Experimental

  • Fringe Festival

The Farewell

Appuyez sur "1" pour lui briser le coeur. Press "2" to break her heart.

The image is of a man in a darkened room, sitting at a desk. He is holding the receiver of a red rotary phone to his ear and is facing a 1960s television, which is filled with static. He is caucasian with short brown hair, and is wearing a crumpled khaki shirt, the phone receiver is obscuring his face from view.
Past Event

  • Presented by: BK Opera

  • Concept by: Kate Millett, Keegan Bragg & Gabriel Bethune

  • Performed by: Annelise Menna & Esther Counsel

The Farewell is a part-opera, part-theatre art installation where one participant will witness a very public break-up.

Situated inside the bustling Fringe Hub at Trades Hall, a phone and television set rests atop a dining table. Be the first to notice the phone when it begins ringing, pick it up, and take a seat.

Elle is at the other end of the line - or rather, two Elles. On one TV channel is part of Jean Cocteau's 1930 play The Human Voice, and the other is Francis Poulenc's 1958 opera La Voix Humaine. Flick between French and English, opera and theatre, and decide how you wish to experience the most famous one-sided telephone conversation of the 20th century.

Break-ups over the phone are never fun, but if you have a message you'd like to get to Elle then leave us a short correspondence before you return to your evening. We promise we'll get it through to her.

The experience will last approximately 15 minutes before the phone rings again.

bkopera.com.au