There’s a scene at the beginning of Parrwang Lifts the Sky where a young boy, keen to show off his knowledge to his new friend – a large, talking magpie – tells her that he knows the Latin word for most things. Amused, the magpie named Parrwang replies, “Ah yes, Latin. One of the newer languages.”
Parrwang Lifts the Sky is an opera based on a traditional Wadawurrung story, and was written by Yorta Yorta woman, composer, and soprano Deborah Cheetham Fraillon.
Parrwang Lifts the Sky cast members Shauntai Sherree, Rebecca Rashleigh, Deborah Cheetham Fraillon.Credit: Tiffany Garvie
That early line draws attention to Australia being the home of the world’s oldest continuing living cultures – and many of its oldest languages.
That’s why it’s one of Cheetham Fraillon’s favourites, “if I do say so myself”, she adds with a laugh. Set in the distant past on an earth covered in a thick blanket of darkness, Parrwang Lifts the Sky tells the story of how magpies – “parrwang” in the Wadawurrung language – gave humankind their first sunrise.
At only 50 minutes long, the work packs in far more than first meets the eye. Underneath the sweet, deceptively simple story, there are deeper messages about the interplay between humans and nature, along with an appreciation for the power of First Nations storytelling. Behind the scenes too, Parrwang Lifts the Sky is part of a bigger picture of change.
“When I started out, I was the only professional Indigenous opera singer,” says Cheetham Fraillon. That’s no longer the case – and she is a major reason why.
Cheetham Fraillon helped the Melba Opera Trust establish the Harold Blair scholarship, named for Australia’s first Indigenous opera singer.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
Determined to foster new talent, Cheetham Fraillon started Short Black Opera in 2008 to create pathways for performers and to share First Nations stories and knowledge with as wide an audience as possible.
“I think we are necessary because we see where there is a lack of representation,” she says. “We know that the talent exists. The ability exists. The passion and desire and drive exists.”
What was lacking – and remains so in a lot of places – was a clearly defined pathway. “Short Black Opera represents opportunities, and ensuring that opportunity meets ability. From there, singers and musicians can take that really incredibly rewarding journey into their career as professional musicians.”
In the 15 years since Short Black Opera was founded things have shifted. In 2012, Cheetham Fraillon helped the Melba Opera Trust establish the Harold Blair scholarship, named for Australia’s first Indigenous opera singer.
Victorian Opera’s 2021 production of Parrwang Lifts the Sky.Credit: Mel Sergeant
Cheetham Fraillon points to the fact that now courses within universities are looking to offer opportunities to First Nations composers and musicians, and highlights that the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in particular has been “an incredible leader in this space”.
Progress is being made, she says, “but this has all happened because Short Black Opera was posing the difficult questions to people and was out there, putting on these productions, bringing together people, training them and then sending them out into the world with the skills they need”.
Change was frustratingly sluggish, however. “I would say it took the first five years for people to stand up and take notice that they could be doing something in this space,” Cheetham Fraillon says.
“In the last decade, slowly, companies have begun to come on board. However, the major companies that receive the bulk of the funding from the government and from the Australia Council ... are still slow to respond – and so rather than wait for them to do anything inclusive at all, Short Black Opera just gets on with it and influences the larger companies by doing so.”
Parrwang Lifts the Sky is evidence of this, Cheetham Fraillon explains. While this week marks the first time the production will be performed in front of an audience, it was first staged two years ago and commissioned by Victorian Opera. “They were the first state company to commission a First Nations story by First Nations composer and designers. I’m really proud that that happened here in Victoria.”
Due to lockdowns, the production was turned into a live-stream at the last minute. In addition to being the opera’s composer, Cheetham Fraillon is also one of its performers. It was a strange experience – performing to an empty theatre, where even the orchestra had to be piped in from the next room.
Cheetham Fraillon was glad they were able to stage the production at all back in 2021 – she describes it as “a miracle” – but she is thrilled to finally be able to perform it in front of an audience.
“It was a really fun libretto to write and to find ways of supporting the message that First Nations culture [is] our greatest treasure, our greatest resource in this country, beyond anything else that we dig out of the ground, or anything else that we can develop or send overseas,” she says.
“First Nations culture, being the longest, most sustainable culture in the world, is our greatest resource – and I think more and more people are coming to understand that.
“We’re in yet another extraordinary year in the lives of First Nations people with the referendum [on the Indigenous voice to parliament] just around the corner.
“I think in Australia we’re still a long way from understanding the strength of the continuity of culture and civilisation on this continent, and I think, what a timely opera, to help people find a pathway into understanding and appreciating First Nations culture.”
Parrwang Lifts the Sky is on at the Arts Centre on July 7 and 8.
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