Opera Australia today announced their 2019 Melbourne program, promising a truly spectacular season with five new productions, including one Australian Premiere, and featuring some of the world’s finest performers.
“It’s a really incredible season” says Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini. “It will be one of the most outstanding seasons we have presented in recent years and we’re proud to be offering an array of new productions, particularly the Australian premiere of Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Reims.”
Never staged in Australia before, a thrilling cast will perform Rossini’s jubilant score in Damiano Michieletto’s playful, large-scale production of Il Viaggio a Reims that brings some of the world’s most recognisable artworks to life.
Alongside the Australian premiere, OA will present the Melbourne premiere of four productions this season. After receiving rave reviews, acclaimed director Sir David McVicar’s productions of Così fan tutte and Faust will be performed in Melbourne for the first time. Also making its Melbourne debut is Robert Andrew Greene and Dean Bryant’s popular operetta Two Weddings, One Bride and OA will return to the Coopers Malthouse in 2019 to present Aribert Reimann’s chilling Ghost Sonata.
As well as the new productions two opera favourites will return; Elijah Moshinsky’s iconic interpretation of Rigoletto and Graeme Murphy’s much-loved production of Turandot.
The 2019 season will see Melbourne play host to some of the finest opera singers in the world.
“We have the best singers performing some of the western world’s greatest music, in productions by world renowned directors; there is definitely something for everybody” declared Terracini.
Superstar Jonas Kaufmann teams up with Ludovic Tézier and Eva-Maria Westbroek for one night only to present an unforgettable concert staging of Andrea Chénier and soprano extraordinaire Lise Lindstrom will bring her acclaimed portrayal of the icy princess Turandot to Melbourne for the first time.
Booming baritone and rising opera star, Mongolian Armartuvshin Enkhbat makes his Australian debut as the clown faced Rigoletto alongside celebrated tenor Liparit Avetisyan as the Duke of Mantua.
Melbourne favourite Teddy Tahu Rhodes will make a welcome return to Opera Australia in 2019, starring in two productions; Il Viaggio a Reims and Faust.
Also gracing the Arts Centre stage will be the cream of Australia’s opera singers, with the brilliant Stacey Alleaume, Samuel Dundas, Lorina Gore, Julie Lea Goodwin, Warwick Fyfe, Sian Pendry, Shanul Sharma and John Longmuir among those making role debuts this season.
“I’m also excited about the outstanding conductors performing in Melbourne next year. Not only do we have Keri-Lynn Wilson making her Australian debut with Così fan tutte and Australian Daniel Smith making his OA debut at the helm of Il Viaggio a Reims, but we are also thrilled to welcome back the legendary Christian Badea conducting Puccini’s final masterpiece Turandot,” says Terracini.
“The 2019 Melbourne season exemplifies why Opera Australia is considered one of the world’s leading opera companies.”
AUTUMN 2019
VERDI: Rigoletto | Conductor Andrea Licata | Director Elijah Moshinsky
Moshinsky’s classic and much loved production of Verdi’s Rigoletto returns to the Melbourne stage in full La Dolce Vita glamour with booming Mongolian baritone Armartuvshin Enkhbat donning the iconic clown face to make his Australian debut. He will be joined on stage by Australian sweetheart Stacey Alleaume making her role debut as Gilda, Armenian tenor Liparit Avetisyan as the Duke of Mantua – singing one of opera’s most recognisable arias ‘La donna è mobile’ – and powerful bass Roberto Scandiuzzi as assassin, Sparafucile.
Arts Centre Melbourne May 11–29
MOZART: Così fan tutte | Conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson | Director Sir David McVicar
Acclaimed director Sir David McVicar’s production of Mozart’s third and final opera in the Da Ponte cycle makes its highly anticipated Melbourne premiere. A sensational cast will bring this opera to life under the baton of Canadian maestra Keri-Lynn Wilson, making her Australian debut. Soprano Jane Ede will assume the role of Fiordiligi while Anna Dowsley and Taryn Fiebig return to the roles of Dorabella and Despina respectively after receiving widespread praise for their performances in the 2016 world premiere of this production. Baritone Samuel Dundas and bass Richard Anderson will star as Guglielmo and Don Alfonso with Belarusian tenor Pavel Petrov rounding out the cast in the role of Ferrando.
Arts Centre Melbourne May 14-25
ROSSINI: Il Viaggio a Reims | Conductor Daniel Smith | Director Damiano Michieletto
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE. Rossini’s exultant opera Il Viaggio a Reims finally makes its Australian premiere in grand fashion with a first-rate cast performing this co-production of the Dutch National Opera, Royal Danish Opera and Opera Australia. In Michieletto’s playful interpretation, the world’s most famous artworks come to life for a highly entertaining evening with some seriously impressive arias. This weird and wonderful world is portrayed by a stellar cast including Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Giorgio Caoduro, Shanul Sharma, Lorina Gore, Julie Lea Goodwin, John Longmuir, Juan de Dios Mateos, Sian Pendry and Warwick Fyfe with Australian conductor Daniel Smith making his long awaited OA debut.
Arts Centre Melbourne May 24 – June 1
IN CONCERT
Giordano: Andrea Chénier | Conductor Pinchas Steinberg
For one night only superstar tenor Jonas Kaufmann returns to Melbourne to perform one of his most celebrated roles. Kaufmann will perform alongside Eva-Maria Westbroek singing Maddalena, renowned baritone Ludovic Tézier as Carlo Gérard and a host of Australian talent in a concert staging of Giordano’s famous opera based on true events. They will be joined on stage by conductor Pinchas Steinberg, leading the performance in all its glory, and the Opera Australia Orchestra.
Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne August 13
SPRING 2019
PUCCINI: Turandot | Conductor Christian Badea | Director Graeme Murphy
Graeme Murphy’s adaptation of Puccini’s final opera returns to Melbourne for the first time since 2012 under the baton of distinguished conductor Christian Badea. Lauded as the most famous Turandot of our time, soprano Lise Lindstrom once again brings her performance of the icy, brutal princess to the Australian stage and will be joined by Walter Fraccaro as Calàf singing one of the most recognised tenor arias of all time – ‘Nessun dorma’.
Arts Centre Melbourne November 19 – December 6
GOUNOD: Faust | Conductor Guillaume Tourniaire | Director Sir David McVicar
The 2019 season is rounded out with the Melbourne premiere of Sir David McVicar’s production of this timeless opera about temptation and redemption. Teddy Tahu Rhodes plays the alluring yet debauched devil and soprano Maria Mudryak is the embodiment of beauty as the innocent, desirable Marguerite. French maestro Guillaume Tourniaire conducts this exciting cast including Saimir Pirgu playing the title role, Luke Gabbedy, Anna Dowsley, Dominica Matthews and Shane Lowrencev. This elaborate production, first performed at Covent Garden, will leave you asking: what would I give up my soul for?
Arts Centre Melbourne November 27- December 7
REIMANN: Ghost Sonata | Conductor Warwick Stengards | Director Greg Eldridge
Opera Australia will return to The Coopers Malthouse, this time with Reimann’s eerie Ghost Sonata based on the play by August Strindberg. Conductor Warwick Stengards will lead Richard Anderson, Dominica Matthews, John Longmuir, Shanul Sharma, Danita Weatherstone, Virgilio Marino and Alexander Hargreaves in this chilling new production by Australian director Greg Eldridge.
The Coopers Malthouse, Merlyn Theatre, Southbank September 25-28
STRAUSS, OFFENBACH, LEHÁR and more: Two Weddings, One Bride | Music Director Robert Andrew Greene | Director Dean Bryant
The Melbourne premiere of Robert Greene’s operetta loosely based on a story by Charles Lecocq is guaranteed to deliver plenty of laughs and beautiful music with some of the world’s most-loved tunes and favourite operetta waltzes, polkas and songs by Strauss, Offenbach, Lehár and Kálmán. An energetic cast comprising of Julie Lea Goodwin, Michael Petruccelli, Nicholas Jones, John Bolton Wood, Andrew Jones and Geraldine Turner, directed by Dean Bryant and in costumes by Oscar Award-winning designer Tim Chappel, will perform this raucous musical comedy accompanied by Robert Andrew Greene on piano and Yuhki Mayne playing the violin.
Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne November 7-10
NATIONAL TOUR
OA’s annual national tour will this year take Madame Butterfly across QLD, WA and NT from July to September in 2019.
MUSICAL
BERNSTEIN & SONDHEIM: West Side Story | Director and Choreographer Joey McKneely One of the most celebrated musicals of all time will play a limited season at Arts Centre Melbourne in 2019. Presented in partnership with GWB Entertainment, Joey McKneely’s vibrant and award winning stage production returns to Australia after wild acclaim world-wide. A modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet; this tragic love story tells the tale of two young people whose happiness is destroyed by the hate of two enemy camps in New York City’s urban jungle. With Jerome Robbins’ ground-breaking choreography and Leonard Bernstein’s lush, boundary crossing score this iconic musical remains a timeless masterpiece. Arts Centre Melbourne April 6 – 28
Bookings
Subscriptions available now. Three shows from $170
Opera Australia Box Office (03) 9685 3700 opera.org.au/subscribe
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