Opera Australia Season 2016

Over the last 60 years Opera Australia has grown to become Australia's largest and busiest arts company.

To celebrate the 60th anniversary year, and in tribute to one of the world’s great buildings, Opera Australia will present Sydney Opera House - The Opera (The Eighth Wonder), outside on the Opera House forecourt with Utzon’s renowned white sails as the background.

The 2015 production of Aida for Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour along with Opera Australia’s 2015 Sydney Summer Season reached ticket buyers from 120 countries across all continents. The Company now provides work for well over a thousand artists including singers, musicians, carpenters, tailors, sewers, wig-makers, painters and writers.

In early 2015 Opera Australia premiered Kate Miller-Heidke’s The Rabbits at the Perth International Festival before a season at the Melbourne International Arts Festival in October. Now Sydneysiders can experience this beautiful, family-friendly production in January.

In the 2016 Sydney season, Opera Australia will work internationally with Lausanne Opera to present a co-production of Verdi's glamorous Luisa Miller, along with a re-staging of Simon Boccanegra. The company is very much looking forward to seeing Chinese film and opera director Chen Shi-Zheng’s take on Puccini's Turandot on the Sydney Harbour stage, and to see Julie Andrews' direction of My Fair Lady, also celebrating its 60th birthday after its 1956 Broadway debut.

For the 2016 Melbourne season, Opera Australia will present Luisa Miller and the new production of The Pearlfishers. Only Melbourne audiences will have the chance to hear the great Lianna Haroutounian sing the role Mimì in Gale Edwards’ production of La Bohème. In November and December of 2016, the ‘Everest’ of opera, Wagner’s Ring Cycle returns to Melbourne in Neil Armfield’s production with some of the greatest Wagnerian singers alive today.

In 2016 Opera Australia also sees Australian singers take on new roles; Nicole Car in Luisa Miller and Stacey Alleaume in The Pearlfishers. International singers include Paolo Bordogna in The Barber of Seville and Barbara Frittoli and Georges Petean in Simon Boccanegra.

But it’s not just about large-scale productions. Opera Australia’s Regional Tours company will be travelling thousands of kilometres presenting The Magic Flute throughout Victoria, Tasmania, ACT and NSW. Traditional free events Opera in the Domain in Sydney and Opera in the Bowl in Melbourne will also return in 2016.

THE OPERAS

The Rabbits

The rabbits came many grandparents ago. They built houses, made roads, had children. They cut down trees. A whole continent of rabbits...

Opera Australia Artistic Director, Lyndon Terracini: “Every opera company wants an opera that has a contemporary voice that connects with a 21st century public of all ages. There’s no one way of doing it and it’s important to establish a genuine connection with the place you’re trying to connect to. Our co-production with Barking Gecko Theatre Company of The Rabbits is an important piece of work that plays as a metaphor for an invading culture that clearly resonates well with audiences. John Marsden and Shaun Tan's haunting picture book tells a story we all know: a story of colonisation, civilisation and progress — a story about displacement, destruction and culture clash. And in that landscape, it tells a story of hope taking root.

As a uniquely Australian story, it was important to have an Australian voice. So I was delighted to work with an amazing team: music by Kate Miller-Heidke, design by Gabriela Tylenova, libretto by Lally Katz and orchestrations by Ian Grandage. Kate’s beautiful songs saw huge success in Perth and a new season is almost sold out in the upcoming Melbourne Festival. Our Indigenous consultant, Rachel Maza, provided invaluable advice on the making of the production. In the 2015 Helpmann Awards The Rabbitswon in each nominated category with four awards. As a national company I believe it’s vital for us to play in as many cities as possible so I hope there will be more people around the country given the opportunity to experience this gorgeous work.”

The Pearlfishers (Sydney and Melbourne)

For every pearl, a price. For every vow, a broken promise. For every heart, a choice.

Lyndon Terracini: “This is a new production with brilliant singers in a very interesting and beautiful production directed by Michael Gow and designed by Michael Kemp. In a piece like The Pearlfishers it is important to me to have a great conductor and Guilluame Tourniaire in one of the best. The piece also needs truly wonderful singers and we have those artists in both casts. In the first we have a cast that includes internationally acclaimed singers Ekatarina Siurina and Pavol Breslik, making their Opera Australia debuts. The talented young singers in second cast are some of the best. I think people will be surprised at just how good singers such as Stacey Alleaume and Nikhil Navkal are and the different energy they bring to the piece.”

The Barber of Seville

He’s wealthy, stealthy and head over heels. She’s witty, pretty and equally smitten. She’s also inconveniently betrothed. They need a plan. They call for their man: Figaro!

Lyndon Terracini: “The Barber of Seville is the return of the Elijah Moshinsky production. Once again, two wonderful casts and two sets of wonderful singers. I believe Paolo Bordogna is the funniest man working in opera today and for him to be singing alongside Anna Dowsley who is making her debut in the role of Rosina - the results will be electric. Figaro is all about virtuosic singing and daring and fantastic actors and Bordogna and Giorgio Caoduro – another wonderful Rossini singer – have high notes to burn. To have two outstanding casts is fantastic.”

Luisa Miller (Sydney and Melbourne)

Love. Intrigue. Poison.

Lyndon Terracini: “Luisa Miller is a first for Opera Australia – a great early Verdi opera. I believe it is important for us to have this in our repertoire and to bring to life operas that haven’t been seen before. The opera is directed by Giancarlo del Monaco, one of the greatest directors working in opera today. In early 2015 I met with the Director of Opéra de Lausanne in Switzerland (also the home of the renowned Béjart Ballet) and we talked about a possible co-production. Co- productions are an important way of sharing costs and sharing expertise. Our choice of Luisa Miller presents a great opportunity for Australian soprano Nicole Car to debut in the title role and it’s a fantastic part for her as her career develops internationally. Diego Torre and Dalibor Jenis lead a very high calibre international cast. I am very pleased that the conductor is Verdi specialist, Andrea Licata, who last did La Forza del Destino with us. The opera features the great tenor aria Quando le sere al placido, made famous by Pavarotti and Domingo.”

Turandot

A powerful lust meets an icy heart. In a land of executioners, riddles and fear, can love conquer death?

Lyndon Terracini: “For some time I’ve wanted to work with Director Chen Shi-Zheng. He was one of the great singers working in Chinese Opera in Beijing before moving to New York. In New York he studied to be a director in the Western tradition and now he’s one the most interesting people working in theatre today. His incredibly rigorous Chinese opera background combined with his work in the West has given him two worlds to draw upon. The result is a unique style, both spectacular and incredibly intense. Although Shi-Zheng initially wanted to collaborate with a Chinese designer, I introduced him to local designer Dan Potra and he was so impressed by Dan’s brilliant imagination they became a team. The designs for Turandotare sensational and make full use of the vast harbour setting. This production will likely be the most authentic that audiences will ever see.”

Carmen

The ultimate femme fatale is here to stamp her feet, toss her hair and dance. Will she love Don José? Maybe. Will you fall for her sultry Habanera? Definitely.

Lyndon Terracini: This is another new production for Opera Australia. After John Bell did such a terrific Tosca for us, I thought who better to do a new Carmen. The opera is a staple of the repertoire and performed regularly around the world. It was time for us to do a new Carmen and this one has a magnificent cast. Making her Opera Australia debut is Clémentine Margaine who is probably the greatest Carmen in the world today singing alongside one of my favourite artists, Yong Hoon Lee. Anyone who saw his singing of Calàf in Turandot will be banging down the doors for a seat to this production. Being French herself, Clémentine has a great affinity with the text and a deep understanding of the passion driving the role. This production will be very exciting.

The Love For Three Oranges

A melancholy prince. A cantankerous witch. Three oranges, ripe for plucking. A dash of bitters, a splash of romance. A cocktail of fantastical farce.

Lyndon Terracini: “I’m a huge Prokofiev fan, so presenting his fantastical opera The Love For Three Oranges in 2016 is a great pleasure for me. The piece is dynamic, it’s vibrant, it’s exciting and even when it’s being lyrical it has a slightly edgy, percussive side to it. This revival of Francesca Zambello’s production is beautiful – the costumes are so vivid and exciting that the whole piece jumps off the stage at you. With an all Australian cast, the opera also gives us a chance to use a large number of our ensemble singers – something I’m trying to do in at least one opera each year. With Prokofiev’s brilliant orchestrations this is a terrific production that allows us to extend our repertoire.”

Così fan tutte

Laugh at love old man, for you and I both know that women are all the same. But don’t say your hearts isn’t moved when I sing of love.

Lyndon Terracini: “This is the third opera in our Da Ponte cycle. Lorenzo Da Ponte wrote the libretti for three of Mozart’s greatest operas – Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro and Così fan tutte. This will be the final in the trilogy all directed by David McVicar. It’s such a difficult piece to do. It needs a wonderful director who can get under the skin of the piece and you need a great cast. To have Nicole Car and Taryn Fiebig in all three operas is important to me as it’s like a thread running through the trilogy. One of the world’s leading tenors, Charles Castronovo, makes his Opera Australia debut in this piece that is both sublime and funny. Nicole Car started as a young artist with us and is now on the verge of a major international career with principal roles at the Royal Opera Covent Garden. Anna Dowsley is another fine singer who came through our young artists program. It’s a fabulous cast and the sets and costumes are fantastic. This is going to be a very important production of Così.”

Simon Boccanegra

A powerful man. A past tragedy. A very present enemy

Lyndon Terracini: “This is a wonderful grand opera. One of my favourites. For Verdi aficionados, it is one of the greatest penned by the master composer. It’s notoriously difficult to sing and you need a conductor at the top of their game. After his extraordinary success with Rigoletto and La Traviata, Renato Palumbo is regarded as one of the greatest living Verdi conductors and I’m privileged to welcome him back. Again we have a fabulous cast. Barbara Frittoli is one of the world’s great sopranos and George Petean is one of the world’s great baritones. They are joined by Giacomo Prestia who sang such a magnificent King Phillip in Don Carlos earlier in the year in Melbourne, and the wonderful tenor Diego Torre. Simon Boccanegra is a big piece and you need big voices. We have them in spades in this production and the great council chamber scene where Boccanegra enters with Plebe! Patrizi! will be a moment to remember.”

Sydney Opera House – The Opera (The Eighth Wonder)

A city’s icon. An architect’s dream. A political battleground.

Lyndon Terracini: “When I first saw Alan John and Dennis Watkin’s The Eighth Wonder in the Opera Theatre in 1995, I came out of the theatre and walked across the Forecourt and then turned around and looked at the building and I thought to myself, why don’t they do this piece out here? Present it with the great building that is the subject of the Opera as the ready-made set. Of course, I never knew then that I would be Artistic Director of Opera Australia and so many years later we’re doing it outside with the Opera House as the backdrop. For our 60th anniversary, I was really keen to present a work by an Australian composer. It’s a great piece and one of the best contemporary operas. It’s directed by an Australian, David Freeman, and it’s got a huge cast. Fittingly, Danish singer Adam Frandsen sings the role of The Architect – Jørn Utzon. I think this piece will strike a chord with audiences as they will connect to the fraught story of the building of a masterpiece that eventually achieved World Heritage Status. This will be a major event for Sydney.”

My Fair Lady

One of the best musicals of the 20th century

Lyndon Terracini: “Early in 2015 I travelled to New York to meet Dame Julie Andrews. We had a really wonderful day together. She’s so looking forward to coming to Sydney and she has some great ideas for this new production of a musical classic. This is a new production that she is directing and her name is synonymous with My Fair Lady– she knows it better than anyone. Julie premiered the role of Eliza Doolittle on Broadway sixty years ago so there’s a special connection with our 60th birthday. She still adores the piece and she has very clear ideas of how it should be played. It will have an all Australian cast.”

La Bohème (Sydney and Melbourne)

Lyndon Terracini: “Our traditional first opera of the New Year is back in Sydney and takes pride of place in Melbourne in autumn. I’m thrilled we can present the Melbourne season with Lianna Haroutounian in the principal role of Mimi (Melbourne only). The soprano virtually owns this role – she played is at Covent Garden and will recreate the role at The Met after the Melbourne season. When we first premiered this production directed by Gale Edwards, it was my first production with Opera Australia in Melbourne and a huge success. We haven’t returned the production to Melbourne for five years so I’m delighted that Melbourne will hear the great Haroutounian in what is probably the world’s most popular opera.”

The Magic Flute

Princes and magic and bears, oh my!

Lyndon Terracini: “I love this production by Julie Taymor and audiences do too as they keep coming to see it. I saw Rory McDonald conduct The Magic Flutein Copenhagen and I was so impressed I engaged him to conduct our 2016 production. It has a terrific cast. It’s so exciting when you’ve got someone like Hannah Dahlenberg knocking out those high Fs in the Queen of the Night arias and Daniel Sumegi has the wonderful low notes so evident in our recent production of Don Carlos– he’ll make an imposing Sarastro.”

Der Ring Des Nibelungen (Melbourne)

Lyndon Terracini: “The Ring Cycle is the biggest production that any opera company can do. Once again we are setting out to climb this ‘Everest’ of opera. I’m thrilled to welcome back Pietari Inkinen to conduct this mammoth work after his tremendous success in 2013. Director Neil Armfield is already working on various aspects of the staging for 2016 and I am sure he has some intriguing discoveries in store. Our Melbourne production has a magnificent cast including Greer Grimsley as Wotan – he’s a great singer and a great actor with an immense stage presence. The combination of Grimsley and Lise Lindstrom as Brunhilde, who recently wowed audiences with her Turandot, will be exceptionally powerful. Also, it also gives me great pleasure to have Stefan Vinke return in 2016. I can say he is now the greatest Siegfried alive and recently made his Bayreuth debut.

**

Opera Australia offers subscription packages ranging from three performances to the complete set, with pricing to fit all budgets. Under 30s can put together a package starting from $195. And those not wanting to miss a thing can see the full year of opera including My Fair Lady and Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour: Turandot.

Details and bookings: opera.org.au

Season launch image by Lisa Tomasetti. Other images courtesy Opera Australia.

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