As part of my involvement in all of Pinchgut Opera’s 2024 Season – I’m delighted to be singing in a reduced Consort of voices from Cantillation in this baroque gem that I haven’t sung for many years.

From the Pinchgut Opera Website

TICKETS & INFORMATION

Acclaimed for its insightful and unique interpretations of the lesser-known works from the Baroque period, Pinchgut Opera also relishes the opportunity to put its signature stamp on one of the best-known operas in the repertory.

Dido and Aeneas is the perfect operatic gem. Few stories capture the essence of tragic love, heroism and destiny as intensely as the tale of the Trojan hero Aeneas and the noble Queen Dido, the founder of Carthage.

It is this star-crossed love story, laden with the tumultuous interplay of duty, passion and fate, that Purcell, a master of music for the theatre, chose as the subject of his only true opera.

Australian star soprano Valda Wilson (Theodora, 2016) returns to Pinchgut in her role debut as Dido, with acclaimed baritone David Greco as Aeneas. Joining them is Kanen Breen (Ormindo, 2009; Platée, 2021) inhabiting the snarling malice of the Sorceress, and the ever-eloquent Sara Macliver (The Fairy Queen, 2003; Orfeo, 2004; Bajazet, 2015) as Belinda.

Dido and Aeneas features some of the most beautiful Baroque music of all time, including the final lament of Dido, darkly brooding and famously tragic, which was aptly featured in the final season of the HBO smash-hit series The White Lotus.

Musically resplendent and thrillingly fierce, Pinchgut’s presentation of Dido and Aeneas is not to be missed.

THEODORA IN CONCERT

BY HANDEL
PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OPERA AUSTRALIA

8 & 9 FEB | JOAN SUTHERLAND THEATRE | SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

In a milestone collaboration with Opera Australia, Pinchgut Opera makes its Sydney Opera House debut for Handel’s masterpiece.

Bookings and Information available here.

How strange their ends, and yet how glorious!

The Messiah might be Handel’s most famous work, but the composer himself held Theodora in higher esteem.

Judge for yourself which oratorio deserves the title of Handel’s greatest masterpiece when Pinchgut Opera and Opera Australia join forces to present Theodora in concert.

A series of sublime arias and powerful choruses, Theodora is a heavenly musical experience. Set in ancient Rome, it follows the plight of a courageous woman and bold young soldier who risk everything in the face of a tyrannical power.

This milestone collaboration with Pinchgut Opera is the first time the acclaimed Baroque specialists have performed in the Joan Sutherland Theatre.

It’s a wonderful chance to see the Orchestra of the Antipodes in their element, performing on period instruments, with Pinchgut’s charismatic director Erin Helyard leading from the harpsichord, and Cantillation as the chorus. Pinchgut has assembled a cast of early music specialists, including countertenor Christopher Lowrey who reprises his acclaimed performance of Didymus which he first sang in Pinchgut’s fully staged production of Theodora in December 2016.

I will be joining (after many asks!) the Chapel Choir of St Paul’s College in their presentation of Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen. Quite literally I start rehearsing this meer hours after arriving back in Australia after study and travels in the United States – so it will be a fun adventure on that front as well as being a lively and effervescent score!

My second project for 2023 with Pinchgut Opera is Legrenzi‘s Giustino singing the roles of Polimante, Erasto, and Ombra. I will be joined by some familiar colleagues but also many new ones which is always exciting - and part of the melting pot of the theatre and in particular the Pinchgut family.

From the Pinchgut Opera Website

A triumph by one of the most important opera composers in Venice in the late 1670s
and re-imagined by one of Australia’s most talented and insightful directors,
we present Giustino by Giovanni Legrenzi, directed by Dean Bryant.

While Legrenzi’s operatic output was small, he was praised for “exceeding the expectations of many in cultivating charm and delight”, and Giustino is one of his great successes. It’s a classic rags-to-riches story of the peasant Giustino who, through a series of adventures and magical interventions, ultimately becomes the Emperor of Rome. Gods, ghosts and sea-monsters spring to life in Legrenzi’s spectacular operatic setting.

Making his directorial debut for Giustino is Dean Bryant, who is well known for his sensitive and insightful staging of main stage operas and musicals in Australia and internationally.

A feast for countertenor lovers, Giustino features three: American Nicholas Tamagna makes his Pinchgut debut in the title role, and English star Owen Willetts (The Coronation of Poppea, 2017) makes his anticipated return, alongside Australian favourite Russell Harcourt (Artaserse, 2018). Soprano Lauren Lodge Campbell and tenor Jacob Lawrence both return to Pinchgut after standout performances in Monteverdi’s The Return of Ulysses (2019).

Giustino exemplifies the heart and soul of Pinchgut Opera: bringing together the finest Baroque specialists to discover one of the forgotten treasures of the past in a fresh and exciting context.

PROGRAM

Giustino (1683) by Giovanni Legrenzi

CITY RECITAL HALL, SYDNEY
Thu 25 May 7pm | Sat 27 May 2pm | Sun 28 May 5pm | Tue 30 May 7pm | Wed 31 May 7pm

Running time 3 hours, including 20 minute interval

Tickets $62 - $225
Under 35s from $62

I am delighted to be joining Pinchgut Opera and Cantillation for the final opera for what has been an extremely busy 2022 Season.

MÉDÉE  BY MARC-ANTOINE CHARPENTIER

The greatest opera of the entire French Baroque era.

Originally scheduled in Pinchgut Opera’s 2020 season, the greatest opera of the French Baroque era finally takes the stage in 2022. Médée is high drama and emotion: French tragédie lyrique in its most classic form. The sorceress Médée is driven by desperation and the abandonment of her lover Jason to do the unthinkable, and ultimately murder her own children.

Charpentier’s sensual lyricism and dramatic insight take us deep inside the mind and heart of this powerful and damaged woman who refuses to be a victim – even at the cost of her own flesh and blood.

Returning to Pinchgut after her star turn in The Return of Ulysses, mezzo-soprano Catherine Carby takes on the role of the tortured Médée, with the brilliant Michael Petruccelli, who was thrilling in 2019’s Farnace, as her lover Jason. Cathy-Di Zhang, Andrew Finden and Adrian Tamburini are joined by Cantillation and the inimitable Orchestra of the Antipodes to tell this passionate and unforgettable story.

In the brilliant hands of Artistic Director Erin Helyard, Médée’s legendary story will finally be brought to the stage for the first time in Australia, with all the sophistication, eloquence and power of the French Baroque era.

PROGRAM

Médée by Marc-Antoine Charpentier

City Recital Hall, Sydney
Thu 1 Dec 7pm | Sat 3 Dec 2pm | Sun 4 Dec 5pm | Tue 6 Dec 7pm | Wed 7 Dec 7pm

Sung in French with English surtitles

Running time 3 hours including interval
Tickets  $59 - $223
Under 30s  $55

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PINCHGUT OPERA

CITY RECITAL HALL, SYDNEY

THU 26 MAY 7PM | SAT 28 MAY 2PM |

SUN 29 MAY 5PM | TUE 31 MAY 7PM |

WED 1 JUN 7PM

ORONTEA BY ANTONIO CESTI

“Duty and passion, old flames and new flings, music and wine all come head-to-head in a riotous night at the opera.” Constantine Costi

Irresistibly charming and wickedly funny, Orontea deftly combines Cesti’s melodic inventiveness with Cicognini’s clever and comic libretto.

Despite renouncing love, Queen Orontea finds herself falling for a handsome refugee artist, Alidoro, only to discover that she has most of the women in her court as rivals. Add to the mix her moralistic councillor Creonte, the scheming courtesan Silandra, and the maidservant Giacinta, who disguises herself as a boy – only to accidentally inspire the affections of Alidoro’s lascivious mother, Aristea.

Orontea features an artfully assembled cast led by stunning soprano Anna Dowsley – star of the film A Delicate Fire – together with Pinchgut fan-favourites David Greco and Andrew O’Connor. Roberta Diamond and Doug Kelly also return to the company. New Zealand tenor Jonathan Abernathy joins American soprano Sofia Troncoso and Domenica Matthews in their Pinchgut opera debuts.

Musical heir to Monteverdi and a younger contemporary of Cavalli, Cesti was one of the most popular composers of the 17th century. When it premiered in 1656, Orontea immediately captured the public’s attention through its brilliant and skilful combination of poetry and music.

Studded with memorable arias and remarkable duets, Cesti’s gifts for musical characterisation and melodic story telling are here on display for the first time in Australia.

In the spirit of Cavalli’s The Loves of Apollo & Dafne, Pinchgut Opera brings you another delicious taste of Italian opera made fresh for today’s audiences, with the promise of revelry, beauty and laughter.

PLATÉE

BY RAMEAU

Tickets and Information

CITY RECITAL HALL
Wed 1 Dec 7pm | Thurs 2 Dec 7pm | 
Sat 4 Dec 2pm | Sun 5 Dec 5pm |
Tues 7 Dec 7pm | Wed 8 Dec 7pm

A jewel of French baroque opera, Rameau’s comic masterpiece is brought to the Australian stage for the first time, directed by Neil Armfield

Celebrated Australian director Neil Armfield makes his Pinchgut debut in a deliciously twisted comedy by one of the greatest French baroque composers. Rameau clearly enjoyed himself composing this one-of-a-kind comédie lyrique, for the marriage of the Dauphin Louis XV to the Princess Maria Teresa of Spain – reputedly a woman of very little beauty – telling the story of the irresistibly ugly marsh nymph Platée being tricked into believing that Jupiter is in love and wants to marry her. 

Rameau takes aim at the very nature of French opera itself, turning tradition on its head with music of exceptional brilliance and wit, and sweeping away the studied elegance of set-piece ballets with ravishing melodies and striking shifts of mood and colour. Prepare to be utterly enchanted!

Artists 

Kanen Breen Platée

Cathy-Di Zhang | Amore, La Folie

Peter Coleman-Wright AO Jupiter 

Nicholas Jones Mercury I Thespis 

Adrian Tamburini Cithéron I Satire 

David Greco Momus 

Cantillation Chorus 

Orchestra of the Antipodes 

Erin Helyard conductor and keyboards 

Neil Armfield director

THE LOVES OF APOLLO & DAFNE

BY CAVALLI

CITY RECITAL HALL
Thurs 20 May 7pm | Sat 22 May 2pm | Sun 23 May 5pm | Tues 25 May 7pm | Wed 26 May 7pm

🎟 TICKETS & INFORMATION

“In its flowing eloquence and laments of exquisite beauty, this is a masterwork of the Italian baroque.” Mitchell Butel

Love is never a walk in the park.
But when Greek gods, river nymphs and mortals burning with passion all meet in the one place together, things are bound to get hot.

In this sensual pastoral fable, drawn from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, worlds collide: heaven meets earth and music becomes magic. Apollo loves Dafne, Dafne loves her space. Titone loves Aurora, Aurora’s got her eye on Cefalo. Amore loves making mischief with them all. Hearts yearn as the sun and moon turn. Cavalli lets his creative genius soar, offering a new vision of opera: an inspired marriage of words and music that reveals the inmost thoughts and feelings of gods and mortals alike. In its bold passion, its flowing eloquence and its laments of exquisite beauty, this is a masterwork of the Italian baroque.

Artists

Alexandra Oomens Dafne / Aurora 

Max Riebl Apollo / Morfeo / Titone / Cirilla / Cefalo

Stacey Alleaume Amore / Itaton / Eco / Procris

Jacqueline Dark Venere / Filena / Musa

David Hidden Sonno / Alfesibeo / Pan

Andrew O'Connor Panto / Giove / Peneo

Orchestra of the Antipodes 

Erin Helyard conductor

Mitchell Butel director

Jeremy Allen set designer

Melanie Liertz costume designer 

Alexander Berlage lighting designer 

PROGRAM

The Loves of Apollo & Dafne  by Cavalli

Music by Francesco Cavalli (1640)
Lyrics by  Giovanni Francesco Busenello 

Sung in Italian with English surtitles

Running Time 3 hours including interval
Tickets $55 - $215
Under 30s $55 - $65

[CANCELLED] Purcell and Charpentier

Music fit for royalty: Charpentier’s majestic  Te Deum was written in honour of the Sun King, Louis XIV, and its grandeur and elegance reflect the magnificence of his palace at Versailles. Across the Channel, written just one year later, Purcell’s Come, Ye Sons of Art celebrates the birthday of Queen Mary with music of sheer delight

PROGRAM

Charpentier Te Deum 
Charpentier Magnificat 
Purcell Come, Ye Sons of Art 
Purcell Welcome Glorious Morn

Sung in French and English with English surtitles

Melbourne Recital Centre | Fri 11 Sept 7pm  

City Recital Hall Sydney | Sat 12 Sept 5pm  |  Sun 13 Sept 5pm 

This performance will run for approximately 2 hours including an interval.

More details and tickets available here.

Médée by Charpentier

Médée’s passion for Jason turns to murderous fury when he shifts his attention to a younger woman. Is there anything she won’t do to get her revenge? 

Charpentier’s sensual lyricism and dramatic insight take us deep inside the mind and heart of this terrifying woman who refuses to be a victim – even at the cost of her own flesh and blood.

Pinchgut favourite mezzo-soprano Caitlin Hulcup takes on the role of the tortured Médée with French haute-contre Cyril Auvity as her lover Jason. Alexandra Oomens, Andrew Finden and Adrian Tamburini are joined by Cantillation and the inimitable Orchestra of the Antipodes to tell this passionate story.

In the brilliant hands of Artistic Director Erin Helyard, Médée’s legendary story will be brought to the stage for the first time in Australia, with all the grace, eloquence and power of the French Baroque era.

PROGRAM

Charpentier Médée

Sung in French with English surtitles

Thurs 18 June 7pm | Sat 20 June 2pm | Sun 21 June 5pm | Tues 23 June 7pm

City Recital Hall Sydney

This performance will run for approximately 3 hours including an interval.

There will be a talk about the history of the piece 45 minutes before each performance on level 3, City Recital Hall.

https://www.pinchgutopera.com.au/medee

ATTILA (OPERA AUSTRALIA)

I will be joining the Opera Australia Chorus in March to perform in Verdi’s Attila. It’s been about two years since I was able to commit to a project with Opera Australia so I’m really looking to returning to the company and for the first time the stage of the Sydney Opera House.

The King of the Huns meets his match.

No one can stand before Attila and his hordes, until a warrior woman turns his head. As he opens his heart to his prisoner Odabella, the barbarian king reveals his weakness.

So the scene is set for one of the great revenge operas of the 19th century: an early Verdi in the vein of Aida.

Director Davide Livermore fuses video projections with colossal set pieces to create an awe-inspiring world for Attila.

This co-production with La Scala was a tremendous success at its Milan premiere. It’s a “blockbuster spectacle” (Financial Times), with four vivid characters, two horses and plenty of crowd scenes.

In the prelude, a mournful cello draws you down into the gravity and turmoil of war. Verdi’s score is full of darkness, rhythm and life, displaying the composer’s gift for creating emotion. Taras Berezhansky is Attila, opposite Natalie Aroyan as Odabella. Simone Piazzola performs as the Roman General, Ezio. Diego Torre debuts another Verdi tenor role as Odabella’s lover Foresto.

More details and bookings here.

Ensemble Polyphème Presents…

Acis and Galatea

by George Frederic Handel

Join us as we present one of Handel’s finest works in an intimate semi-staged setting. Having only arrived in England seven years earlier, this work represents Handel’s first musical drama in English.

The story tells of the love between the shepherd Acis and the water nymph Galatea, and how it is undone by the jealous cyclops Polyphemus.

Bringing together a dynamic group of young artists and professionals, this production of Acis and Galatea will be a fitting launch for Ensemble Polyphème in 2019.

Program

Handel – Acis and Galatea, HWV 49

Friday 8 Nov, 7pm | Saturday 10 Nov, 7pm | Sunday 11 Nov, 2:30pm

Paddington Uniting Church, 395 Oxford St, Paddington NSW 2021

The performance will run for approximately two hours including a 20 minute interval

PURCHASE TICKETS

Artists

Acis – Nathan Byron

Galatea – Chloe Lankshear

Polypheme – Andrew O’Connor

Damon – Spencer Darby

Coridon – Laura Wachsmann

Conductor/Harpsichord – Nathan Cox

Director – Christine Douglas

Producer – Nathan Byron

THEODORA
By George Frederic Handel
libretto by Thomas Morrell

Theodora was first performed 16 March 1750 at Covent Garden Theatre. 
In English with surtitles

Wednesday 30 November 2016, 7pm
Thursday 1 December 2016, 7pm
Saturday 3 December 2016, 7pm
Sunday 4 December 2016, 5pm
Tuesday 6 December 2016, 7pm

   Valda Wilson                       Theodora
   Caitlin Hulcup                      Irene
   Christopher Lowrey             Didymus
   Ed Lyon                               Septimius
   Andrew Collis                      Valens

   Cantillation                          Chorus
   Orchestra of the Antipodes

  Erin Helyard, conductor
  Lindy Hume, director
  Dan Potra, designer
  Matthew Marshall, lighting designer