High fashion and Handel classics in Semele Walk

High fashion and Handel classics in Semele Walk by Ludger Engels (2013)

Opera met catwalk fashion in Semele Walk and neither blinked first. Director Ludger Engels sent Handel’s operatic tale of Semele – a woman literally burnt to death by her lust for immortality and fame – down a gleaming catwalk with Vivienne Westwood’s post-punk costumes for swag.

Equal parts divine myth and fashion spectacle, Semele Walk felt like a genuine cultural collision: the models stalked, the musicians (of the Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop) shimmered, and the Sydney Philharmonia Choir provided jolts of pure joy.

Beneath it all hummed an ancient cautionary for modern times: what price for desire without limits, fame without a safety net?