Rehearsals are underway for Opera Australia’s 2026 Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour – a revival of its acclaimed 2022 production of The Phantom of the Opera.

In an audacious piece of casting, 22-year-old newcomer Jake Lyle is making his professional debut as the Phantom. Talk about a big break!

Jake Lyle in rehearsals for The Phantom of the Opera on Sydney Harbour. Photo © Carlita Sari

“It’s still very surreal to me,” he tells Limelight. “Everyone asks me how I’m feeling, but it’s a major dream, that’s what it is.”

“I’m loving it,” he adds. “The creative team – [musical supervisor] Guy Simpson, [director] Simon Phillips and [choreographer and associate director] Simone Sault – have had such an involvement with Phantom and [its sequel] Love Never Dies. And to have Amy Manford by my side as Christine and Jarrod [Draper] as Raoul, I feel the luckiest boy in the world! It’s very exciting and everybody is so supportive and kind.”

Lyle graduated with a Bachelor of Music (Honours) in Classical Voice from Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University at the end of last year. But he was still completing the degree when he auditioned for...