2019 Season
Puccini
Arts Centre Melbourne, State Theatre, 19 November—6 December
Turandot is a fantasy opera of poetry and myth, set in an exotic world where fear and love go hand in hand and death is always just around the corner. ‘Nessun dorma’ is just one of its magnificent moments. Renowned conductor Christian Badea returns to Australia to conduct a thrilling cast: Lise Lindstrom as the ice princess, Walter Fraccaro as the man determined to win her heart and Karah Son as his devoted servant, Liù.
Gounod
Arts Centre Melbourne, State Theatre, 27 November—7 December
Faust intends to win his heart’s desires, even if it costs him his soul. Led into temptation by the charming Méphistophélès, the ageing academic swaps moral restraint for a salacious journey through life’s earthly pleasures. But as the lives around him start to unravel, the devil, it seems, is in the detail. French maestro Guillaume Tourniaire leads an exciting cast. Saimir Pirgu sings the title role with the impossibly young Kazakh soprano, Maria Mudryak, as Marguerite. Teddy Tahu Rhodes is dazzling as Méphistophélès.