Melbourne Opera will complete its ambitious Wagner cycle in February with a new production of Parsifal, opening a 2027 season that marks 25 years of independent operation and more than 60 productions.

The season features four full-scale operas, alongside concerts and other events, with works by Wagner, Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini forming the mainstage program.

“We are thrilled to be presenting a prolific year of opera productions,” says founding director Greg Hocking. “The season will feature four full-scale opera productions and other events, offering a wealth of opportunities for Australian artists.”

Suzanne Chaundy. Photo © Nicole Cleary.

Conducted by British Wagner specialist Anthony Negus and directed by Suzanne Chaundy, Parsifal completes the company’s traversal of Wagner’s major operas. Previous productions have included Tristan und Isolde, Lohengrin and The Flying Dutchman, performances of Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, three complete Ring cycles in Bendigo, and the 2025 staging of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Royal Exhibition Building.

Chaundy, appointed Melbourne Opera’s executive director in May 2026, directs an all-Australian cast led by Warwick Fyfe as Gurnemanz, Anna-Louise Cole as Kundry and Brad Cooper in the title role. Cooper recently sang Siegfried in the company’s third Ring cycle and joins rehearsals following work at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Christopher Hillier sings Amfortas, Christopher Tonkin is Klingsor and Eddie Muliaumaseali’i is Titurel.

The production features a 90-piece orchestra and an 80-voice chorus at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre, with performances on 3, 5 and 7 February.

Warwick Fyffe as Wotan in Melbourne Opera’s Die Walküre. Photo supplied

In May, the company’s Richard Divall Program turns to Donizetti’s comic opera The Elixir of Love. The fully staged production, featuring young performers alongside orchestra and chorus, will be presented at Athenaeum Two, following the program’s recent sold-out seasons of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Così fan tutte.

Verdi’s Rigoletto follows in July in a new production by award-winning director Katy Maudlin, making her Melbourne Opera debut. Raymond Lawrence conducts, with Hillier taking on the title role and Rebecca Rashleigh making her debut as Gilda. The production opens at the Athenaeum Theatre on 18 July.

Puccini’s Tosca completes the mainstage season from 19 September, directed by Chaundy following her critically acclaimed UK production in 2026. Elena Xanthoudakis makes her role debut as Tosca, opposite Rosario La Spina as Cavaradossi. Lawrence conducts.

“Melbourne Opera is presenting works which challenge, entertain, uplift and transcend,” Chaundy says. “We are immensely proud of this season which is keeping great opera experiences onstage for all Victorians.”

The company’s other events include Mozart by Moonlight at the Royal Botanic Gardens on 21 February and the 103rd Herald Sun Aria on 2 October.

Parsifal tickets are on sale now. Further season details are available through Melbourne Opera.