Leo: Mea Culpa …

*Pic: From Foxtel … Leo is hosting all opera, ballet and classical music programs on the new ARTS channel on Foxtel.

Few relationships are free from occasional unpredictable negative episodes. Even joyful occasions such as Christmas, can be marred by temporary fracturing of the closest of ties.

So it was with my recent ill-considered, intemperate and inelegant remarks, for which I am deeply sorry and for which I apologise unreservedly to those I have affronted.

There should be little doubt of my enthusiasm for Tasmania and my long-standing and consistent personal and professional promotion of its attractions, the success of the latter attested to by Tourism Tasmania’s own independent research.

It was in that spirit of enthusiasm and out of a genuine desire to leave a substantial legacy of my decade here that Hobart Baroque was born, conceived expressly for this city. Into that event I poured energy, passion and considerable personal resources. The abrupt (and as yet unexplained) termination of what many saw as a potent tourist attraction as well as a cultural asset, engendered, not unreasonably perhaps, a certain bitterness and resentment which, despite my best efforts at distraction, I found difficult to shake.

Today should have marked a third triumphant outing for Hobart Baroque and demonstrated conclusively its value to Tasmania. This nostalgic anniversary exacerbated feelings of regret, which found negative expression in a lengthy personal reminiscence in the Sydney Morning Herald, subsequently distilled into a somewhat sensational summary, from which a single phrase was selected, touching a raw nerve in Tasmania.

I should have been as sensitive to the feelings of others as I have been conscious of my own. Mea culpa!

And to those who supported Hobart Baroque in its infancy, shared my hopes for its future and lamented the cultural infanticide that propelled it elsewhere, my heartfelt thanks and ineradicable gratitude.

– Leo Schofield

Brisbane, Friday April 10.

• Tasmanian soprano Bryony Dwyer (above, from New Norfolk).

Bryony is a soloist with the mighty Vienna State Opera.

Originally programmed to sing in Hobart she’s starring in a big gala concert of Handel’s music with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra on Saturday night.

She’s also singing in Bach’s cantata BWV78 and his Coffee Cantata … a rare departure of Johan Sebastian from his usual Lutheran compositions.

It satirised the craze in his home city of Liepzig for coffee drinking. Leo and his Brisbane Baroque have given it a modern twist by setting up a pop-up cafe on the stage of Brisbane City Hall, complete with an espresso machine the size of a 4WD and a barista.

… A bit wild but the original performance was in a coffee house …

• Cindy Ullrich Publicity Manager QPAC …

BRISBANE COMES ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF BAROQUE MUSIC

The city of Brisbane will be filled with the sound of exquisite music as the inaugural Brisbane Baroque, a celebration of early music, opens today Friday 10 April and runs until Saturday 18 April, 2015.
Brisbane Baroque Artistic Director Leo Schofield brings this unique event to the city of Brisbane, a city that he says continues to embrace new cultural events.

“This event will provide yet another opportunity for audiences to experience world class performance in Brisbane and further cements Queensland’s reputation as a centre for cultural excellence,” said Mr Schofield.

“Brisbane Baroque is the only festival in Australia purely dedicated to showcasing music of the Baroque period. We have brought superstar performers from around the globe exclusively to Brisbane.

Highlights include a new staging of the opera Faramondo, direct from the world renowned Göttingen International Handel Festival in Germany; and the Australian debut visit by famed Croatian Countertenor Max Emanuel Cenčić who will perform exclusively in QPAC’s Concert Hall, both supported by the Queensland Government.

“Brisbane Baroque sees a wonderful collaboration across the city’s most iconic venues; Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, City Hall and St Mary’s Church. The event will not only showcase numerous Queensland artists and companies, but provide an opportunity for them to work alongside international stars and creative talent.”

Federal Minister for the Arts, Senator the Hon George Brandis QC announced that the Australian Government is providing a special one-off grant of $100,000 to help support the Baroque Festival’s ongoing commitment to showcasing Australia’s emerging early classical musicians.

Presented in association with Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Brisbane Baroque is supported by Tourism and Events Queensland, Arts Queensland, the Federal Ministry for the Arts, Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, Brisbane Marketing, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Camerata of St John’s and the Lisa Gasteen National Opera School.

All Brisbane Baroque events are exclusive to Brisbane and the diverse program features fourteen accessible events at City Hall including free lunchtime organ performances by young British organist Richard Gowers and evening recitals of Baroque music.

For the full program and bookings go to www.brisbanebaroque.com.au or phone 136-246.

BRISBANE BAROQUE IN ASSOCIATION WITH QPAC:

WHEN: 10 to 18 April 2015
WHERE: Conservatorium Theatre, South Bank
Concert Hall QPAC, Cultural Precinct, South Bank
Brisbane City Hall, CBD
St Mary’s Church Kangaroo Point

TICKETS: Refer to qpac.com.au for current pricing

BOOKINGS: qpac.com.au or 136 246

For Brisbane Baroque website including full program please click here:

http://www.brisbanebaroque.com.au/

• Sonia Fluke, in Comments: Well said Leo, and thank you for displaying elegance and class in the face of the affronted masses with their chip-spitting and their tall-poppy-cutting. Tasmania’s loss is Brisbane’s gain, as the Baroque festival will clearly show. Your talents did not go unnoticed here and were appreciated by many – you were unfortunately just in the wrong place (with the wrong population) to have your efforts fully gratified. I wish you all the best with your future endeavours.

• Sonia Fluke in Comments HERE: Well said Claire Gilmour! It has really surprised me that in all of this incessant chest beating and indignant reacting that very few people have noticed the vulnerability that was apparent within that interview. It is not an easy thing to be completely honest about problems like depression, feelings of failing and a lack of control and Leo Schofield has candidly expressed these feelings among the comments he made. I have seen all over social media constant resentment and scorn from those who would make crass references to the size of his Kempton house, his age, his sexuality and the so called ‘obscurity’ of his festival. It is little wonder that Leo feels like Tasmanian’s are a backward lot – does it never occur to any of those offended, that only a bogan, dreg or third generation moron would take such comments personally? Allow the man a little tantrum, which in my opinion was nowhere near the level of cringe worthy value as so many of the responses, including that of the premier.