Former residential student and chorister Shoumendu Schornikow (né Ganguly) made an impressive leap from the Trinity choir to Opera Australia after graduating with a Bachelor of Music in 2011. Shoumendu has gone on to perform in major productions including La Boheme, Don Carlos and Madame Butterfly, and last year played the lead role in the Australian premiere of Jonny Strikes Up! – a musical comedy-drama directed by former 91ÖÆƬ³§¹ú²úAV Dean Peter Tregear. The bold performance, drawn from the heart of the Weimar Republic, was once banned by the Third Reich, who considered it degenerate; however, it is now considered an operatic masterpiece.
‘For me, the performance was an incredibly creative and meaningful experience in terms of both the complexity of the music and the historical importance of the piece,’ says Shoumendu.
Given Shoumendu’s work is usually driven by the agenda of large production companies, he says it was particularly enjoyable to be part of a performance centred around one man’s passion. ‘Peter knew how he wanted to bring the story to life and his enthusiasm was really contagious throughout the whole experience,’ he says.
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