Classics, acrobatics and a grown-up’s fairy tale feature in Opera Australia’s Summer Season

Cinderella: short and sweet fairytale debuts from The Met

Sydney Opera House, 2 January – 28 March and New Year’s Eve performance on 31 December 2024

Marking the first time OA performs Massenet’s Cinderella (Cendrillon), Laurent Pelly’s highly acclaimed production will make its Australian debut after seasons at New York’s Metropolitan Opera and Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House.

Sung in English and starring four of Australia’s finest singers, this ravishing, crowd-pleasing fairy tale, features dazzling costumes and a storybook set, with Emily Edmonds as Cinderella, Margaret Plummer and Sian Sharp as Prince Charming and Emma Matthews as the Fairy Godmother.

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE – Rossini | Conductors Daniel Smith | Tahu Matheson | Director Elijah

Moshinsky

Sydney Opera House, 18 January – 28 February

Rossini’s The Barber of Seville will delight audiences at the Sydney Opera House when Elijah Moshin sky’s sparkling production returns for the first time in almost a decade. In a spectacular homecoming Australian baritone Samuel Dale Johnson will make his Opera Australia debut as mischievous barber, Figaro.

Highly awarded Daniel Smith will conduct this rollicking comedy, leading a brilliant cast of singers through as many famous tunes as you can pack into two-and-a-half hours.

Italian mezzo soprano Serena Malfi, in her first Australian appearance, will share the role of Rosina with Australian mezzo soprano Helen Sherman and Australian tenors John Longmuir and Shanul Sharma will share the role of Count Almaviva.

LA TRAVIATA – Verdi | Conductors Johannes Fritzsch | Paul Fitzsimon | Director Sarah Giles

Sydney Opera House, 23 January – 27 March

Following last summer’s sell-out success, award-winning director Sarah Giles’ production of La Traviata will return to the Sydney Opera House for a special encore season. Bringing together two outstanding Australian sopranos, Samantha Clarke and Lorina Gore, to reprise their awe-inspiring performances as Violetta under the baton of accomplished Johannes Fritzsch.

This triumphant production is a rich visual experience where opulent sets and stunning 20th-century costumes set the stage for a contemporary retelling of Verdi’s timeless score. A co-production by Opera Queensland, State Opera South Australia and West Australia Opera.

CANDIDE – Bernstein | Conductor Brett Weymark | Director Dean Bryant

Sydney Opera House| 20 February – 14 March

Award-winning director Dean Bryant’s smash hit staging of Candide will make its Sydney premiere after opening with Victorian Opera in 2024. Bernstein’s remarkable score, including the orchestral favourite overture, soprano showpiece ‘Glitter and Be Gay’ sung by Cunegonde, played by Annie Aitkin, and touching choral ‘Make Our Garden Grow’ finale, steers a brilliant satire about humankind’s capacity for mindless optimism. A stellar cast will be led by musical theatre’s Eddie Perfect and Hamilton star Lyndon Watts.

DIDO & AENEAS – Purcell | Conductors Erin Helyard | Chad Kelly | Director Yaron Lifschitz

Sydney Opera House, 13 – 29 March

Following the sell-out season of Orpheus & Eurydice in OA’s 2024 season, Circa’s Artistic Director Yaron Lifschitz merges jaw-dropping acrobatics and sublime music again with this Opera Queensland production of Dido & Aeneas presented in association with Circa.

One of the most significant operas written in English, Purcell’s poignant Baroque score laid the found ations for all that would follow. Combining exhilarating physicality and an Australian cast featuring Anna Dowsley, making a welcome return to OA as Dido and Sorceress, Jane Ede as Belinda and tenor Nicholas Jones as Aeneas, this is Dido and Aeneas for the 21st Century.

OPERA UP LATE| hilarity, hijinks and harmonies

Sydney Opera House, 30 Jan 2025

International comedy and cabaret star Reuben Kaye is back for a bigger, better and naughtier Opera Up Late, with an all-new start time and a brand-new line up of re-imagined opera hits, musical theatre classics and more. Directed by the award-winning Shaun Rennie this annual operatic revelry will kick off at the earlier start time of 9.30pm, bursting with big laughs and bigger voices. It’s the perfect chance for newbies to pop their opera cherries while the aficionados can sit back and enjoy their favourite arias as they’ve never seen before.

GREAT OPERA HITS:  popular tunes and exquisite voices delight

1 January – 29 March
Joan Sutherland Theatre

A showcase of the world’s greatest arias, Great Opera Hits concerts shine the spotlight on exceptional music and the power of the operatic voice. Some of Australia’s finest performers sing recognisable solos, duets and ensemble pieces by esteemed composers, such as Bizet, Mozart, Puccini and Verdi, in a light-hearted 90 minutes of entertainment, for those who’ve wanted to see opera at the Sydney Opera House, this is the perfect place to start. Sydney Opera House, dates across the Summer and Winter seasons

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For more information click HERE