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y separately published work icon Summer of the Seventeenth Doll single work   musical theatre   opera   - Three acts
Adaptation of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll Ray Lawler , 1955 single work drama
First known date: 1996 Issue Details: First known date: 1996... 1996 Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

An operatic adaptation of the Australian drama telling of Roo and Barney, Queensland canecutters who for sixteen years have spent the off-season in Sydney with their girlfriends. Each summer Barney ritualistically presents his girl Olive, a barmaid with a kewpie doll. But the seventeenth summer is different; time has begun to take its toll. The themes of faded dreams, idealism, disillusionment and the determination to live bring out a quintessential Australian boisterous flavour while portraying what happens when the values of the outback hero conflict with urban domesticity.

Notes

  • Commissioned by the Victorian State Opera. Programme with libretto available.

Production Details

  • First produced at the Playhouse, Victorian Arts Centre, 19 October 1996 as part of the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts. Directed by Richard Wherrett. Composed by Richard Mills. Libretto by Peter Goldsworthy.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

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Related Works

Olive's Aria i "The morning light", Peter Goldsworthy , 1996 single work poetry
— Appears in: If, Then : Poems and Songs 1996; (p. 68)
Emma's Aria i "Each summer past I've known", Peter Goldsworthy , 1996 single work poetry
— Appears in: If, Then : Poems and Songs 1996; (p. 67)
New Year's Eve Quartet i "There's nothing new I want,", Peter Goldsworthy , 1996 single work poetry
— Appears in: If, Then : Poems and Songs 1996; (p. 64-66) New Selected Poems 2001; (p. 107-109)
Duet : Pearl and Barney i "Come down for your bags, Mrs Cunningham?", Peter Goldsworthy , 1996 single work poetry
— Appears in: If, Then : Poems and Songs 1996; (p. 62-63)
Emma's Nocturnes i "I see most clearly in the dark of night,", Peter Goldsworthy , 1996 single work poetry
— Appears in: If, Then : Poems and Songs 1996; (p. 61)
VIEW ALL RELATED WORKS (8)

Works about this Work

Where Is the Great Australian Opera? Michael Halliwell , 2018 single work column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 17 August 2018;

'In 1986, the Adelaide Festival staged an operatic adaptation of Nobel Prize-winning writer Patrick White’s 1957 novel Voss, a pivotal work in the Australian literary canon. The opera, with music by a leading figure of the classical music avant-garde, Richard Meale, and libretto by acclaimed novelist and poet, David Malouf, was conceived in the period leading up to the Bicentennial celebrations in 1988. It certainly tapped into the zeitgeist.' (Introduction)
Dramatic Punt on Old Tote John McCallum , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian , 8 March 2013; (p. 13)
Theatre Cues Stage Family's Brief Reunion Fiona Purdon , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 29 February 2012; (p. 3)
'A Comfortable Society' : The 1950s and Opera in Australia Michael Halliwell , 2004 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , October no. 45 2004; (p. 10-29)
Lively Art, Dismal Science : A Century of Queensland Playwriting Paul Galloway , 2002 single work criticism
— Appears in: Hot Iron Corrugated Sky : 100 Years of Queensland Writing 2002; (p. 200-213)
Bel Canto Strine Bruce Williams , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: Eureka Street , November vol. 6 no. 9 1996; (p. 59-60)
— Review of Corrugation Road Jimmy Chi , 1996 single work musical theatre ; Summer of the Seventeenth Doll Peter Goldsworthy , 1996 single work musical theatre
Firm Foundations Aid Doll's Journey Helen Thomson , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 21 October 1996; (p. 12)
— Review of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll Peter Goldsworthy , 1996 single work musical theatre
Firm Foundations Aid Doll's Journey Clive O'Connell , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 21 October 1996; (p. 12)
— Review of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll Peter Goldsworthy , 1996 single work musical theatre
Doll Dressed Up, Somewhere to Go Helen Thomson , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 21 October 1996; (p. B7)
— Review of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll Peter Goldsworthy , 1996 single work musical theatre
Doll Dressed Up, Somewhere to Go Clive O'Connell , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 21 October 1996; (p. B7)
— Review of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll Peter Goldsworthy , 1996 single work musical theatre
'A Comfortable Society' : The 1950s and Opera in Australia Michael Halliwell , 2004 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , October no. 45 2004; (p. 10-29)
Theatre Cues Stage Family's Brief Reunion Fiona Purdon , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 29 February 2012; (p. 3)
Lively Art, Dismal Science : A Century of Queensland Playwriting Paul Galloway , 2002 single work criticism
— Appears in: Hot Iron Corrugated Sky : 100 Years of Queensland Writing 2002; (p. 200-213)
Dramatic Punt on Old Tote John McCallum , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian , 8 March 2013; (p. 13)
'Doll' Resurrected as Opera Peter Cochrane , 1995 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 30 November 1995; (p. 16)
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (24)

Awards

2012 nominated Victorian Green Room Awards — Production : Theatre - Companies For 'A Belvoir production presented by MTC'.
VIEW ALL AWARDS (1)
Last amended 3 Mar 2015 10:12:10
Subjects:
  • Urban,
  • Carlton, Parkville - Carlton area, Melbourne - North, Melbourne, Victoria,
Settings:
  • 1950s
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