(Photo credit: VO) Victorian Opera announces its 2026 season, marking the company’s 21st anniversary. The season begins with Gilbert & Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance” staring Ben Mingay, Antoinette Halloran, Nicholas Jones, Nina Korbe, and Richard Piper. Performance Dates: January 31 – February 6, 2026 “Ned Kelly: The Musical” by Reg Livermore, who will make a cameo appearance, is next. {…}
Australia’s Victorian Opera has unveiled its 2025 season. First up is “Follies” at Palais Theatre. The works stars Marina Prior, Antoinette Halloran, Adam Murphy, Alexander Lewis, Geraldine Turner, Rhonda Burchmore, Collette Mann, Evelyn Krape, Genevieve Morrow, and Merlyn Quaife. Stuart Maunder directs. Phoebe Briggs conducts. Performance Dates: Feb. 1 – 6, 2025 Then comes “Mansfield Park” at Her Majesty’s Theatre. Stuart {…}
Victorian Opera, in collaboration with Opera Australia, Perth Festival and Brisbane Festival, will present Jonathan Mills and Meredith Oakes’ “Eucalyptus: The Opera.” The production will take place at the Palais Theatre, St. Kilda from Oct. 16-19, 2024. Conductor Sir Jonathan Mills AC will lead Orchestra Victoria and a cast starring Desiree Frahn, Simon Meadows, and Michael Petruccelli, in a story {…}
Victorian Opera is set to present “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” from Sept. 14-21, 2024. The Stephen Sondheim work will feature Ben Mingay in the title role and Antoinette Halloran as Mrs. Lovett. Other cast members include Lachlann Lawton, Alessia Pintabona, Mat Verevis, Adrian Tamburini, Kanen Breen, Margaret Trubiano, and Euan Fistrovic Doidge. Phoebe Briggs conducts the {…}
The Victorian Opera is set to present Bernstein’s “Candide” as the company’s first production of 2024. The piece will be performed three times from Feb. 8 to 10, 2024 at St Kilda’s Palais Theatre. The production is led by the multi-talented and Tony-nominated composer of Beetlejuice and star of Offspring, Eddie Perfect and Lyndon Watts, the award-winning breakout star of {…}
(Credit: Charlie Kinross) Richard Mills AM has announced he will step down as the Artistic Director of Victorian Opera at the conclusion of the state opera company’s 2023 season. The distinguished composer and conductor has overseen a period of significant growth for Victorian Opera and continued the company’s commitment to commissioning new Australian opera. He has won the Helpmann Award {…}
The Victorian Opera in Australia has announced its 2022 season featuring eight productions, including three Australian operas. “This is the season of a 21st-century opera company, celebrating what is new and diverse in the context of masterpieces from the canon,” said Artistic Director Richard Mills. The season opens with the Australian premiere of the multi-award-winning Broadway show “The Who’s Tommy” {…}
In celebration of World Opera Day, Victorian Opera has announced a new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol.” The production will come as part of the company’s 2022 season, featuring the music of composer Graeme Koehne, and libretto by Anna Goldsworthy. It will premiere at the Palais Theatre at St. Kilda in December 2022. This adaptation will see {…}
The Victorian Opera and the Lisa Gasteen National Opera Program have announced the cancellation of Otto Nicolai’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor” at Melbourne Recital Centre’s Elisabeth Murdoch Hall. Performances were originally scheduled for Dec. 3-4 and were set to be presented in partnership with the Brisbane-based Lisa Gasteen National Opera Program. According to the Victorian Opera, the increased uncertainty regarding {…}
Australia’s Victorian Opera has announced changes for its upcoming production of Schubert’s “The Friends of Salamanca.” The Youth Opera is set to be staged at the Arts Centre Melbourne Hamer Hall on Oct. 1 and 2, 2021. The showcase will be directed by Emma Muir-Smith, who will add English dialogue to the opera. The opera will include singers and musicians {…}
Victorian Opera has announced that it will be canceling its previously announced performance of “Voss.” The Australian company revealed that the cancelation of the August 4 showcase was necessitated by the current lockdowns the country is experiencing due to COVID-19. The performance was set to be a historic first with Victorian Opera set to give the first performance of the {…}