A Winter's Journey

Spend a cold December night in the company of tenor Allan Clayton and pianist Kate Golla, as Schubert’s melancholic song cycle Winterreise is matched with striking landscapes by Fred Williams.

From the opening bars we know this is a journey that will end fatefully. Schubert’s mournful cycle is a self-portrait of his perception of the time it was written: disease was taking its toll on him, and his demise was growing ever closer. His sorrow is clear, but he nevertheless underlies Wilhelm Müller’s words with a tragic beauty.

Bringing his notorious characterisation to Winterreise is the superb Allan Clayton, fresh off the Royal Opera House stage in the title role of Peter Grimes in his ‘finest performance of his career to date’ (Guardian). And this won’t just be a feast for the ears either. Musica Viva Australia’s Artistic Director Paul Kildea has created a novel concept for Winterreise, pairing Schubert’s travelling tales with hand-picked images of 20th-century Australian artist Fred Williams OBE’s paintings and prints.