1996 to 1998
After two years touring around Germany singing Dominic returned to Australia in 1995 to perform as Mario Lanza in The Mario Lanza Story for a season of 10 shows at Mietta’s. It was a great opportunity for Dominic to sing the music of this remarkable singer in a tribute which was a marathon consisting of no less than 21 songs and duets ranging from Vesti la giubba to Serenade. Audiences and critics alike loved the show, so much that he returned to Australia again in 1996 for a further season presented in Adelaide, South Australia.
Dominic’s reputation was growing in Australia and 1996 saw him perform in the Melbourne Concert Hall with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in Handel’s Joshua, as well as Bach’s St. John Passion, also with the Australian Pops Orchestra in a concert of italian hit tunes from Opera and song entitled Viva Italia. In Adelaide he sang Joe in Gershwin’s Blue Monday in the Adelaide Town Hall with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.
In Sydney he appeared at the Sydney Concert Hall (Opera House) to sing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the National Philharmonia Orchestra.
Apart from these Australian performances, Dominic also had his usual Tamino in Rostock, Ottavio in Hof, and his first Ismaele in Nabucco in Germany at Bad Hersfeld, as well as a couple of Verdi Requiem’s. In late 1996 Dominic began making inroads into the opera world beyond Austria and Germany.
His first engagement was in Cork, Ireland for Opera South as Don Josè in their production of Carmen. This was another role debut and a resounding success for him despite a ludicrously short rehearsal period, the last minute replacement of the conductor resulting in a dress rehearsal which began at 8:30 and finished at 2:30 the next morning which happened to be the day of the opening night which was followed by performance on each of the consecutive three evenings. A true baptism of fire for a new role! It has become an oft repeated role for Dominic; to date he has been involved in 5 productions with a total of over 30 performances.
1997 | Activity | Venue |
---|---|---|
March |
Viva Italia |
Australian Pops Orchestra, Melbourne Concert Hall, |
May - July |
Ernesto in Don Pasquale ROLE DEBUT |
South Australia State Opera, |
August |
Nemorino in L'Elisir d'amore |
Dorset Opera, U.K. |
November |
Handel Messiah |
Adelaide Town Hall, Australia |
December |
Viennese New Year Gala |
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, U.K. |
1998 |
||
January |
Ernesto in Don Pasquale |
European Chamber Opera, U.K. |
March - April |
Gherardo in Gianni Schicchi |
English National Opera, London, U.K. |
May |
Don Josè in Carmen |
Opera 2000, Hastings, U.K. |
June |
Fedele in La Romanzesca |
Central Festival Opera, |
July |
Opera Rara recording |
London, U.K. |
September |
Strike up the Band (Gershwin) |
Barbican Centre, London, U.K. |
Game Keeper in Rusalka |
English National Opera, London Coliseum, U.K. |
|
October |
Chandos recording |
London, U.K. |
Nov. - Dec. |
Opera Galas |
Throughout, U.K. |