Opera Australia - Sydney & Melbourne | 16 June 2024 |
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Performance reviews
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AttilaOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 4 | ![]() ![]() |
Everyone involved make a completely persuasive case for the work to be given an outing |
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Davide Livermore's La Scala Attila travels to Sydney |
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Impressive singing, but the storytelling leaves something to be desired |
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FaustOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 4 | ![]() |
All in all, it was a great night at the opera |
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McVicar’s devilish take on classic opera |
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From cabaret to cathedral: McVicar's spectacular Faust in Sydney |
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Production succeeds by excess |
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Don GiovanniOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 3 | ![]() ![]() |
A magnificent revival of the chilling, thrilling David McVicar production |
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Opera Australia’s revival run of Sir David McVicar’s production is part revelatory – and part not |
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A darkly gothic Don Giovanni entertains in Sydney |
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Bran Nue DaeOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 4 | ![]() |
Exceptional singing and music obscure the political heart of this classic Australian musical |
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Great Australian musical with vibrant cast resonates at Sydney festival |
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The plot may be pretty flimsy but the joyous score is irresistible and the message is as important as ever |
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Full of fabulous joy with an important message that still remains relevant |
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CarmenOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 2 | ![]() |
Opera Australia’s dynamic revival production is likely to please both opera fans and the uninitiated |
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Opera Australia's Carmen doesn't follow the rules and it works |
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La bohèmeOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 4 | ![]() ![]() |
It’s hard to recall a more uniformly well-sung Bohème |
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A very well deserved standing ovation! |
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Kang Wang makes a striking Opera Australia debut in La bohème |
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Kang Wang thrills as Rodolfo in an impressive house debut |
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FaustOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 3 | ![]() |
Emotionally moving and a treat for the eyes and ears |
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A devilish romp |
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Superlative singing and David McVicar’s lavish, clever production make a heavenly match |
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associated articles [+]
Saimir Pirgu: Pavarotti's pupil
Currently performing in Faust, the Albanian tenor discusses his early career success, working with Luciano, and what's next.
Currently performing in Faust, the Albanian tenor discusses his early career success, working with Luciano, and what's next.
TurandotOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 3 | ![]() |
A seductive nightmare |
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Tenor gets Turandot's big tune but sopranos soar in everything else |
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Graeme Murphy’s much-loved production returns, with American soprano Lise Lindstrom in the title role |
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Le nozze di FigaroOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 3 | ![]() |
Felice e brillante la direzione di Guillaume Tourniaire |
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McVicar's The Marriage of Figaro lights up the Opera Australia stage |
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A rich, confident revival helmed by strong performances |
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Il viaggio a ReimsOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 2 | ![]() |
In a twist, the world’s most famous artworks come to life in Rossini’s rarely performed opera |
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Mellifluous frivolity in Opera Australia's production of Il viaggio a Reims |
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Ghost SonataOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 5 | ![]() ![]() |
Ghost Sonata is strikingly modern but its meaning is opaque |
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Ghost Sonata is rarely seen and dense in this production |
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The Ghost Sonata is a disturbing, thought-provoking work |
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Opera Australia brings Strindberg's strange, purgatorial world to the Scenery Workshop |
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Haunting expressionist drama |
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West Side StoryOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 1 | ![]() |
More grit, less glitter required for Opera Australia's West Side Story |
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Andrea ChenierOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 2 | ![]() |
Moments of artistry and sheer vocal beauty |
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Sensational, old-school singing in Giordano's operatic potboiler |
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WhiteleyOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 8 | ![]() ![]() |
Brett Whiteley partied with Bob Dylan. Now his life is an opera |
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Whiteley is a triumph |
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Ample talent on display, but the story needs more work to properly take off |
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Of art and genius: exceptional world premiere of Whiteley in Sydney |
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Opera Australia’s Whiteley brings together 3 icons to tell the artist’s complicated story |
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It is the music that allows the work to soar |
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An opera about Sydney, its people, and one extraordinary artist |
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Australian artist Brett Whiteley is celebrated in this new, high-tech opera |
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Anna BolenaOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 4 | ![]() ![]() |
Ermonela Jaho, in the title-role, is a natural foreboder, ever mannered and tragic |
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Tudor terrors in Opera Australia's new Anna Bolena |
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A marvellous royal visit from soprano Ermonela Jaho |
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The indisputable star of the evening was Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho |
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Madama ButterflyOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 7 | ![]() ![]() |
Karah Son’s Butterfly soars in Graeme Murphy’s dizzying new bondage-inspired production |
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Opera Australia's future-focussed Butterfly doesn't quite soar |
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A new, darker Butterfly at the Sydney Opera House |
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The blend of tradition with innovation and technology ushers us into a new era |
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Karah Son makes Opera Australia's Madama Butterfly a must see |
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Madama Butterfly reaches new heights |
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Dramatic experiment of production fitting for uncertain times |
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Butterfly caught in a tangled web of love and lust
Opera Australia audiences can expect a very different Madama Butterfly when it opens this week, with Japanese bondage being central to the design.
Opera Australia audiences can expect a very different Madama Butterfly when it opens this week, with Japanese bondage being central to the design.
Il viaggio a ReimsOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 6 | ![]() ![]() |
A night of spectacular entertainment and magnificent music |
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Rossini’s grand musical showcase finally makes its Australian debut in suitably lavish, comic style |
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Opera Australia’s Australian premiere of Il Viaggio a Reims is an undisputed crowd pleaser |
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Art comes alive in a modern twist on Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Reims |
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The world's most famous artworks come to life in this rarely performed Rossini opera |
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A gourmet delight |
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Così fan tutteOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 4 | ![]() |
Moritz Junge’s elegant sets look superb on the broad Melbourne stage |
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Opera Australia’s production is a beautiful escape for the soul and the senses |
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Bittersweet |
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Opera Australia delights with bittersweet Cosi Fan Tutte |
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RigolettoOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 4 | ![]() |
Liparit Avetisyan was exceptional as the Duke of Mantua |
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Young cast, old production: Opera Australia’s Rigoletto is on song |
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A repellent fascination |
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Unexpected drama as a reinvigorated Rigoletto opens in Melbourne |
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Opera disrupted by elderly protester
The opening night of Opera Australia's Rigoletto in Melbourne was disrupted after an elderly composer stood up ahead of the curtain rising to air a 50-year-old grievance.
The opening night of Opera Australia's Rigoletto in Melbourne was disrupted after an elderly composer stood up ahead of the curtain rising to air a 50-year-old grievance.
West Side StoryOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 2 | ![]() |
Australian musical theatre is in healthy shape indeed |
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The young cast sure can dance, but lacks the dramatic chops to sell this dark tale |
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West Side StoryOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 5 | ![]() |
West Side Story is given lavish, large scale treatment |
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A traditional but superbly staged production that transcends the rain and some dated elements |
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Julie Lea Goodwin is a well-seasoned Maria |
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A Manhattan juke-box on Sydney harbour |
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Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour’s West Side Story proves that thunder & rainbows only happen when it’s raining |
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associated articles [+]
Francesca Zambello on directing Opera Australia's West Side Story
On March 22, Opera Australia will once again premiere its annual Handa Opera on Sydney Harbor, an outdoor opera spectacular set against the backdrop of one of the world's most beautiful harbors.
On March 22, Opera Australia will once again premiere its annual Handa Opera on Sydney Harbor, an outdoor opera spectacular set against the backdrop of one of the world's most beautiful harbors.
The next opera on Sydney Harbour will be a musical
After drawing from the classic opera stock like La Traviata, Carmen and La Boheme since the opera-on-a-floating-stage concept was introduced in 2012, audiences in 2019 will see West Side Story.
After drawing from the classic opera stock like La Traviata, Carmen and La Boheme since the opera-on-a-floating-stage concept was introduced in 2012, audiences in 2019 will see West Side Story.
SalomeOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 8 | ![]() ![]() |
Once banned. Still shocking. But Salome is bloody and fantastic |
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An awkward feminist production |
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Seven fantasies replace seven veils: a gruesome Salome revived in Sydney |
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Strauss's daring and dastardly opera makes its return to the Opera House |
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Despite the visual updating, the stage pictures leave a classic, timeless impression |
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Lise Lindstrom's potent Salome sweeps everything in her wake |
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This Salome, protagonist and production, makes no apologies for its outrageousness |
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Perversion writ large in this thrilling production |
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WertherOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 5 | ![]() ![]() |
Suicide is painless when Massenet pulls the strings |
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Michael Fabiano makes a promising role debut, but the real star is Elena Maximova's vividly realised Charlotte |
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American tenor Michael Fabiano did a fantastic job in his debut as Werther |
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The two leads make welcome returns to Australia as even shinier stars |
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Joys aplenty among Werther's sorrows |
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Lise Lindstrom: blood and guts
As she prepares to unveil her Salome for Opera Australia, Lise Lindstrom discusses the role’s myriad challenges, finding empathy for a ruined princess, and why she had to leave Nilsson behind.
As she prepares to unveil her Salome for Opera Australia, Lise Lindstrom discusses the role’s myriad challenges, finding empathy for a ruined princess, and why she had to leave Nilsson behind.
WozzeckOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 8 | ![]() ![]() |
An audience rarely exposed to this type of music gave thunderous applause at the end |
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Barbed wire fences and gas masks: William Kentridge’s unsettling Wozzeck in Sydney |
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A stunning production, visually and musically |
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South African artist William Kentridge brings his animations to this Opera Australia production |
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This Wozzeck is, by any measure, an outstanding version of this seminal musical theatre work |
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Nothing succeeds like excess for Kentridge |
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Artist William Kentridge gives us a mesmorising version of Berg's Wozzeck |
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This production is an overwhelming triumph |
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TurandotOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 5 | ![]() |
Re-working lifts opera to new heights |
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Amber Wagner blazes as Puccini’s icy princess |
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An extravagant production of Puccini’s posthumous and deeply flawed masterpiece |
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Opera Australia revives spectacular storybook Turandot |
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Puccini's last opera crowned by dramatic peaks |
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La bohèmeOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 5 | ![]() |
A charming work and good cast held back by a worn and ineffective production |
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New stars create another success for the world’s favourite opera |
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La Bohéme is all at once decadent and tragic at the Sydney Opera House |
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Seediness makes for a pleasurable seduction |
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A cast of uncommon distinction headed by Joyce El-Khoury's powerful Mimì makes this revival feel anything but routine |
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Die Meistersinger von NürnbergOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 8 | ![]() ![]() |
Master masons: Holten’s Meistersinger comes to Melbourne |
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An imperfect realisation of Wagner’s comedy, but the music making more than compensates |
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One of Hitler's favourite operas gets standing ovation |
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A knowing, modern yet mythic production of one of Hitler’s favourite operas |
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Opera Australia takes on a formidable Wagner |
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Musically as close to a triumph as it could have been |
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Opening night was musically magnificent |
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Poetry and dreams |
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associated articles [+]
Opera Australia loses its second Hans Sachs
Shane Lowrencev has withdrawn from Meistersinger, leaving the company to find its third Hans a week out from opening. He will be replaced by German baritone Michael Kupfer-Radecky.
Shane Lowrencev has withdrawn from Meistersinger, leaving the company to find its third Hans a week out from opening. He will be replaced by German baritone Michael Kupfer-Radecky.
A show of Hans: A history of Meistersinger onstage
Wagner’s comic masterpiece explores the nature of art. As Opera Australia's production opens in Melbourne, we examine why it's become a controversial target of revisionism in recent decades.
Wagner’s comic masterpiece explores the nature of art. As Opera Australia's production opens in Melbourne, we examine why it's become a controversial target of revisionism in recent decades.
La bohèmeOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 3 | ![]() |
Weimar Berlin, and all that jazz |
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Life on the precipice: Opera Australia revives its Berlin Bohème |
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The finished product falls disappointingly flat |
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MetamorphosisOpera AustraliaNo. of reviews: 4 | ![]() |
This operatic initiative by Opera Australia must be highly commended |
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Opera turns Kafka's work into musical language of delirium |
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Brian Howard’s opera is given an impressive revival in a suitably grungy new performance space |
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A pop-up space is an apt locale for this smaller-scale work all about transformation |
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![Opera Australia - Sydney & Melbourne](/img/operacompanies/aus.jpg)
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Performance schedule
Lloyd Webber
21 May to 7 Jul 2024
Twist
14 to 16 Jun 2024
Puccini
25 Jun to 16 Aug 2024
Dean
20 Jul to 9 Aug 2024
Mazzoli
26 to 28 Jul 2024
Mozart
1 to 17 Aug 2024
Lloyd Webber
28 Aug to 2 Nov 2024
Symonds
26 Sep to 5 Oct 2024
Mills
16 to 19 Oct 2024
Mozart
9 to 16 Nov 2024
Various
13 to 15 Nov 2024
News & Articles
Opera Australia grasps The Ring, but plunges to a loss |
Wagner's Ring Cycle was Opera Australia's most ambitious production yet, but the 16-hour epic helped sink the company's 2023 finances to an operating deficit of $7.8 million. |
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‘Wagner would love it’: Epic 15-hour opera goes super hi-tech |
Opera Australia’s new production of The Ring will be like no other before it. |
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Opera Australia signals change with its 2024 season |
Five contemporary operas, a bigger Melbourne presence, more women conductors and directors – Jo Davies' inaugural season suggests a change of direction for OA. |
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Behind the scenes: Opera Australia’s vast, digital Ring cycle |
“Go digital!” Opera Australia told Chen Shi-Zheng when he was briefed to direct Wagner’s Ring cycle, which premieres in Brisbane this December. |
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Jo Davies announces her first OA production for Melbourne |
OA will stage Opera North's production of Tosca, directed by Edward Dick, at Melbourne's Margaret Court Arena in May 2024. |
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