High fashion and Handel classics in Semele Walk
High fashion and Handel classics in Semele Walk by Ludger Engels (2013)
Classical music and couture came together at Sydney Town Hall in Semele Walk.
Written by Georg Friedrich Händel, the opera is based on the Greek myth of Semele, mother of Dionysus. A story of excess, Semele's self-destructive nature is relevant to the today's society in which we are faced with a destruction of our own making – climate change.
The cast were dressed in Vivienne Westwood Couture, referencing the style of Marie Antoinette with mini crinolines and dramatic hair and makeup imitations. The music was vibrant, varied and wild with heroine Semele as the prototype of 20th century punk. It was a baroque-punk hybrid and a resounding highlight of the Festival.
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