival and Perth International Arts Festival. World premiere at Arts Centre, Melbourne, Playhouse : 9-13 October 2015
LIBRETTIST: Lally Katz
DIRECTOR: John Sheedy
MUSICAL DIRECTOR & MUSICAL ARRANGEMENTS: Iain Grandage
DESIGNER: Gabriela Tylesova
CAST: Including Kate Miller-Heidke
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Where Is the Great Australian Opera?
2018
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— Appears in: The Conversation , 17 August 2018;'In 1986, the Adelaide Festival staged an operatic adaptation of Nobel Prize-winning writer Patrick White’s 1957 novel Voss, a pivotal work in the Australian literary canon. The opera, with music by a leading figure of the classical music avant-garde, Richard Meale, and libretto by acclaimed novelist and poet, David Malouf, was conceived in the period leading up to the Bicentennial celebrations in 1988. It certainly tapped into the zeitgeist.' (Introduction)
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How to Make the Australian Musical : from The Sapphires to Strictly Ballroom
2017
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— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 15 June 2017; 'With Muriel’s Wedding the Musical making its debut in November, we take a look back at mainstage shows through the ages – the good and the bad.' -
Stage Award Race a Tale of Two Tims
2016
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— Appears in: The West Australian , 21 June 2016; (p. 17) -
Creatures of Havoc
2016
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— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 5 March 2016; (p. 4)
— Review of The Rabbits 2015 single work drama 'Kate Miller-Heidke has turned an award-winning picture book about native marsupials invaded by rabbits into an award-winning opera that captures the parallel themes of white settlement and black dispossession, write Chris Hook and Clare MorganWhen Brisbane pop singer Kate Miller-Heidke checked out the children’s book that theatre director John Sheedy wanted to turn into an opera, ...' -
The Rabbits Hops on to Opera Prize Shortlist
2016
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— Appears in: The Australian , 3 March 2016; (p. 14)
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A Good Ear for Opera
2015
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— Appears in: The Age , 7 February 2015; (p. 36)
— Review of The Rabbits 2015 single work drama -
Triumph for Genre Hoppers
2015
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review
— Appears in: The Australia , 17 February 2015; (p. 14)
— Review of The Rabbits 2015 single work drama -
The Rabbits Review – Triumphant Adaptation of a Deeply Tragic Story
2015
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— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 18 February 2015;
— Review of The Rabbits 2015 single work drama -
Michael Halliwell Reviews 'The Rabbits'
2015
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— Appears in: ABR : Arts 2015; Australian Book Review , November no. 376 2015; (p. 48)
— Review of The Rabbits 2015 single work drama -
Indigenous Performers in QPAC Run of New Opera the Rabbits
2016
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— Appears in: Koori Mail , 24 February no. 620 2016; (p. 39)
— Review of The Rabbits 2015 single work drama 'Indigenous performers are among the cast of Australian opera The Rabbits, playing in Brisbane next month...' -
Holloway's Final Festival a Tribute to the Epic and Intimate
Blend of Epic and Intimate
2014
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— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 6 November 2014; (p. 32) The Age , 6 November 2014; (p. 32) -
The Rabbits' Den
2015
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— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 7-8 February 2015; (p. 3-4) 'Not everyone thinks of turning a children’s picture book into an opera, writes Matthew Westwood.' -
New Opera in Australia : It's Not Over Till Senator Brandis Sings
2015
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— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 19 March 2015; 'It’s hard enough to mount an Australian opera, let alone revive one. Ahead of the findings of the national opera review, we hear from the rabbits and the riders.' -
Helpmanns Looking to Keep up with Emerging Trends
2015
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— Appears in: The Australian , 28 July 2015; (p. 15) -
Genre-bending Bunnies Storm Helpmanns
2015
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— Appears in: The Australian , 28 July 2015; (p. 5)
Awards
- 2016 shortlisted International Opera Awards
- 2016 winner AWGIE Awards — Music Theatre
- 2015 winner Helpmann Awards for Performing Arts in Australia — Costume design Awarded to Gabriela Tylesova
- 2015 winner Helpmann Awards for Performing Arts in Australia — Best New Australian Work
- 2015 winner Helpmann Awards for Performing Arts in Australia — Best Presentation for Children