Opera Australia has announced its 2023 season – Lyndon Terracini’s final as Artistic Director. It includes a mix of familiar and new productions, though there are no Australian operas. Sydney highlights include The Tales of Hoffmann with Jessica Pratt, Adriana Lecouvreur with Ermonela Jaho, and a concert version of La Gioconda with Jonas Kaufmann in a role debut.
Disappointingly for Melbourne, there are no fully staged operas due to limited venue availability. However, there are recitals by leading international singers, as well as concert versions of Tannhäuser and Philip Glass’s Satyagraha that are exclusive to Melbourne.
Lyndon Terracini. Photo courtesy of Opera Australia
In the media release announcing the 2023 program, Terracini admitted: “This 2023 season may not include all the wonderful productions I would have liked for my final program, but I know this incredible collection of the world’s finest talents will thrill audiences over the next 12 months.”
“We will finally be able to stage Chen Shi-Zheng’s amazing production of the world’s first digital Ring Cycle in Brisbane, with the cast from...
It’s worth noting that Opera Australia lied to Melbourne subscribers to justify not delivering any operas here. They claimed that the State Theatre is closed in 2023. This is untrue and it’s telling that Australian Ballet is delivering a full season in its home city, including the world premiere of the 60th anniversary production of Swan Lake… all in a theatre that OA claims is closed! The company continues to lose goodwill here, and rightly so.