Meet the cast of Enchanted Encounters
Ahead of presenting Enchanted Encounters, we spoke with cast members James Pinneri and Sophie Hamer, and accompanist Bridget Hutchinson.
When did you discover your love of music?
James (J): I discovered my love for music when I was in Year 9 at school and I was cast as the lead role in my school musical. It developed when I was younger by having great teachers at school who continued to push me and inspire me to want to do it as a profession one day.
Sophie (S): My passion for music was discovered through participating in choirs; I started singing at a young age, and fell in love with singing and making friends through music. I performed in a production of The Pirates of Penzance whilst at high school and was fortunate to sing the role of Mabel. This unlocked a whole new perspective for me, and shifted my passions towards operatic and classical singing.
Bridget (B): I come from a family of music lovers so it’s been more of a constant throughout my life than a particular discovery, however, I really began to love it when I started listening to a lot of Western Art music in my adolescent years!
What is your favourite song being performed in Enchanted Encounters?
S: I love the excerpts from Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd. The music and text is just too good! My favourite song is definitely A Little Priest, it works perfectly as our comedic relief amongst all the spookiness!
B: Erlkönig by Schubert and Waldegespräch by Schumann. Both have such fascinating stories and characters in them!
Why is Enchanted Encounters a great introduction to music and theatre?
S: I think this is the perfect entrance to music and theatre for first timers; each story is easy to understand, despite some being in other languages, as the stories are all staged completely, making it easy to connect the emotions of the music to the acting.
Enchanted Encounters is described as 'Songs of the Supernatural'. Why is that?
B: The program features many songs that describe or feature non-human entities. This is a really interesting juxtaposition to many of the songs and pieces we hear everyday that try and capture the human experience specifically. So hearing about experiences with the supernatural and even the perspective of all kinds of supernatural creatures through music is going to be really different and fun!
What is the spookiest encounter you’ve ever had?
J: The spookiest encounter I have ever had was when I was in Middle School and we used to go to New Norcia for the Music Camps. That place was definitely haunted!
S: I have a memory of sleep walking once when I was little, I’ve never experienced this again but it was freaky!
B: Nothing has quite yet beaten sharing ghost stories with my friends around a campfire up in the hills when I was younger. Being out in the bush in pitch black darkness particularly heightened the spook-factor!
What can audiences expect?
S: Audiences can expect a very engaging show, full of great music and storytelling paired with visuals and emotive lighting. I’m really honoured to be a part of this project.
West Australian Opera presents Enchanted Encounters at Liberty Theatre on 12 September. Book here
