A speckled sepia image of a young boy against a background of broken glass

A Child of Our Time

  • Classical Music
  • Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
  • Concert Hall
  • Run time - 100 minutes, no interval

A modern classic

The rapturous power of Michael Tippett’s modern classic speaks to our own time. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs pairs this modern classic inspired by the Passions of Bach, oratorios of Handel and Afro-American spirituals, with two new works featuring youth choir VOX.

The time is 1939. The time could be now. Michael Tippett’s oratorio A Child of Our Time wasn’t simply inspired by gross social injustice, persecution and conflict, it was written in the midst of these things, and it continues to speak to us across the decades. 

A succession of events triggered the creation of this modern classic – composed during World War II – but the most important was the protest-shooting of a German diplomat in Paris by a 17-year-old Jewish boy, Herschel Grynszpan, which became a pretext for the terrible events of Kristallnacht. From this emerged the concept of a passion-oratorio in the tradition of Bach and Handel, but with African-American spirituals taking the place of reflective chorales. The powerful result transforms the story of one individual into a timeless expression of human experience. 

A Child of Our Time is close to Brett Weymark’s heart: he conducted it for the 2005 Tippett centenary and in an acclaimed production for the 2021 Adelaide Festival. In this concert, it’s paired with two exciting new works featuring Sydney Philharmonia’s youth choir VOX, conducted by Elizabeth Scott. Alice Chance is no stranger to VOX programming, and she’s writing a brand new work for these virtuoso young voices. Together with Anna Dowsley, they will also give the first Australian performance of a dramatic cantata by Joanna Marsh – a vibrant work that plays on the twin themes of plastic as pollution and plasticity as a virtue.

Presented by Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

Event details

a performance of truly transfixing intensity

InDaily

Program

Joanna MARSH A Plastic Theatre – Dramatic cantata for mezzo-soprano, choir and orchestra*
Alice CHANCE New work 
Michael TIPPETT A Child of Our Time

* Australian premiere sponsored by Peter McCreanor
† Commissioned for VOX by the Silo Collective 

Artists

Brett Weymark conductor
Elizabeth Scott conductor (Marsh, Chance)
Deborah Cheetham Fraillon soprano
Anna Dowsley mezzo-soprano
Nicholas Jones tenor
Teddy Tahu Rhodes baritone

Symphony Chorus
Festival Chorus
VOX (Marsh, Chance)
Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra with guests from 
The Sydney Youth Orchestra

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Attending this event

Plan your visit

Address

Sydney Opera House
Bennelong Point
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Getting to the venue

The Opera House is a 7-10 minute walk from Circular Quay, and is easily accessible by car, train, ferry, lightrail, bus, bike and on foot.

Location and access

Concert Hall

The Concert Hall is located beneath the largest of Sydney Opera House’s roof sails, filling the upper levels of the west side of the building. Best accessed through the covered concourse. All Sydney Opera House foyers are accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators).

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