The latest in the excellent series of Babies Proms at the Sydney Opera House is the beautiful Sweet Dreams – a soothing musical journey around the world.
The performance is centred around a simple premise – a cradle on the stage holds a baby, who the orchestra is trying to get to sleep using lullabies from such far-lung palces as Egypt, China, India and Scotland.
Our ‘mother’ is soprano Heather Lee, who deftly uses a few simple props to switch between ‘locations’, equally as skillful as her vocal switches between Chinese, Egyptian and Indian tongues.
I had warned my toddler that there would be no dancing at this concert, but it was far more interactive than anticipated, particularly the stirring “Bila Bila” from the Gulf of Carpentaria, and our favourite, “Naami, naami” forn Egypt, which began with the premise of a bumpy camel ride through the desert, replete with hand actions.
The real magic in the Babies Proms series is the opportunity to hear and see orchestral music performed at very close range, and at an affordable price. Joining the Babies Proms Orchestra for this performance are world music composer Kim Cunio and Liew Kiek and Tunji Bier, who between them play all sorts of weird and wonderful instruments such as the oud, tavil, daff and zarb.
The children are transfixed by the instruments, and jump at the chance to have a closer look at the end of the concert.
I can’t say that many children slept during the show, but nor did they scream. Most were seemingly hypnotized by the gentle rhythms of the lullabies.
Sweet Dreams is at The Sydney Opera House until February 16. Tickets are 50% off if booked today only. Visit the SOH website for more.
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