This Easter, Lyndon Terracini’s very Aussie take on the Italian summer opera festival returns to Orange’s wine country with an expanded program. Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera is performed in concert and stars Stacey Alleaume, Natalie Aroyan, Diego Torre, Andrew Williams and Elena Gabouri with the Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra under Paul Terracini. Legendary bass Ferruccio Furlanetto performs career highlights in an Australian exclusive, violinist Jun Yi Ma returns for the opening gala, and soprano Noëmi Nadelmann sings Weill and Gershwin in Berlin to Broadway with André Desponds on piano.

Limelight Editor’s Choice

Few pianists feel equally at home in a Bach fugue, a Chopin Ballade, and Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm. André Desponds is one of them. The virtuoso pianist returns to Millthorpe with a program of wit, charm, and musical surprises. André Desponds delighted audiences last year with his playful rendition of Waltzing Matilda, complete with acrobatic flourishes that had the hall in stitches. This year, he takes requests from the audience and improvises on the spot, for joyous afternoon of piano brilliance and unexpected delights.