The Fall of the House of Usher (1965 opera)

The Fall of the House of Usher
by Larry Sitsky
LibrettistGwen Harwood
Based onFall of the House of Usher
by Edgar Allan Poe
Premiere
1965 (1965)
Hobart, Tasmania

The Fall of the House of Usher is a 1965 Australian opera by Larry Sitsky. Gwen Harwood wrote the libretto based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe.

It was first performed at a 1965 music festival in Hobart. Other operas introduced at that festival were The Young Kabbarli about Daisy Bates by Margaret Sutherland, and Ophelia of the Nine Mile Beach by James Penberthy.[1]

On 25 July 1973 it became the first opera performed at the Sydney Opera House, in a double-bill with Dalgerie by Penberthy; this was three months before the Opera House's official opening, and it was before an invited audience. On 28 July it was performed to a paying audience.[2][3]

Television adaptation

The opera was filmed by the ABC for Australian television in 1970. It was the 48th opera made by the ABC but only the second Australian one, after Fisher's Ghost, although it had broadcast some operas by Australian composer Arthur Benjamin, such as Rita and Prima Donna.[1]

It aired on 13 March 1970. Brian Bell directed.[4][5]

Cast

References

  1. ^ a b "TV introduces an Australian opera". The Age. 12 March 1970. p. 30.
  2. ^ "TIMESTYLE". The Canberra Times. Vol. 54, no. 16, 118. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 11 November 1979. p. 8. Retrieved 20 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "First opera to be Australian". The Canberra Times. Vol. 47, no. 13, 474. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 29 June 1973. p. 1. Retrieved 20 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "THREE OPERA HEROINES". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 37, no. 39. Australia, Australia. 25 February 1970. p. 21. Retrieved 20 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "No title". The Canberra Times. Vol. 44, no. 12, 564. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 9 March 1970. p. 17. Retrieved 20 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.


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