Tag: opera

Otello opera in Sydney – on stage this February

Otello Opera Australia

With two international stars on stage for the whole run of Otello by Opera Australia, there’s more than enough reason to head to the Joan Sutherland Theatre at the Sydney Opera House. But, what’s it about? Distilled from Shakespeare’s masterpiece, Otello is an intense chamber-like opera that explores all the problems of the world, concentrated in the lives of the three main characters: Otello, Desdemona and Iago, three of Verdi’s most demanding roles, both vocally and dramatically. These roles will be incredibly performed by OA favourites Yonghoon Lee, Karah Son all conducted by Andrea Battistoni. Together, Lee – who’s known for his performance in the 2019 production of Turandot and Son who reprised the role of the Madama in Madam Butterfly in 2019 – will bring the house down, showcasing their incredible talent, professional poise and let’s not forget, Lee’s innate ability to make weak the knees with his renowned abilities. Have a watch of his performance in Tosca by OA in 2012. Whether you’re new to opera or as ingrained as the Sydney Opera House itself, Lee and Son are two favourites that make a visit to the Joan Sutherland Theatre that much more worth it. Otello will be on at the Sydney Opera House from 19 February to 19 March 2022. For information, times and tickets, head to the Opera Australia website.

Hear the greatest opera arias in 90 mins at Sydney Opera House

Merry Widow Opera

Described as the ‘best of opera without the boring bits’, Opera Australia is putting on a 90-minute show that’s jam-packed with tunes that most people will be familiar with and not realise! The opera masterpieces are famous around the world, not just the soundtrack from a commercial and come from a completely different time by some of the greatest musical minds in history. Performed by an all star operatic cast, they’ll perform tunes that the audience will no doubt recognise from car and pasta adverts, along with films such as Pretty Woman and Star Trek. On now until 3 March 2021, the performances go for 90 minutes for $69 for adults (fees may apply). Concession prices available. Opera Australia Box Office (02) 9318 8200 www.opera.org.au

Opera Australia is going fully digital for their premieres

Opera-Aida-2

It was back in 2018 that Opera Australia first introduced their new digital screens in Aida. They fly around the stage, producing incredible images of stage props, striking colours and engaging projections that singers, the choir and stage actors move around seamlessly like they’re barely there. Here’s a refresher: Pegged as the opera of the future, Opera Australia is bringing them back again, only this time, instead of limiting it to one production, they’re turning them out for all of them. They’re the first company in the world to present a fully digital season of three brand new productions when it opens its Sydney Winter Season on 28 June 2019 in Sydney. Starring at the world renowned Sydney Opera House, Madama Butterfly – perfectly timed too, given its last production by Moffat Oxenbould wound-up last year – Anna Bolena and Whiteley will benefit for the digital treatment, no doubt wowing everyone who’s there to see it. They work thanks to fourteen, 7-metre high suspended LED screens that are choreographed to move seamlessly around the stage, creating a visual landscape that needs to be seen to be believed, and taking opera to a whole new level. See more and get tickets to the productions at the Opera Australia website.

Opera for One: The new initiative for opera lovers who go it alone

La Traviata 2018 Opera Australia brindisi

If you love opera, but your friends just don’t get it, then never fear: your days of going to the opera to see the wowing productions of Opera Australia are over. OA are introducing ‘Opera for One’, a new initiative for people who’ve for too long, enjoyed the dazzling highs of Carmen and the heart-wrenching plights of La Traviata by themselves. For the upcoming autumn season of opera in Melbourne, Australia, OA found that the number one reason people do not attend the opera is because they have no one to go with. One in five people said they had not yet seen a performance because they were unwilling to go on their own. Opera for One, the incredible new initiative by Australia’s largest opera production company aims to bring together solo attendees so they have someone to enjoy the show with and chat to during those awkward moments pre-show, during interval and that all-important post show critique. How it works is simple: If you’ve bought an Opera for One ticket, you’ll be invited to complimentary drinks and canapès an hour before the performance to meet other solo guests in a welcoming and relaxed environment. The group will be treated to a pre-performance talk by a member of the OA creative team before all being seated together for the show. The upcoming opera season in Melbourne includes these shows, which you can more easily visit alone now, if you’ve always wanted to, or just if you prefer it that way! RIGOLETTO State Theatre, Arts Centre… Read More

Worth a visit: The Royal Opera House in London has been redone

Royal Opera House

Three years after the Royal Opera House in London was overhauled, it’s open and the result is exactly what you’d expect of the city’s finest arts and culture venue. It comes complete with all the bells ‘n’ whistles of the old opera house, just a lot nicer, newer and with a whole new feeling entirely its own. With inviting new entrances, extended foyers and terraces and a new café, bar and restaurant, together with an extensive programme of ticketed and free daytime events, the Royal Opera House is now open to the public every day from 10am. You’re welcome to wander in, check it out, have a coffee and take a tour, but for those die hards, there’s a full program of oeratic wonderment that is absolutely worth a ticket. See their full line-up here. The whole project was spurred on by the Linbury Theatre; a new space, which takes the spot as the West End’s newest and most intimate theatre. The new space will let The Royal Ballet, The Royal Opera and other special artists all perform in the same space. Check out the Royal Opera in Covent Garden and the new space with any production at the Opera House any time. Have a look at their website.

Joyce El-Khoury has joined Opera Australia in 2019 for La Boheme

Mimi sings for Rodolfo in La Boheme

Maria Callas is back! Well… not really, but, she may as well be if any of the articles out there about Canadian-Lebanese soprano, Joyce El-Khoury are anything to go by; she’s one of the most exciting new additions to Opera Australia this spring-summer season of 2019. Opening the season with Puccini’s classic La Boheme, El-Khoury will pick-up the role of Mimi, the innocent little bird who’s swept-up into the drama of the Bohemians in the thick of winter. Joyce headlines the cast of this season’s production, which has fast-proved to be an international explosion of some of the world’s finest singers. In addition to her debut to the Australian opera scene, Latvian soprano Maija Kovalevska will partner with El-Khoury on the role of Mimi, while Italian and Mexican tenors Ivan Magri and Diego Torre will shine in their portrayals of Rodolfo, the poet and male lead. With experience at The Met (NYC), Handa Opera (Sydney Harbour), Royal Opera House Covent Garden (London), The Bolshoi and Teatro Colon (Buenoa Aires) between them all, this production’s cast will leave large shoes to fill. Read more about how Diego Torre did something not many others can. This season’s production comes off the back of last season’s which culminated in a magical production of La Boheme at the Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour. Complete with snow and actual cars, the production was one for the memory books, only surely to be met in quality and transcendentalism with the addition of these stunning new international singers. See more and get your tickets… Read More

Summer is getting cold with Opera Australia and the return of Turandot

Turandot

It’s been a few years since the Chinese princess locked away in her Pagoda tower graced the Sydney stage in Turandot, but she’s back again this summer, and bringing the chill. She’s known for her cold demeanour, ruthlessness and cunning nature – especially toward men – sure to add a bit of frost to Sydney’s revolting humidity right in the thick of the summer months. Opera Australia is bringing back Puccini’s principessa as part of the spring-summer season and it’s sure to be a hit. She’s lauded as one of the ultimate classics in the Opera Australia repertoire. This time around, the production will feature the director’s own famous choreography, sculptural stagecraft and larger than life costumes, this renowned staging of Turandot has transformed this already powerful drama into a spectacular piece of theatre. After stunning audiences with her role debut in Opera Australia’s 2018 digital production of Aida, American powerhouse soprano Amber Wagner makes her triumphant return to Sydney to take on the role of the brutal Turandot. Read more about the last time Opera Australia performed Turandot at the Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour here. Turandot is on in Sydney from January 15-29, February 1-27 and March 1-27. Get tickets for the production from Opera Australia.

What to look forward to this spring from Opera Australia in Melbourne

Opera Rigoletto

As we move into spring in Melbourne, Opera Australia really starts to fire-up, putting on some of the country’s most astonishing opera productions for everyone – free and not! If it’s not the classics like Turandot or The Magic Flute, then you know Opera Australia will put on any combination of other sensational productions to whet your appetite. These four must-see productions are sure to get you going. METAMORPHOSIS (Howard) Opera Australia offers a rare and exciting opportunity to experience a chamber opera in an intimate setting this October when it presents the Melbourne premiere of a new production of Australian composer Brian Howard’s Metamorphosis in an all new location; The Coopers Malthouse, Merlyn Theatre. This opera, directed by Tama Matheson, tells the tale of a broken man turned insect and how he and his family grapple with the riveting and terrifying transformation. Brian Howard’s score is percussive, inventive, courageous, and truly reflects a story of social alienation in a modern, inhumane world. The Coopers Malthouse Merlyn Theatre, 113 Sturt Street, Southbank 25, 26, 27 October 2018 | Tickets $79 LA BOHEME (Puccini) Known as one of the world’s all-time favourite operas, and the inspiration behind Moulin Rouge and the musical Rent, Puccini’s La Bohe?me continues to delight audiences. With its lush sets and costumes, soaring music and a world-class cast, this glittering production, set in the bohemian streets of 1930s Berlin is the perfect showcase for this heartbreaking love story. Returning to the Melbourne stage in November, this lavish production brings Puccini’s classic to life in a… Read More

Death, music and an ugly clown: Rigoletto by Opera Australia is a must-see

If there’s one thing you learn fast about any opera, is that a lot of them are sad and most of the time, people – if not everyone – die. So it’s no surprise that the tale of Rigoletto, brought to life this winter season in Sydney by Opera Australia – on until 24 August – tells the tale as old as time, but this time, with all the spit ‘n’ polish, the likes only the Australian opera company can produce. Though, stunning oscillating set and world-class costumery aside, it doesn’t detract from the fact that the loss for Rigoletto in the climax is the saddest of many deaths in reproduced operas of late; because it’s all his fault. With director, Elijah Moshinsky behind the wheel of this season’s production, the production by Opera Australia is every bit as unique as the hit aria of the libretto, La Donna e Mobile, which you’d’ve heard before… Dalibor Jenis takes-on the role of the hideous, clowny, much disliked Rigoletto, turning his renowned performances as the likes of Figaro into an award-winning on-stage display. As he encapsulates the role of the overprotective father who pisses a few people off as he goes through life, little does he realise the fate that awaits him – disproportionately driven by his own hand, by today’s standards – with the death of his daughter. The whole thing is really idyllically represented through the music of Verdi, who even at the time, knew he had a hit on his hands. First fury, then despair, then… Read More

What to know about the opening night of Rigoletto by Opera Australia this July

Opera Rigoletto

Verdi’s Rigoletto hasn’t been performed in Australia for a couple of years now, but since then, you’d be hard done by to find anyone who’s not been counting down until they’re able to hear some of the world’s most famous arias belted out in front of a packed Joan Sutherland Theatre at the Sydney Opera House. Opera Australia is returning the production with no holds barred this July, directed by Elijah Moshinsky with Renato Palumbo behind the baton, the production is set to be one of the many gems in this winter season’s crown. MORE: You should also see Lucia di Lamermoor this season Showcasing the wonderful Dalibor Jenis as the protagonist Rigoletto, alongside Gianluca Terranova as the Duke of Mantua and Irina Lungu as Gilda, the production’s vocal prowess is glaringly obvious, which when coupled with the fabulous set-work of the ever-wowing department led by designer Michael Yeargan, will put the hapless tale of secrets and seduction right into the memory banks. Complete with the renowned La donna e mobile, it’s a production for the ages. What is Rigoletto about? The Duke of Mantua lives only for pleasure of the female kind. No man’s wife or daughter is out of his reach, and while the Duke seduces their women, Rigoletto mocks their misfortune. The men of the court want vengeance, and when they hear Rigoletto has a beautiful woman hidden away, they plot to abduct her. The woman is Rigoletto’s daughter, who despite his best efforts to keep her hidden, has already caught the eye of the lustful Duke. He… Read More