To celebrate the 2019 Melbourne season launch, CEO Rory Jeffes also announced Opera Australia is donating 30 of Australian opera legend Dame Joan Sutherland’s most iconic costumes to the Australian Performing Arts Collection at Arts Centre Melbourne.
“It’s a really incredible season,” Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini said.
“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, Opera Australia 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 Opera Australia 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 classic 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.
Italian stars set to stun audiences include bass Roberto Scandiuzzi (Rigoletto), Giorgio Caoduro (Il Viaggo a Reims), Walter Fraccaro (Turandot) and tenor Virgilio Marino (Ghost Sonata).
“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 Opera Australia 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,” Terracini said.
“The 2019 Melbourne season exemplifies why Opera Australia is considered one of the world’s leading opera companies.”
