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Perth International Arts Festival is delighted to have received a Helpmann Award for Best Special Event and a further 13 prestigious Helpmann Award nominations for artists and performers at the 2015 Festival.

The nominations were announced last night in Sydney, and included the Best Special Event Helpmann for The Incredible and Phenomenal Journey of The Giants to the Streets of Perth by Royal de Luxe, which opened the 2015 Perth International Arts Festival.

The Festival is proud of the four nominations for The Rabbits , co-commissioned with Melbourne Festival. This beautiful new production had its sold-out world premiere in the opening weekend of the 2015 Festival. The Opera Australia and Barking Gecko Theatre Company work, in association with West Australian Opera was nominated for: Best New Australian Work; Best Original Score for Kate Miller-Heidke with Iain Grandage; Best Costume Design for Gabriela Tylesova; and Best Presentation for Children.

Perth Festival also received two nominations for Madama Butterfly by English National Opera, Metropolitan Opera and Lithuanian National Opera in association with West Australian Opera and Perth International Arts Festival. After a Festival sell-out production, Madama Butterfly was nominated for Best Opera and Best Male Performer in an Opera for Adam Diegel.

The Festival received a nomination for Best Australian Contemporary Concert for Chet Faker’s national tour, presented by Chet Faker, Frontier Touring, Artist Voice, Opulent, Future Classics and Perth International Arts Festival.

Two artists in the 2015 Festival are among those vying for Best Visual or Physical Theatre Production: Davy and Kristin McGuire for The Paper Architect and Circa’s Beyond .

In Classical Music Perth Festival was well represented with nominations for Best Chamber and/or Instrumental Ensemble Concert for Les Arts Florissants’ In an Italian Garden ; and The Sixteen’s The Queen of Heaven .  Founder and musical director of Les Arts Florissants William Christie is also nominated for Best Individual Classical Performance.

We also congratulate Musica Viva on the nomination for Best Symphony Orchestra Concert for Tafelmusik for House of Dreams, another highlight of the 2015 Festival.ital Centre,

Perth Festival Artistic Director Wendy Martin congratulates all the nominees.

“The opening weekend of Perth International Arts Festival this year was an exceptional experience with The Giants taking over the streets and The Rabbits delighting everyone who saw it,” she said.

“It’s great to see both projects receive this well deserved recognition and to see so many nominations across such a wide range of art forms.”

The Helpmann Awards will be announced on 27 July, 2015 at the Capitol Theatre.

Media references

WA MEDIA: Rania Ghandour +61 8 6488 8618 / 0403 025 535
[email protected]

NATIONAL MEDIA: Miranda Brown +61 3 9419 0931 / 0411 568 781
[email protected]