Opera is kinda like porn: plenty of cleavage and the storyline doesn’t matter. I lose the plot during Co-Opera’s performance of La Traviata (it could be my attention span, it could be because they switch between English and Italian) but the harmonies and sheer vocal power are the real reason why I am here. I notice a couple of seeing eye dogs in the audience and wonder what it’d be like to hear live opera when you are blind. Sometimes I close my eyes to listen, the sound is so exquisite I need to shut down another sense to fully appreciate it.
The Co-Opera are a travelling ensemble who bring opera to welcoming audiences in places like Ipswich, Darwin, and Byron Bay. On this night they perform at the Byron Entertainment Centre, a cavernous space set up for the Circus Arts school during the day. Performers from the school create an atmosphere of decadence at any event, and tonight is no exception. The audience is treated to delicious canapés and aerial gymnastics before La Traviata.
At the risk of sounding like a gossip columnist, notables within the audience include Christopher and Lynda Dean, of Thursday Plantation fame, and a contestant in Australia’s Next Top Model, a graceful girl from Ocean Shores with a name so beautiful and unusual I forget it as soon as I’ve repeated it. The performers from the Co-Opera mingle with the audience afterward, so be sure to have a drink with them if they perform in your town.
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