''The Rabbits'' is a music theatre work with music by

Kate Miller-Heidke Kate Melina Miller-Heidke (; born 16 November 1981) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Although classically trained, she has generally followed a career in alternative pop music. She signed to Sony Australia, Epic in the US and RCA in the ...

and libretto by

Lally Katz Constance Lalage "Lally" Katz (born ) is an American and Australian dramatist writing for theater, film, and television. She now resides in Los Angeles. Early life Katz was born in New Jersey, United States. She was named for her aunt, Connie. ...

(with additional music by

Iain Grandage Iain Grandage is an Australian composer and music director, best known for his compositions for theatre, dance and concert. In May 2018, the Perth Festival appointed Grandage as Artistic Director. Early life Grandage initially lived in Brisbane ...

), based on the book by John Marsden illustrated by

Shaun Tan Shaun Tan (born 1973) is an Australian artist, writer and film maker. He won an Academy Award for '' The Lost Thing'', a 2011 animated film adaptation of a 2000 picture book he wrote and illustrated. Other books he has written and illustrated inc ...

. As per the original book, it is an allegory for the

colonisation of Australia Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

, depicting an invasion of rabbits (in lieu of the English settlers) described as alien, harsh and greedy, as they destroy the land and lives of the native marsupials (in lieu of the original

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

population).

Productions

In 2014,

Lyndon Terracini Lyndon William Terracini, OSI (born 1949), is an Australian operatic baritone and from 2009 to October 2022 artistic director of Opera Australia. Early life Terracini was born in 1949, the oldest of four children born to Shirley and Vita Ter ...

announced that

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of ...

had co-commissioned Miller-Heidke to write an opera based on John Marsden's children's book ''The Rabbits'', to be performed in 2015. ''The Rabbits'' was first performed at the

Perth International Arts Festival Perth Festival, named Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF) between 2000 and 2017, and sometimes referred to as the Festival of Perth, is Australia's longest-running cultural festival, held annually in Western Australia. The program features ...

in February 2015, produced by Opera Australia and

Barking Gecko Theatre Company Barking Gecko Theatre is a Western Australian professional theatre company for children and families. Established in Perth in 1989, Barking Gecko Theatre has put on over 100 original Western Australian productions, toured 12 countries and reac ...

, to critical acclaim. It later played seasons at the

Melbourne Festival Melbourne International Arts Festival, formerly Spoleto Festival Melbourne – Festival of the Three Worlds, then Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, becoming commonly known as Melbourne Festival, was a major international arts festi ...

in October 2015, the

Sydney Festival Sydney Festival is a major arts festival in Australia's largest city, Sydney that runs for three weeks every January, since it was established in 1977. The festival program features in excess of 100 events from local and international artists an ...

in January 2016 and the

Queensland Performing Arts Centre The Queensland Performing Arts Centre (also known as QPAC) is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre and is located on the corner of Melbourne Street and Grey Street in Brisbane's South Bank, Queensland, South Bank precinct. Opened in 1985, it ...

in March 2016. ''The Rabbits'' received four 2015 Helpmann Awards, for Best New Australian Work, Best Original Score, Best Presentation for Children and Best Costume Design. Katz received the 2016

AWGIE Award for Music Theatre The AWGIE Award for Music Theatre is awarded by the Australian Writers Guild at the annual AWGIE Awards for Australian performance writing. The award is for the script/text, lyrics or book of works written for the theatre in which music plays an ...

for ''The Rabbits''' libretto.

Soundtrack

The cast recording was recorded live during ''The Rabbits''' Sydney season, and released in April 2016. It was nominated for Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album at the 2016 ARIA Awards.

Track listing

# "Dawn Chorus" - 2:53 # "Flinch's Dream" - 3:40 # "The Scientist's Contraption" - 0:59 # "First Encounter" - 4:56 # "Years Pass Transition" - 0:30 # "Seasick Waltz" - 6:34 # "Watching From Trees" - 3:27 # "Rabbit Utopia" - 5:38 # "My Sky" - 3:55 # "Tea & War" - 7:10 # "Kite Song" - 5:20 # "Electric Light" - 3:12 # "Millions" - 5:40 # "Where?" - 5:22 # "Billabong Epilogue" - 2:27 # "Where?" (Acoustic Version) (bonus track) - 4:47

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rabbits, The English-language operas 2015 operas Operas set in Australia Australian musicals Kate Miller-Heidke albums Operas