Peter Rutherford’s family-friendly opera tells the story of a trickster lyrebird whose pranks go a step too far. Banished by the other birds, he’s forbidden to speak or sing except in mimicry. His subsequent adventures feature an assortment of Australian animals in a celebration of what it means to be different, and the ways in which we use our voice. Expect beetles, a wombat, a kangaroo, a ringtail possum, an emu and an aviary of native birds . . . oh, and a cunning cat. Elizabeth Hill-Cooper directs with Carlos del Cueto conducting the Victorian Opera Chamber Orchestra.

Limelight Editor’s Choice

Have you ever heard a lyrebird’s call? You may have, but mistaken it for something else – these ornate birds are expert copycats, mimicking all sorts from kookaburras to camera shutters.

In this family-friendly opera, one trickster lyrebird goes a step too far and gets in trouble with their friends in the flock. The other birds banish the lyrebird and curse them: never again will the lyrebird be able to use their own voice. From now on, it’s mimicry only.

Alone in the bush, the lyrebird meets a quirky assortment of Australian animals, where they discover the power of being different. With performances in the outer suburban ring of Melbourne, audiences will meet beetles, a wombat, a kangaroo, a ringtail possum, a jittery emu, all manner of native birds, and a cunning cat.

This sweet story was developed by Peter Rutherford and six youth participants of the New Work Opera Studio 2023. Told with colour, Australian spirit and a big dose of humour, this opera imparts important lessons on identity and the ways in which we use our voice.