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Interviews, Stage Spotlight

Building the Sorceress – Conductor David Bates & Mezzo-Soprano Madeleine Shaw on a New Approach to Purcell’s Iconic ‘Dido and Aeneas’

https://operawire.com/building-the-sorceress-conductor-david-shaw-mezzo-soprano-madeleine-shaw-on-a-new-approach-to-purcells-iconic-dido-and-aeneas/

Perhaps no other figure in the history of the baroque period was so transformative, productive, and instrumental in the development of England’s musical heritage than Henry Purcell. He was a composer whose legacy is, somewhat remarkably, both famous and forgotten the world round. Having been born into a musical family—beginning his musical career as a boy chorister at the Chapel {…}

News

Lauren Fagan & Andrei Bondarenko Lead Opera Australia’s ‘Eugene Onegin’

https://operawire.com/lauren-fagan-andrei-bondarenko-lead-opera-australias-eugene-onegin/

Opera Australia is set to present Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” opening at the Sydney Opera House on March 17, 2026. The opera will be presented in a production by Kasper Holten and will be revived by rising star director Heather Fairbairn. Australian soprano Lauren Fagan will sing the role of Tatyana alongside Ukrainian baritone Andrei Bondarenko in the title role. They {…}

News

Opera Australia Announces 70th Anniversary Gala

https://operawire.com/opera-australia-announces-70th-anniversary-gala/

Opera Australia has announced the cast for its 70th Anniversary Gala on May 17. The evening, which will take place t the Regent Theatre, will celebrate its extraordinary contribution to Australia’s cultural landscape over the past seven decades. The evening will include Emma Matthews, Stacey Alleaume, Olivia Cranwell, Jane Ede, Sian Sharp, Diego Torre, Filipe Manu, Iain Henderson, Andrii Kymach, Luke {…}

News

Guanqun Yu, Olivia Cranwell & Vittoria Yeo Lead Opera Australia’s ‘Madama Butterfly’

https://operawire.com/guanqun-yu-olivia-cranwell-vittoria-yeo-lead-opera-australias-madama-butterfly/

Opera Australia’s 70th anniversary season will open with Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.” The production by  Moffatt Oxenbould will be conducted by  Maestro Andrea Battistoni, Paul Fitzsimon, and Erina Yashima. Multiple casts will lead the work including sopranos Guanqun Yu, Olivia Cranwell, and Vittoria Yeo as Cio Cio San alongside tenors Robert Watson and Oreste Cosimo as Pinkerton. The lead cast will be {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Opera Australia 2025 Review: La Bohème

https://operawire.com/opera-australia-2025-review-la-boheme/

(Photo credit: Keith Saunders) Gale Edwards’ 2011 production of “La Bohème,” part of this year’s Opera Australia winter season at the Sydney Opera House, was last seen here in summer 2023. The production’s dominant ideas are that of a spiegeltent and cabaret in Weimar-era Berlin – “the dazzling fishnets and fairy lights world of 1930s Berlin,” according to the company’s {…}

News, Season Announcement

Jessica Pratt, Stacey Alleaume, Kang Wang, Oreste Cosimo & Valeria Sepe Lead Opera Australia’s 2026 Season

https://operawire.com/jessica-pratt-stacey-alleaume-kang-wang-oreste-cosimo-valeria-sepe-lead-opera-australias-2026-season/

Opera Australia has announced its 2026 season. Sidney Summer 2026 Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” will be conducted by Andrea Battistoni, Paul Fitzsimon, and Erina Yashima. It will be directed by Moffatt Oxenbould and will star Guanqun Yu, Vittoria Yeo, and Olivia Cranwell alongside Robert Watson and Oreste Cosimo. Performance Dates: Dec. 31, 2025-March 25, 2026 Ann Yee directs a new production {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Opera Australia 2025 Review: The Barber of Seville

https://operawire.com/opera-australia-2025-review-the-barber-of-seville/

(Photo credit: Keith Saunders) One of the benefits of reviewing operas is the opportunity to take guests whose experience of opera may be comparatively recent, and whose reactions are refreshingly unbound by preconceptions. At the end of scene one of Opera Australia’s “The Barber of Seville” at Sydney Opera House on Saturday January the 18th my guest on the night {…}

News

Opera Australia to Present ‘The Magic Flute’ at Geelong Arts Centre

https://operawire.com/opera-australia-to-present-the-magic-flute-at-geelong-arts-centre/

(Credit: Opera Australia) The Play House at Geelong Arts Centre is set to present Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.” The production will be showcased via Opera Australia which is expanding its 2024 mainstage offering beyond the capital cities. The opera will be shown in a production by Kate Gaul, which received high acclaim at the Sydney Opera House earlier this year. {…}