CHop chef
by julie koh & paul smith
Ayako Ohtake as Victoria // Photography by David Hooley
with creative Developments Supported by Southlands Breakthrough Award a Penrith Performing & Visual Arts program; Inner West Council and New Music Network Australia
Chop Chef is a dark, satirical comedy where six contestants from around Australia enter the cooking battle field of a fictional reality television series Chop Chef. Faced with unusual and extreme cooking challenges, Kitty, Tom, Andy, Victoria, Kale and Renée must compete to remain alive in the game and avoid facing the chop – literally.
The shiny kitchen arena is watched over by three omnipresent judges who decide the fate of each contestant but not all is as it seems and some contestants start to question the forces that bind them to their contracts. Perhaps the tables will turn…
This new Australian opera mashes together flavours of Masterchef and Hunger Games on the operatic stage where reality television can be pushed to its absurd conclusions. In thrilling arias and melodramatic ensembles, each contestant is pushed to their limit and will stop at nothing to be the last chef standing. In the game of Chop Chef, there is only one rule – eat or be eaten. Are you ready to join our live audience?
Chop Chef is a chamber opera in two acts that explores the characters, tropes, and narrative devices of reality television and exports them to the operatic stage where they can be pushed to their absurd conclusions. These shows are a matter of life and death for the contestants. By exploring this topic, Blush is committed to expanding contemporary operatic repertoire with stories that have a direct resonance with broad Australian audiences.
Duration 110 min (and 20min interval)
Age M15+
Genre satirical opera
Instrumentation 6 voices + chamber ensemble
musical Highlights
Production History
2021 April // Riverside Theatres // Supported by Parramatta City Council and the University of New England
Conductor Luke Spicer
Directors Kenneth Moraleda & Nicole Pingon
Set & Costume Designer Keerthi Subramanyam
Lighting Designer Kate Baldwin
Video Designer Susie Henderson
Associate Video Designer Daniel Herten
Production Manager Tyler Fitzpatrick
Guest Conductor Harrison Collins
Stage Manager Hannah Crane
Deputy Stage Manager Christopher Starnawski
Creative Consultant Courtney Stewart
CAST:
Gavin Brown
Benjamin Caukwell
Jermaine Chau
Lisa Cooper
David Hidden
Ayako Ohtake
Nick Geddes
Creative Developments
2018 May // Backyard Opera (creative development) // Funded by Inner West City Council Cultural Grant
2017 August // The Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre (creative development) // The Southlands Breakthrough Award 2017
2017 March // City Recital Hall, Angel Place (creative development) // NMN Lab 2017
acknowledgments
Blush Opera are the recipient of various creative development grants that have enable Chop Chef to become a reality. Through their support these organisations enables us to adequate compensation of artists to contribute to a vibrant cultural economy.
NMN Lab2017 provided Blush Opera with funding to instigate a mentorship program between establish artists Omega Ensemble and Blush Opera as emerging artists. The program culminated in the first creative development workshop for Chop Chef: The Opera at City Recital Hall Angel Place.
Blush Opera was the recipient of the 2017 Southland Breakthrough Award supported by Southland Shopping Centre that recognises the need for arts and culture in community life.
The Penrith Performing & Visual Arts Ltd is providing in-kind support to bring this opera to life, by providing marketing, business and dramaturgical support to the opera at its embryonic stages.
Inner West Council Arts Grant is supporting the creative development of this opera by providing an opportunity for it to be workshopped in the Inner West to a live audience.
Blush Opera also acknowledges the in-kind support offered to us by companies who have made Chop Chef a living reality.
