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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

Madeleine Lee, by John Haddock with Michael Campbell

Oct 4–5, 2019
216 Marion Rd, Netley SA 5037, Australia

Among perpetrators of opera, it’s a perpetual grievance that a world premiere, far more often than not, is less a launch than a last hurrah. Three cheers for State Opera South Australia, which over three seasons through 2021 is reviving no fewer than nine “Lost Operas of Oz.” Number 3, by John Haddock with an assist on the libretto from Michael Campbell, recalls the mystery of the B24 bomber Lady Be Good and her nine-man crew, lost without a trace over Libya following their first and only combat mission. The operatic possibilities seem endless. —M.G.