Expect a year bursting with premieres and talent.
After a challenging year for the arts, Opera Australia is returning to Melbourne next year with a vengeance. Be thrilled as lovers risk it all, revenge is served and everything feels larger than life itself. Picture a year bursting with Australian and international talent. Then, be captivated by a range of Australian premieres.
Opera Australia – Season 2022
The team at Opera Australia is looking forward to returning to Melbourne with their massive program.
“After the challenging time we’ve all had, I am thrilled that we can return to Arts Centre Melbourne and present such fantastic productions for local audiences,” said Opera Australia Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini. “The magnificent calibre and variety of this season’s shows and performers hold appeal for everyone from opera fans to musical theatre buffs to arts newcomers.”
Soprano Stacey Alleaume will make her in-theatre debut at the State Theatre as Violetta in Elijah Moshinsky’s production of La Traviata, a highlight of the Company’s 2022 Melbourne season.
The Australian premiere of Wagner’s epic opera, Lohengrin, will also take place at the State Theatre. Set in the ruins of Berlin during the aftermath of World War II, this opera features a cast of international powerhouse singers.
In a second Australian premiere, Boito’s only complete opera, Mefistofele, will be presented in concert with Ferruccio Furlanetto in the title role.
Furlanetto will also share the highlights of his forty-year-career in a one-night-only concert for the first time in Australia.
Of course, The Phantom of the Opera is a highly-anticipated musical in the line-up for next year.
Opera Australia will also make opera accessible by performing in schools around Victoria and in regional theatres across the country.
“We at OA thank Victorians for their continued support and we look forward to bringing many more top quality productions to Melbourne audiences for years to come,” said Terracini.
Autumn 2022
La Traviata by Verdi
When: May 4 to 28
Where: State Theatre, Arts Centre
Following her success at Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour, shining star soprano Stacey Alleaume will make her in-theatre role debut as Violetta. Renato Palumbo makes a welcome return to Australia to conduct Ho-Yoon Chung as Alfredo, José Carbó as Giorgio and Celeste Haworth as Flora.
Lohengrin by Wagner
When: May 14 to 24
Where: State Theatre, Arts Centre
A co-production with Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Olivier Py’s Lohengrin will premiere in Melbourne, using a monumental revolving tiered set to depict a decaying theatre where emblems of German Romanticism gather dust. Opera Australia’s Head of Music Tahu Matheson will conduct Wagner’s romantic opera for the first time with an all-star cast featuring Emily Magee as Elsa, Elena Gabouri as Ortrud, Marco Vratogna as Telramund and Roberto Aronica in the title role.
In Concert
Mefistofele by Boito
When: May 25 to 27
Where: State Theatre, Arts Centre
Never before performed in Australia, the music of Boito’s only completed opera will ring out in the State Theatre. After her 2021 Australian debut in Aida, American soprano Leah Crocetto will return to Melbourne to sing the part of Margherita opposite Australia’s favourite tenor Diego Torre as Faust, Australian soprano Natalie Aroyan, and Italian bass Ferruccio Furlanetto as Mefistofele. Sensational young conductor Andrea Battistoni will conduct the full orchestra, huge chorus and big children’s chorus through Boito’s lush orchestration in a tale about a dance with the devil himself.
Ferruccio Furlanetto Concert
When: June 1
Where: Melbourne Recital Centre
The globally renowned Ferruccio Furlanetto will deliver a one night only concert showcasing his vast vocal range, thundering power and vocal abilities for which he is known around the world. One of the world’s most sought after singers, Ferruccio will traverse the emotional landscape of Brahms, Mussorgsky and Rachmaninov along with a variety of recognisable bass arias from Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Boris Gudanov, Don Carlo and more.
Musical
The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd-Webber
When: October 30 to December 31
Where: Arts Centre Melbourne
One of the most successful musicals of all time, The Phantom of the Opera, will bring hit after hit from its musical score to Melbourne. Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s legendary show makes its Arts Centre Melbourne debut, with new direction, scenic design, lighting, sound and choreography with the original Tony- Award-winning costume designs.
National Tour
The Barber of Seville by Rossini
Priscilla Jackman makes her OA national tour directorial debut with a new production of The Barber of Seville. The tour will travel across Victoria, Tasmania, Canberra, and New South Wales, bringing a world-class standard of opera to regional communities. This production will include a Regional Children’s Chorus, giving young singers from each community a chance to perform onstage alongside industry-leading opera singers.