1998 - Sydney Festival

With new director Leo Schofield preparing his first Sydney Festival program, plenty of new exciting ventures were undertaken in 1998. Open Air Cinema had its first series of screenings on the Fleet Steps, at Mrs Macquarie’s Point, Royal Botanic Gardens and The Domain.

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Festival Director: Leo Schofield

With new director Leo Schofield preparing his first Sydney Festival program, plenty of new exciting ventures were undertaken in 1998. Open Air Cinema had its first series of screenings on the Fleet Steps, at Mrs Macquarie’s Point, Royal Botanic Gardens and The Domain. The $10 Proms program took place for the first time, with a series of seven concerts featuring leading Australian and international artists like TaikOz, Alpha Ensemble, Andreas Scholl, the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra and Australian Youth Orchestra.

New venues popped up including Bacardi Festival de Cuba at Darling Harbour, featuring free party nights Thursday to Saturday during the Festival. Absolut Waterfront became the brand new cabaret club at the Sydney Opera House and Government House staged a series of unique recitals.

International and local talent was championed with Cloudstreet directed by Neil Armfield in its world premiere, Bernadette Peters made her Australian debut with the Sydney Opera House Orchestra, and Sir George Martin conducted and arranged a two-hour concert of Beatles classics in All You Need Is Beatles.

THEATRE

The Beauty Queen Of Leenane
The Leenane Trilogy: Three new plays by Martin McDonagh
Druid Theatre Company of Galway

A Skull In Connemara
The Leenane Trilogy: Three new plays by Martin McDonagh
Druid Theatre Company of Galway

The Lonesome West
The Leenane Trilogy: Three new plays by Martin McDonagh
Druid Theatre Company of Galway

Cloudstreet
Adapted by Nick Enright and Justin Monjo
From the novel by Tim Winton
Directed by Neil Armfield
Company B Belvoir

An Ideal Husband
Sir Peter Hall's production of Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband
The Peter Hall Company

Trial By Jury
Operetta in one act by W.S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan
Directed by and starring Dennis Olsen

Titanic!
Theater Titanick

Le Cercle Invisible

The Umbilical Brothers

DANCE

Heroes, Sweet Fields, 66
Twyla Tharp Dance

The Fugue, Roy's Joys, Sweet Fields
Twyla Tharp Dance

Gypsy Passion
Joaquín Cortés

Dein Perry's Steel City
Directed and choreographed by Dein Perry
Production designed by Brian Thomson
Sydney Theatre Company

MUSIC

Andreas Scholl
Associate artist: Paul Dyer (harpsichord)

Andreas Scholl with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra
Director: Paul Dyer

Australian Chamber Orchestra
Conductor: Richard Tognetti

Australian Youth Orchestra
Conductor: Tan Li-Hua
Organ: David Pereira

Brian Asawa
Associate artist: Sharolyn Kimmorley (piano)

Recitals at Government House
Violin: Alexei Bruni
Piano: Leonid Ogrinchuk

Recitals at Government House
Soprano: Emma Matthews
Piano: Kate Young

Recitals at Government House: Rousset & Rameau
Christophe Rousset

Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Barry Wordsworth
Guitar: Slava Grigoryan

Twilight Chamber Music
Alfons Kontarsky (piano), Dene Olding (violin), Bernard Hartog (violin), Wolfram Christ (viola), Esther Van Stralen (viola), Olad Maninger (cello), Rudolf Watzel (double bass), Ulf Rodenhauser (clarinet), Gustavo Nunez (bassoon), Radovan Vlatovic (french horn), Australian National Academy

Twilight Chamber Music
Piano: Ben Martin

Twilight Chamber Music
Diana Doherty (oboe), Ulf Rodenhauser (clarinet), David Miller (piano), Bernard Hartog (violin), Esther Van Stralen (viola), Olaf Maninger (cello), Australian National Academy of Music

Twilight Chamber Music
Dimity Hall (violin), Catherine McCorkill (clarinet), Ben Martin (piano)

Twilight Chamber Music
Goldner String Quartet

Twilight Chamber Music
Riley Lee (shakuhachi), Geoff Collins (flute), Marshall McGuire (harp)

A Joyful Noise: A Celebration Of Gospel Music
McCollough Sons of Thunder and Emmit Powell & The Gospel Elites

Admeto
Admeto Ré di Tessaglia by George Frideric Handel
Les Talens Lyrique
Director: Christophe Rousset

Al Jarreau
Al Jarreau and his band with the Sydney Opera House Orchestra

All You Need Is Beatles
Conducted and arranged by Sir George Martin
Sydney Opera House Orchestra
Including Glenn Shorrock, Tommy Emmanuel

Alpha Ensemble
Conductor: Roland Peelman
Baritone: Lyndon Terracini

Bernadette Peters

Kázohinia
Piano: Michael Kieran Harvey
Adrian Luca, Dominic Harvey

Oumou Sangare

Russian National Orchestra
Conductor: Mikhail Pletnev
Guest conductor: Eri Klas
Piano (Programs 1 & 3): Nikolai Lugansky

Symphony Under The Stars
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Barry Wordsworth
Soloist: Lisa Harper-Brown (soprano)

Taikoz in Monochrome
Taikoz, Synergy

Tamworth Comes To Town

The Lindsays
The Lindsay String Quartet

OPERA

ESSO Opera in The Park - The Force Of Destiny
Opera Australia principal artists, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra Conductor: Carlo Felice Cillario

FILM

Open Air Cinema

MAGIC

Ricky Jay

ART

An Exquisite Eye
Ferdinand Bauer

Chihuly: The Sydney Project
Dale Chihuly

Contemporary Botanical Artists: The Shirley Sherwood Collection

Convict Love Tokens

Fluent
Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Yvonne Koolmatrie, Judy Watson

Klein
Yves Klein

Orientalism: From Delacroix to Klee