Victorian Opera: The Spare Room review

Artfully created with tender care and expertly performed with empathetic insight, world premiere opera The Spare Room is an engrossing and affecting work. Perennial champions of new work, Victorian Opera has shown extraordinary dedication to the commissioning of new works across their 21 years. There is the sense of a special magic around The Spare Room, being a contemporary work that is definitively set in Melbourne. “Come on Melbourne it’s supposed to be Spring” is a line that could readily have been uttered over the past few grey, rainy Melbourne October days. In her celebrated 2008 novel The Spare Room, author Helen Garner fictionalised her personal experience caring for a friend with terminal cancer. Nicola arrives from Sydney to stay in Helen’s spare room while undergoing alternative treatment in Melbourne. Whilst this scenario gives the vibe of a weepie tv movie, the reality is far more interesting and involving. Librettist Therèsa Borg retains the warm humour of Garner’s…