Victorian Opera has announced several additional cast members to its June/July production of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s beloved musical A Little Night Music.
The new cast members include adored music theatre performers Verity Hunt-Ballard (Mary Poppins, Sweet Charity, Jersey Boys) as Countess Charlotte Malcolm, Alinta Chidzey (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, West Side Story, Jesus Christ Superstar) as Petra, Elisa Colla (My Fair Lady, Les Misérables, Wicked) as Anne Egerman, and Mat Verevis (Beautiful: The Carol King Musical, The Voice – Season Three) as Henrik Egerman.
These stars of the Australian stage join a cast of theatre icons headed by much-loved songbird Ali McGregor (Lorelei¸ Adelaide Cabaret Festival) as Desiree Armfeldt, Simon Gleeson (Les Misérables, Oklahoma) as Fredrik Egerman, and Nancye Hayes (Sunday in the Park with George, My Fair Lady) as Madame Armfeldt. Opera singers Samuel Dundas and Sophia Wasley, who recently appeared in Victorian Opera’s production of Debussy’s Pelleas and Melisande, star as Count Carl Magnus Malcom and Fredrika Armfeldt respectively.
The ensemble features a strong line-up of Victorian Opera regulars including Paul Biencourt, Kirilie Blythman, Michelle McCarthy, and Juel Riggall.
Under the direction of Stuart Maunder AM (Victorian Opera’s Sondheim Trilogy) and music direction of Phoebe Briggs (Lorelei, The Sleeping Beauty, Sweeney Todd), A Little Night Music is set to sparkle.
Based on Ingmar Bergman’s 1955 film Smiles of a Summer Night, this bittersweet musical comedy about a romantically entangled group of worldly characters remains one of Sondheim’s most mature works. It speaks of the follies of human nature with heartbreaking accuracy.
Victorian Opera presents A Little Night Music at Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse from 27 June – 6 July. Tickets are on sale via victorianopera.com.au