Filmed as part of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Artist Portfolio Prize, this is a performance of ‘Deh vieni, non tardar’, an aria from Mozart’s ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’, featuring soprano Samantha Hargreaves and Thomas Griffiths on piano.

In this aria, the character of Susanna sings a love song in a garden in the middle of the night. Figaro is hiding behind a bush, thinking she’s singing about another man (ie. The Count), but really she’s teasing and singing about Figaro.

Samantha and I worked together to block the scene, talked about gestures to allude to the hidden Figaro, and discussed ways in which we could represent the garden at night. We wanted to keep things stripped back in terms of the set, so we relied a lot upon the lighting and the use of floral gobos/cookies.

It also felt appropriate to use the Kenneth Myer Auditorium at MCM. The vast space would allow Samantha the freedom to move around, and the circular window could be lit in a way to represent the moon.

To learn more about Samantha Hargreaves, click here to check out her website.

Samantha Hargreaves, soprano

Thomas Griffiths, piano

DIRECTOR/EDITOR – Agatha Yim

SOUND ENGINEER – David Wilkinson.

LIGHTING DESIGNER – Adam Grikepeli

PRODUCTION MANAGER – Joseph Lallo

PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS – James McKinnon,

Ounie Witherow Aitken

TECHNICAL COORDINATOR – Candy Cooper

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR – Jennifer Knight

ARTISTIC OPERATIONS MANAGER – Abe Watson

SENIOR TECHNICAL OFFICER – David Collins

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