MOUNT GAMBIER, SOUTH AUSTRALIA 

 Whilst still on my six week stay in Australia I followed my friends from LuccaOperaFestival for the second performance of “An Evening of Opera” leaving the state of Victoria to the adjoining state of South Australia to Mount Gambier. The journey entailed a five to six hour drive in two cars to Mount Gambier about halfway between Melbourne and Adelaide through vast expanses of farmland, sheep and cattle farms, vineyards and wild kangaroos with impressive views of the Limestone Coastal region.

The travelling musicians were the guests of various residents of Mount Gambier that included Chris Judd and her husband ‘Juddy’. Chris had first met Mattia and Michelle two years ago on her first visit to Lucca. She was the inspiration that organised the previous year with LuccaOperaFestival and there are three more years planned that demonstrate the strengthening of ties between the two communities. This year also included a three-day voice-coaching workshop for local talent given by Gary a professional tutor, mentor and good friend of Michelle and Mattia from Melbourne.

The evening performance at the local Sir Robert Helpman Theatre was well publicised, well attended and well received that included radio interviews and columns in the local papers as well as internet media coverage.

Mount Gambier is beautifully situated on the slopes of an extinct volcano with other smaller craters nearby. At certain times of the year the water that fills the Blue Lake of the volcano turns a vivid blue caused by light reflecting and refracting on the limestone inner-sides of the crater. The lake provides ample fresh water to the town all year round, even during the long hot dry summers. 

I took an evening stroll around the perimeter of the Blue Lake that took about forty minutes and was immediately struck by the thought and coincidence that this was the same time it takes me to walk the walls around Lucca. Ariel photographs show that Lucca is almost the same shape and would fit nicely into the expanse of the crater!

The generous nature of our new Australian friends extended to a barbeque the day after the performance that set us up for the return journey back to Melbourne and for most of us the long journey back to Lucca. The sad goodbyes were lessened by the thought of next year with the plans of more performances including a full orchestra that testifies to the popularity of Italian opera ‘down under’!