PHOTO Toni Wilkinson
COMPOSER’S NOTE
When I was first approached to write music
for The Rabbits, I read the book and felt very
confused. ‘But it doesn’t have a plot (in the
traditional sense)!’ I said to John Sheedy on the
phone. ‘It doesn’t have characters!’ After chatting
with John, it became apparent that he has a
radical and fearless approach to storytelling. It
wasn’t going to be a traditional linear opera; it
was going to be an opera/musical/song-cycle/
weird popconcert/ puppet-show/art-play.
Lyndon Terracini, who was instrumental from
the start, emphasized a really fun sense of
experimentation throughout the process. At no
point was there an expectation that The Rabbits
would fit the rules of traditional opera. This new
hybrid beast appealed to me a great deal as my
musical background is a bit of a mash-up—I
studied classical voice and have performed in
operas, but my main career has been in pop
music as a singersongwriter. Musically, this
concept gave me great creative freedom. As the
process went along, the musical language started
to crystallise into a kind of triangle—the low, loud,
slightly Gilbert and Sullivan-esque Rabbits; the
more naturalistic, defiant, poppy Marsupials and
the alien Bird. There’s a layer of sinister humour
and strangeness over the whole lot. Certain parts
were added and modified after we chose our
magnificent cast, all of whom have distinctive
voices and talents. Although the story is about a
fight between two groups, it was important to us
that we got a sense of each individual. Special
mention must go to Kanen Breen who completely
changed voice type for this role and now has
a potential new career as a countertenor. Iain
Grandage’s masterful arrangements, golden
suggestions and between-scene music helped
this process enormously. This is the first time I
have composed for the theatre and I have learned
so much from Iain (at least I hope I have)—he
is the most sensitive, brilliant collaborator
imaginable.
Finally, Lally Katz’s sparkling libretto was a joy to
work with. Her words have such innate character
and colour that it often felt like the songs were
writing themselves.
KATE MILLER-HEIDKE