Type – Contemporary Opera, Original Australian, First Nations Story
If you liked – The Rabbits, Bran Nue Day, Bangarra Dance Company
The Drovers Wife Review: a bush tale bringing our lands oldest stories centre stage
Capturing a vast and guttural moment in our nation’s history, Goa, Gunggari, Wakka Wakka Murri woman and legendary Australian storyteller Leah Purcell has brought Henry Lawson‘s 1892 short story The Drovers Wife to the Sydney Opera House stage. Originally written as a play (2016), then best-selling novel (2019) then screenplay (2021), Purcell has transformed and adapted the story for the operatic stage, premiering in Queensland earlier this year. Purcell’s reimagining transforms the unnamed white bush-woman to Molly Johnson, a brave woman and fiercely protective mum who discovers her own hidden Indigenous heritage.
The Drovers Wife tells the story of Molly, who left home young and is now a mother looking after four children while her husband is on an extended drove. Set in an isolated timber cabin in the harsh snowy mountains, she meets a First Nations man called Yadaka who is a fugitive seeking refuge to evade the authorities. Its a blistering and unforgiving depiction of ‘colonial times’ and a stark reminder of just how little we’ve progressed as a society since then.
Helming the production as director (as she did the film adaptation), Purcell has assembled a bold and diverse team who have crafted a remarkable feat of storytelling. Some of the collaborators on this piece have been with the work through the many evolutions since the 2016 play. Isabel Hudson’s set design is both ethereal and eerily still, and by creating such a mammoth piece and allowing the company to crawl and climb all over the landscape, it emphasises our part in the wider ecology of this world. Tess Schofield‘s costumes blur the worlds and timelines while further accentuating the landscape of the time and culture.
Revered lighting designer Karen Norris once again proves why she is one of the best in the business. So much of this story relies on atmosphere, and Norris’ lighting masters the crafting and creation of this. The video design by Craig Wilkinson and time-lapse photography by Murray Fredericks echoes Hudson’s design and pulls much of the patchwork design and technological worlds together. Yolande Brown’s choreography is such a welcome departure from the typical ‘opera ballet movement section’, ensuring that the language of dance matches and reflects the language of the music and text.
First Nations soprano Nina Korbe brings the same bravado and presence to the character of Molly as Purcell’s original portrayal. Korbe is utterly bewitching to watch. Opposite, proud Aboriginal and South Sea Islander man Marcus Corowa brings a stoic and grounded energy to the role of Yadaka. Their vocals are exactly as you’d expect in such a world-class piece, but it’s their commitment to the authenticity of the work that shines brightest. Newcomer Nick Smith captures the youthful verve of eldest child Danny and is one to watch in the years to come.
The company at large fills out the world quaintly, and while some of the portrayals of some of the colonial characters tilt a few moments towards a Dickensian pantomime, Korbe and Corowa reground the piece almost immediately.
The majority of the work is performed in English, however where the opera transcends the medium into something new entirely is the sections sung in First Nations languages. It leaves me wondering if there is a world in which the entire work can be sung in a First Nations language, or have the effects of colonisation broken so many dialects and languages, it renders that impossible? Perhaps that’s just another one of the many historical injustices emphasised within the piece.
While George Palmer’s score is evocative and enables the piece to fly, no more than a single refrain seems to have stayed with me after leaving the venue. It’s Purcell’s storytelling that is so deeply resonant.
Is THE DROVERS WIFE Worth Seeing in SYDNEY?
While it’s cliché to describe an opera as soaring, this one truly does. Buying a ticket goes well beyond just seeing engaging, new art. It helps to reinforce the mantra, ‘we want more new Australian works please’. The Drover’s Wife showcases and highlights the need for First Nations languages to coexist with English on the stages of companies of this calibre. This work is the desperately needed next step forward for storytelling not just in this country but also the art form. I hope there comes a day where the English surtitles are there to translate an entire piece in one of this nation’s original languages.
Tickets and Practical Info for THE DROVERS WIFE in SYDNEY 🎟️
Performances on Tues 11 August 7:30pm and Sat 15 August at 12:30pm
Principal Cast
Nina Korbe as Molly Johnson
Marcus Corowa as Yadaka
Jeanette Fabila as Ginny May
Shauntai Abdul-Rahman as Black Mary
Creative Team
Conductor: Tahu Matheson
Composer: George Palmer AM
Libretto: Leah Purcell and George Palmer AM
Director: Leah Purcell AM
Choreographer: Yolande Brown
Set Designer: Isabel Hudson
Costume Designer: Tess Schofield
Lighting Designer: Karen Norris
Sound Designer: Michael Waters
Video Designer: Craig Wilkinson
Associate Director: Imara Savage
Producer: Bain Stewart for Oombarra Productions
