Australian Story: May 16

“Dare to Dream” on Monday’s Australian Story profiles George Palmer, who has found success as an opera composer -at the age of 68.

The remarkable untold story behind the creation of Australia’s newest opera is the subject of this week’s Australian Story.

Its composer, George Palmer had never written an opera before. For most of his career, he’d been a barrister and later a judge of the NSW Supreme Court.

When he told his wife that he wanted to write an operatic version of Tim Winton’s sprawling novel, Cloudstreet, she was sceptical.

“It’s a huge story with a lot of characters which wouldn’t fit even into 3 hours. I said ‘this is not a good idea’,” Penny Palmer told Australian Story.

Undeterred, George Palmer contacted Tim Winton’s agent to inquire about acquiring musical rights to the novel. Twice, he got no reply.

So Palmer contacted legendary theatre producer Gale Edwards, a veteran of London and Broadway musicals, and director of The Boy From Oz.

It was the mention of Cloudstreet – one of her favourite novels – that got Edwards on board, plus the quality of the songs Palmer had already written.

“I thought George’s composition was gorgeous. The music spoke for itself right from the beginning,” says Gale Edwards.

Palmer and Edwards have spent the last 5 years bringing the idea to the stage, and Cloudstreet the opera will finally have its world premiere on May 12 at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Adelaide.

“What first-time composer ever gets a production at this scale and size from a professional opera company?” asks Gale Edwards. “It’s amazing.”

Cloudstreet was taken on by the State Opera of South Australia, whose CEO Tim Sexton is now musical director of the new opera.

“Of all the things I’ve worked on over the last 38 years, this is the one that I believe has the greatest legs to go on and become something truly fabulous. This work absolutely should be picked up not only here in Australia but overseas as well,” he told the program.

In a Beethoven-esque twist to the story, George Palmer may be facing impending deafness. He has already lost the hearing in his right ear, and his left ear is deteriorating.

“I want to get as much done as I can before I can’t hear any more,” he says.

“To find myself at the age of 68 with a totally absorbing, challenging, stimulating and scary new career as a composer is something I would never have dreamt could happen.”

May 16 at 8pm on ABC.