Debut opera season for Opera Australia at the Regent Theatre will wow Melbourne

For the first time, Opera Australia will present its upcoming Melbourne opera season at the iconic Regent Theatre, performing a program of hit mainstage operas from October to December, including
The Barber of Seville, Carmen and Orpheus & Eurydice.

Operas will run in ‘stagione’ for this season, meaning the same production will be performed for multiple, consecutive performance dates before the next production begins its respective run. This requires a number of major roles to be double cast, giving Melbourne audiences a breadth of local and international talent to enjoy across the coming months. This is different to the company’s usual ‘repertory’ programming, where productions alternate each night.

The season opens with Elijah Moshinsky’s sparkling production of  The Barber of Seville. A laugh-out-loud comedy, this opera is filled with as many famous tunes as you can fit into two-and-a-half hours and its giant doll-house set will delight audiences young and old.

Next, the Melbourne premiere of a bold new Carmen, directed by Melbourne Theatre Company’s Anne-Louise Sarks, will lean into the revolutionary heart of Bizet’s once groundbreaking opera. Making her Opera Australia debut is Italian conductor Clelia Cafiero who will lead a smouldering cast of homegrown and international talent bringing fiery vibrancy to a Carmen for our time.

The season’s grand finale features breathtaking acrobatics from contemporary circus company Circa’s trailblazing ensemble and superb vocal performances in the Melbourne premiere of Orpheus & Eurydice. Following a five-star season at Edinburgh International Festival, this genre-busting production by Circa Artistic Director Yaron Lifschitz delves into the profound intersection between love and death in a visually mesmerising and vocally astounding spectacle.

The upcoming Regent Theatre residency will also include a one-night-only performance of Opera Up Late, a hilarious blend of comedy, opera and cabaret which, after three successful annual performances at the Sydney Opera House, will finally arrive in the home city of irreverent host Reuben Kaye.

The Barber of Seville: A whirlwind of mischief, melody and comic brilliance underpinned by Rossini’s brilliant score

 

 

Opera Australia debuts at the Regent Theatre with Elijah Moshinsky’s sparkling production of
The Barber of Seville by Rossini. An all-Australian cast will meet in Melbourne, with baritones Samuel Dundas and Simon Meadows sharing the role of the mischievous barber, Figaro, mezzo sopranos Helen Sherman and Emily Edmonds will share the role of Rosina and tenors John Longmuir and Shanul Sharma will both perform as Count Almaviva. A laugh-out-loud comedy, this opera overflows with as many famous tunes as you can fit into two-and-a-half hours.

31 October – 5 November | Regent Theatre, Melbourne, Tickets from $79

 

 

Opera Up Late: An electrifying collision of high art and high camp – with Reuben Kaye serving arias, anarchy and absolutely no apologies

International comedy and cabaret star Reuben Kaye hosts an electrifying collision of high art and high camp for one night only when Opera Up Late makes its Melbourne debut. He is joined by a star-studded lineup of Opera Australia favourites including Emma Matthews, Angela Hogan, Tomas Dalton and Adam Player.

Together they will turn opera on its head lending their voices to reimagined opera hits, musical theatre classics and more. Directed by the award-winning Shaun Rennie this night of operatic irreverence is 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 them before.

2 November | Regent Theatre, Melbourne, Tickets from $79 | MELBOURNE PREMIERE

 

 

Carmen: A daring 21st century reimagining of the most iconic femme fatale

One of Australia’s great theatre directors, and Melbourne Theatre Company’s very own Anne-Louise Sarks will bring her new production of Carmen, her first fully-staged opera, to her home city. A bold adaption of Bizet’s once groundbreaking opera, this production poses urgent questions about the story of opera’s iconic femme fatale, whose dance with destiny ends in disaster.

Making herAustralian debut is Italian conductor Clelia Cafiero who will lead a smouldering cast of homegrown and international talent, bringing fiery vibrancy to a Carmen for our time. Fresh from her role debut for the Sydney Season, Melbourne-born international star soprano Danielle de Niese brings her critically acclaimed performance as the titular character to the Regent Theatre, sharing the role with OA mezzo Sian Sharp. Mexican tenor Abraham Bretòn will star alongside as Don José before OA favourite Diego Torre takes over.

15 – 25 November | Regent Theatre, Melbourne, Tickets from $79 | MELBOURNE PREMIERE

Orpheus & Eurydice: A 5-star genre-defying production that offers a powerful fusion of opera, heart-wrenching storytelling and awe-inspiring acrobatics

 

 

Opera meets circus acrobatics in this groundbreaking staging of Orpheus & Eurydice for its Melbourne premiere at the Regent Theatre following a stand-out season at Edinburgh International Festival. A collaboration with contemporary circus company Circa, directed and choreographed by artistic director Yaron Lifschitz, this visually stunning reimagining of Gluck’s most famous opera blurs the boundaries between artforms and offers audiences both superb vocal performances and breathtaking acrobatics.

British countertenor Iestyn Davies will captivate audiences in his Opera Australia debut as Orfeo alongside Australian soprano Samantha Clarke as Eurydice and Amore in this truly innovative work that has wowed audiences around the world. Orpheus & Eurydice is an Opera Queensland Production presented by Opera Australia and Edinburgh Festival in association with Circa.

2 – 5 December | Regent Theatre, Melbourne, Tickets from $79 | MELBOURNE PREMIERE

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