2011 performances

Concert performances of Handel's opera Alcina were presented on 27 and 29 October, directed by Colin Forbes and Produced by Patricia Whitbread.

The Sundays of August 2011 made up A Month of Sundays, four afternoon concerts featuring Canberra singers and musicians.

Damsels and Dragons: an evening with Gilbert's women on Saturday 26 March, was a cabaret-style supper show, prepared by Patricia Whitebread with songs from many of the G & S operas humorously—and sometimes seriously—illustrating Gilbert's characterisation of women in his shows. Food@St Philip's excelled with a fine supper!.

The Sound of Musicals on 28 May was a fun-filled concert of family favourites from musical theatre performed by singing students of Madeleine Rowland. This was CAMRA's first show featuring children and the first created and directed by Madeleine.

2010 performances

CAMRA launched its 2010 program on Saturday 1 May by joining the St. Philip's singers to celebrate St Philip's Day with the Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo in B-flat major (Little Organ Mass) by Joseph Haydn, Hob. XXII:7.

Sundays 23 May, 30 May, 6 June and 13 June made up A Month of Sundays, four afternoon vocal concerts, each featuring four Canberra singers accompanied by Colin Forbes.

Crossover, presented on 24 and 26 June, was a highly amusing and finely song concert of men singing songs for women and women singing songs for men!

On 31 July, The Wilhelm Quartet from the Royal Academy of Music, London — Marciana Buta (violin), Margaret Dziekonski (violin), Glen Donnelly (viola) and Hetty Snell (cello) — joined with Colin Forbes (piano) for quartets by Beethoven and Schumann, followed by the Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor.

On 2 and 4 September 2010, we staged an Opera Double Bill with Bastien and Bastienne, K.50/46b (1768) by W.A. Mozart and Dido and Aeneas, Z.626 (1689) by Henry Purcell, directed by Colin Forbes and Patricia Whitbread and and conducted by Matthew Stuckings, with soloists and chorus.

2009 highlights

In March, CAMRA and Igitur Nos combined for two performances of JS Bach's St John Passion.

Twinsets & Pearls, our gala cabaret supper on 18th and 19th April was a smash hit and the supper was sumptuous.

CAMRA supported Classical Opera-tives' presentation of highlights from WA Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito and June the two groups jointly produced Arias and Scenes — from Mozart's Don Govanni and The Magic Flute.

Also in June, Colin Forbes presented a recital of Beethoven's piano sonatas, continuing a series he began last year.

Distinguished English tenor Stephen Anthony Brown, formerly of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, visited Canberra in October to present masterclasses, workshops and concerts for CAMRA, Inc. The most successful Polish up your G & S ! workshop on 23-25 October culminated in an outstanding Sunday evening concert, presenting the work studied at the workshop! On 27 October, Stephen Anthony Brown and Colin Forbes gave a brilliant recital of songs by Sir Arthur Sullivan and his contemporaries, Five Knights and a Gondola.

2008 highlights

On 7th December, CAMRA completed a succesful year with Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols with Tegan Peemoeller, harpist—as part of an Advent service at St. Philip's. In November, we presented superb Canberra singers in a concert of highlights from Mozart's comic opera Così fan Tutte. In June we performed Ordo Virtutum (The Play of the Virtues) by Hildegard von Bingen.

A decade of music and theatre

The Canberra Academy of Music and Related Arts was launched with WA Mozart's complete piano sonatas performed on fortepiano by CAMRA's director, Colin Forbes, between July 1998 and July 2000.
In 2007, its 10th anniversary year, CAMRA gave four sell-out performances of Mozart's Opera The Marriage of Figaro in August, and Handels's Messiah in December.

WS Gilbert and AS Sullivan's Iolanthe was CAMRA's first full theatrical production in November 2000, followed by Patience (2001), The Mikado (2002), The Sorcerer (2004)

Our 2003 production of John Gay's The Beggar's Opera a Canberra Critics' Circle Award 2003.

Soprano Amanda Forbes gave a superb solo recital for CAMRA in 2006.

CAMRA also sings sacred music in performance and for special church services in association with St. Philip's Anglican Church, O'Connor. Major performances of sacred works have included:
  • JS Bach. St John Passion, most recently in March 2009,
  • Masses by Haydn, Mozart and Schubert,
  • Britten's A Ceremony of Carols, most recently for Christmas 2008,
  • the Stabat Mater in settings by Vivaldi and by Pergolesi,
  • Hildegard of Bingen's Ordo Virtutum (the Ritual of the Virtues) in 2005 and 2008, and
  • GF Handel's Messiah in 2005, 2006 and 2007