Seen by three million, streamed by over 350 million and adored by fans all around the world, singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell’s acclaimed West End and Broadway musical phenomenon Hadestown has now premiered in Australia at Theatre Royal Sydney, stunning critics and audiences alike.

Presented by Opera Australia and JONES Theatrical Group, Australian audiences are finally experiencing for themselves this groundbreaking musical, which won eight Tony Awards when it opened on Broadway in 2019, including Best Score and Best Director and is still playing to packed houses six years later.

The Sydney Morning Herald said it was “timeless and also perfect for these times” while the Guardian called it “pure genius” and “a powerfully moving and pertinent production” with “one of the richest [scores] in recent musical theatre history”. The Australian newspaper said “this hellishly good Hadestown cast is simply heavenly” with The Plus Ones calling it a “profoundly emotional and visually stunning theatrical experience”.

One of Australia’s most popular performers Christine Anu leads the dynamic cast of multi-talented musical theatre performers. Playing the role of narrator Hermes, Anu is joined on stage by rising star Abigail Adriano as Eurydice, who wowed audiences as Kim in Miss Saigon, Noah Mullins as Orpheus, (West Side Story, La Cage Aux Folles), Opera Australia favourite Adrian Tamburini as Hades and Elenoa Rokobaro as Persephone (Caroline or Change, tick, tick…BOOM!).

Sarah Murr, Jennifer Trijo and Imani Williams feature as the Fates with the cast also including Afua Adjei, Devon Braithwaite, Molly Bugeja, Joshua Kobeck, Iosefa Laga’aia, Jack Lyall, Jessie Monk, Sam Richardson and Eliza Soriano.

Originating as Anaïs Mitchell’s indie theatre project, along with her artistic collaborator, Rachel Chavkin, Hadestown was transformed into a genre-defying musical that blends modern American folk music with New Orleans-inspired jazz to reimagine the sweeping ancient tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. The hit musical also won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album.