Guide to the Papers of Moffatt Oxenbould and Graeme Ewer, 1890-2016, 1890-2016

Summary

Collection number:

MS Acc09.020, MS Acc09.101, MS Acc09.136.MS Acc09.200, MS Acc16.144

Extent:

(51 boxes) + 3 fol. box + 3 map folios + 54 items + 1 packet + 1 oversize carton + 8 audio carriers

Language:

Undetermined and Undetermined

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Accession number i.e. Acc 09.020, National Library of Australia, Papers of Moffatt Oxenbould and Graeme Ewer, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Part available for research; part requires permission for research; part not available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

This collection comprises papers relating to the lives and careers of Moffatt Oxenbould and Graeme Ewer, particularly Oxenbould's tenure at Opera Australia, as well as material relating to Australian performing arts history. The material includes correspondence, original opera set and costume designs, photographs, scrapbooks, Edwardian postcards, ephemera, appointment diaries and journals, newsclippings, magazines and other printed material, cassette recordings, artworks and realia.

MS Acc09.020 comprises original opera set and costume designs, papers relating to Carlo Felice Cillario, opera and concert conductor (died 2007), posters and playbills, Nellie Stewart memorabilia, papers relating to the production of the opera Voss, and artwork and memorabilia.

The Acc09.101 instalment includes photographs of Joan Sutherland, printed Edwardian postcards, photographs, realia, original artworks, correspondence, and printed works relating to Joan Hammond, Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin and Kenneth Rowell.

The Acc09.136 instalment comprises seven audio cassette tapes recording communication and instructions between Sir Edward Downes while musical director of the Australian Opera, and Moffatt Oxenbould, sent from London to Sydney between 1973 and 1975.

The Acc09.200 instalment includes papers relating to Moffatt Oxenbould's career, including scrapbooks and documents from Oxenbould's schooling and early career; opera photographs; correspondence between Oxenbould and his parents; operatic production notes, audition notes, cast lists, meeting notes and minutes, Australian Opera official correspondence; documents for Oxenbould's 1965 departure to England including letters of introduction, letters of appointment; news clippings including production reviews and feature articles; correspondence with singers, conductors, colleagues, and Australian Opera executives; appointments diaries and journals; Elizabethan Opera Trust and Australian Opera ephemera including newsletters, playbills, programs, yearbooks and season brochures; custom-made farewell card, clippings, letters, photographs and tributes from Oxenbould's retirement from Opera Australia in 2000.

The Acc16.144 instalment includes material relating to Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge; ephemera; material relating to Moffatt Oxenbould productions; early 20th century opera programs; eulogies and obituaries; press cuttings; material relating to Graeme Ewer performances, including a Farewell Book presented after his final performance in Tales of Hoffman; scrapbooks; photographs; playbills; and two original gouache costume designs by Kristian Fredrikson.

Biographical / Historical:

Opera director. Moffatt Benjamin Oxenbould was born in Sydney in 1943, and graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1962. Oxenbould was artistic director of Opera Australia from 1984 until his retirement in 1999. He has maintained his association with opera since retirement, still directing with Opera Australia and also with Houston Grand Opera. In 1985 he was made a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for service to opera. In 2005 Oxenbould published his memoir Timing is everything: a life backstage at the opera, describing his 40 years in opera in Australia.

Opera singer. Graeme Ewer was born in Melbourne and joined the Australian Opera in 1967 where his roles covered the entire character tenor repertoire.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Performing arts

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn4696317).

Conditions Governing Use:

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Accession number i.e. Acc 09.020, National Library of Australia, Papers of Moffatt Oxenbould and Graeme Ewer, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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