The Navigator is an opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 by Liza Lim

Liza Lim

Liza Lim is an Australian composer.Lim writes concert music as well as music theatre and has collaborated with artists on a number of installation and video projects...

 to a libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 by Patricia Sykes. The work had its world premiere at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts

Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts

The Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts in Fortitude Valley in Brisbane, Queensland provides a 300-seat performance space, art gallery, artist studios, screening room and workshops with theatre rehearsal spaces for music, dance and circus. Opened in 2001 it is named after Judith Wright, who...

 as part of the Brisbane Festival

Brisbane Festival

Brisbane Festival is an annual arts festival held in Brisbane, Australia.-History:Brisbane Festival was developed by the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council in 1996 as an initiative to foster the arts....

 2008 on 30 July 2008. It lasts for about 100 minutes without an interval.

The work was developed during Lim's stay in 2007/2008 in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

; on 9 March 2008, excerpts were performed with the ELISION ensemble conducted by Simon Hewett at the MaerzMusik Festival, part of the Berliner Festspiele

Berliner Festspiele

The Berliner Festspiele arts center brings together a variety of arts and culture events under one roof each year in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1951. Throughout the year, festivals, program series, and individual events enrich the cultural scene of the city...

.

Theme

Roles

Role	Voice type Voice type A voice type is a particular kind of human singing voice perceived as having certain identifying qualities or characteristics. Voice classification is the process by which human voices are evaluated and are thereby designated into voice types...	Premiere cast, 30 July 2008 Conductor Conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble... : Manuel Nawri
The Beloved	soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...	Talise Trevigne
The Navigator	countertenor Countertenor A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...	Andrew Watts
The Fool	baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...	Omar Ebrahim Omar Ebrahim Omar Ebrahim is an English baritone vocalist and actor. He specializes in the performance of contemporary classical music....
Angel of History	soprano	Deborah Kayser
The Crone Hag A hag is a wizened old woman, or a kind of fairy or goddess having the appearance of such a woman, often found in folklore and children's tales such as Hansel and Gretel. Hags are often seen as malevolent, but may also be one of the chosen forms of shapeshifting deities, such as the Morrígan or...	bass-baritone Bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the Dutchman in Der fliegende...	Philip Larson
Recorder Recorder The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...  soloist		Genevieve Lacey
Orchestra		ELISION Ensemble ELISION Ensemble The ELISION Ensemble is a chamber ensemble specialising in contemporary classical music,concentrating on the creation and presentation of new works....
Director		Barrie Kosky Barrie Kosky Barrie KoskyBarrie Kosky's name is sometimes misspelled as Barry Kosky, Barrie Koski, Barrie Koskie. is an Australian theatre and opera director.Kosky also plays the piano, as he did in his production of Monteverdi's Poppea...
Set design		Barrie Kosky and Alice Babidge
Costume design		Alice Babidge
Lighting design		Damien Cooper
Sound design		Michael Hewes