Adelaide Festival of Arts, 1998

The twentieth Adelaide Festival of Arts was held 27 February-15 March 1998.

Robyn Archer was the Festival's Artistic Director, the first woman to be appointed to the position.

Former teacher and nightclub singer Archer found her calling in the world of cabaret, becoming one of the world's leading interpreters of the Weimar style, and developing a career as an artistic director and passionate advocate for the arts.

The 1998 program, organised around the theme of 'the sacred and the profane', met with wide acclaim, despite initial controversy over the use of the 'Madonna and accordion' image featured on the poster.

Highlights of the Festival included the opening night spectacular Flamma Flamma, the opera Carmen and a seven-hour performance of The seven streams of the River Ota. The Festival club 'The Squeezebox' was also a huge success, showcasing accordion acts from around the world.

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