Helen Garner's 'The Spare Room' becomes opera this week
Victorian Opera opens The Spare Room. This is an operatic version of Helen Garner's 2008 book about hosting a dying friend.
Helen Garner's acclaimed book The Spare Room is being made into an opera that opens at Arts Centre Melbourne this week. The story is about three weeks in 2006.
During this time, Garner let a close friend with stage-four cancer stay in her home while seeking treatment. Helen Garner recalls: "It was the worst three weeks of my life."
She expected to be a loving carer. Instead, she found herself in a power struggle with her friend's denial and terror.
Composer Jane Hammond and librettist Therèsa Borg created the opera. Singers Natalie Jones and Antoinette Halloran play Garner and her friend Nicola.
Director Sarah Goodes says Garner's frank honesty about anger and everyday detail makes the work perfect for opera. Cast members say rehearsals were deeply emotional.
Many have carried their own experiences of caring for dying loved ones.
- three weeks
- Duration of stay
- 2006
- Year of experience
- 2008
- Book publication year
- stage-four
- Cancer stage
Why it mattersThe opera turns a private story about grief and care into a major cultural work. Garner refuses to soften hard truths. This may change how audiences understand suffering.
AustraliaAustralians can experience one of the nation's best writers' work in a new form at a major Melbourne venue, celebrating local literary achievement.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 2 h ago
Open this story in InSnip →
