ABSTRACT
This chapter surveys a wide range of Australian operas commencing with Voss (1986) to the present. The focus is primarily thematic, with a discussion of selected scenes loosely grouped in areas of linked subject matter or thematic concerns, examining moments in these operas where the emotional core of the work might be found. The explorer myth with its related theme of failure finds expression in several operas dealing with the colonial period up to the First World War, a seminal event in Australian mythology, memorably given expression in Fly away Peter (2015). The increasing urbanization of the country in the first part of the twentieth century sees an examination of the notion of national identity as Australia sought to throw off the remnants of colonialism, and this is evoked in operas exploring the national psyche, part of an on-going artistic project. The mythology of “the bush” is explored in recent works such as Lindy (2002) and Bliss (2010), while an increasing focus on indigenous themes finds expression in Black River (1989), Pecan Summer (2010) and the highly acclaimed The Rabbits (2015), an imaginative blend of musical theatre and operatic elements.
