Logo of Sydney Chamber Opera with a stylized geometric design of intersecting lines and the text 'SYDNEY CHAMBER OPERA' underneath.

Breaking Glass

Performer

“a work of visceral intensity”

Black and white silhouette of a large V-shaped design with rough, textured edges.

SYDNEY CHAMBER OPERA IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SYDNEY CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC’S COMPOSING WOMEN PROGRAM

AN AWARD-WINNING PERFORMANCE THAT BRINGS LIFE TO WOMEN’S STORIES

Jessica O’Donoghue as ODYSSEA 


Four women weave new worlds from music.

Women have always starred in opera, but with the contours of their lives scored by men. In Breaking Glass, the four brilliant composers seize the stage and share the stories they have always wanted to tell.

Commute (Peggy Polias) transforms the saga of Odysseus into the prickling unease of a modern woman’s walk home at night. The Tent (Josephine Macken)creates a landscape of pulsating terror from Margaret Atwood’s knife-sharp prose and the tiniest fragments of wounded sound. In Her Dark Marauder (Georgia Scott), Sylvia Plath’s poetry inspires a woman’s battle for her identity in a spirit-crushing world. The Invisible Bird (Bree van Reyk) takes the true story of a rare breed of Australian parrot struggling for survival and renders it a dazzling journey to emancipation.


SCORE: Georgia Scott, Peggy Polias, Josephine Macken, Breen van Reyk

DIRECTORS: Danielle Maas & Clemence Williams

WRITER & DRAMATURG: Pierce Wilcox

PHOTO CREDITS: Daniel Boud

AWARDS: 2021 APRA AMCOS AMC Art Music Award for ‘Performance of the Year – Notated Composition’

View Official Site
Posters with a woman standing and looking thoughtful, large black and white image of a hand, green textured border, text about an art music awards event titled 'Performance of the Year' with details about the Sydney Chamber Opera, Jessica O'Donoghue, Jack Symonds, and Clemence Williams, with the theme 'Commute' and created by Peggy Polias.
APRA AMCOS logo in black text

2021 Art Music Award Winner

Performance of the Year - Notated Composition

Art Music Awards 2021
  • Logo of The Conversation with stylized text and a speech bubble icon

    “The vocalists – Jane Sheldon, Simon Lobelson, and Jessica O’Donoghue in this work – showed exceptional range, with virtuosic execution of techniques such as vocal fry, portamenti and fricative sounds along with beautifully phrased melodic material.”

    – The Conversation

  • Logo with the word 'LIMELIGHT' in large red letters and 'Music, Arts & Culture' in smaller red text below.

    “Jessica O’Donoghue makes a memorable feminist hero, a grimly determined woman who sets her face into the storm”

    — Limelight ★★★★

  • Sydney Morning Herald logo black

    “O’Donoghue, Sheldon, Lobelson, and Riley spanned remarkable vocal demands and range with exemplary professionalism.”

    — Sydney Morning Herald ★★★★

  • The Saturday Paper logo black

    “O’Donoghue’s performance is mesmerising. The music is tumultuous and rhythmic, but her singing is as slow and tentative as her steps. Her voice is a perfect vehicle for the almost mediaeval style of her part.”

    — The Saturday Paper ★★★★

Breaking Glass (Full performance)

A stage with a large digital screen showing a foggy landscape with distant mountains. Three performers are sitting or standing among fake clouds or fog effects, with one standing and reading from a paper.
Stage scene with three performers dressed in vintage clothing, two women seated and one man standing, in front of a large backdrop displaying a sea with islands and fog, creating an atmospheric setting.
A woman sitting on the stage floor, putting on black high heels. A black handbag is on the floor next to her, and the background is dark.
Jessica O'Donoghue with short curly hair wearing a beige blouse and beige skirt standing on a platform with a typewriter in front of her, and a man in a suit standing behind her holding a paper, in a foggy, surreal setting.
Jessica O'Donoghue with short, curly hair wearing a checkered dress is speaking on stage with her hands raised. Behind her is a large screen displaying a close-up image of her face.
Three people standing at separate tables in front of a large LED wall displaying the words "RAVE LIKE".
Jessica O'Donoghue in plaid dress holding a handbag, looking up, with a dark background and abstract digital visuals.
Jessica O'Donoghue with curly hair wearing a plaid dress and high heels is walking on stage with a large screen behind her displaying many hands reaching out in different directions.
Jessica O'Donoghue with short curly hair passionately singing or shouting while standing in front of a vintage typewriter.
Jessica O'Donoghue stands on a stage in front of a large digital display showing multiple hands reaching in various directions. The reflection of the scene is visible on the shiny floor.
Jessica O'Donoghue with curly hair wearing a checkered dress and high heels, holding a black handbag, is speaking or presenting on stage with a large screen behind her displaying a black and white image of an outstretched hand.
Jessica O'Donoghue with short curly hair wearing a checkered outfit, holding a purse, looking at a large digital display with abstract hand-like shapes.
Four people in formal attire walk in front of a large digital screen displaying a colorful pixelated pattern, with the reflections visible on a shiny floor.
Group of performers dressed in formal attire on a stage with rocks and a celestial background.
Jessica O'Donoghue in a black tuxedo and white shirt standing on a rocky surface underwater, with a starry night sky visible above and reflections in the water.
Jessica O'Donoghue in a plaid long skirt and checkered blazer holding a bag stands in front of a large digital screen displaying numerous hands reaching out.