It may not be opera, but West Side Story made a packet for Opera Australia five years back, as well as winning rave reviews, despite criticisms regarding the lack of Latinx performers. This time around, Francesca Zambello’s production stars First Nations soprano Nina Korbe as Maria alongside Billy Bourchier as Tony. Kimberley Hodgson, It may not be opera, but West Side Story made a packet for Opera Australia five years back, as well as winning rave reviews, despite criticisms regarding the lack of Latinx performers. This time around, Francesca Zambello’s production stars First Nations soprano Nina Korbe as Maria alongside Billy Bourchier as Tony. Kimberley Hodgson, whose heritage is Filipino, sings Anita and American actor Manuel Stark Santos plays Bernardo.  heritage is Filipino, sings Anita and American actor Manuel Stark Santos plays Bernardo.

Limelight Editor’s Choice

Tonight, tonight the world is wild and bright. Going mad, shooting sparks into space!
Musical masterpiece West Side Story exploded onto Broadway in 1957 in a sensational storm of exuberant dance and wistful romance. It was a phenomenon that never faded, “an incandescent piece of work” (The New York Times).

In 2024, the iconic musical returns to Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour in an electrifying, larger-than-life staging. Experience the greatest score ever written for musical theatre, dynamic dance numbers that soar through the open air, and a love story for the ages.

It’s war on New York’s Upper West Side in this modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet. The Jets and the Sharks are locked in a fierce turf battle, but as the two teen gangs hurtle down a dangerous path, Tony and Maria cross enemy lines, dreaming of a time and place where they can love freely.