Sydney’s Phoenix Central Park has announced a new line-up of performances to close out its Season IX program, beginning on 17 July with UNSANCTIFIED, a fragmental music/theatre work exploring the musical iterations of Shakespeare’s Ophelia.

Written and directed by Constantine Costi (who helmed Victorian Opera’s recent Melbourne, Cheremushki), and starring leading young Australian soprano Alexandra Flood, UNSANCTIFIED sees Ophelia free herself of operatic convention and discarding the masks that Western classical composers have committed her to wearing.

Flood’s performance follows a string of highlights from her debut at the Opéra national de Paris, Teatro Real, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and several lead roles at the Vienna Volksoper, where she is a principal guest artist.

Phoenix Central Park. Photo © Jordan Munns

On 27 July, Phoenix collaborates with First Nations Gadigal artist and curator Hylander to present Emerge, a showcase for emerging artists weaving stories and songlines into a modern context.

On 1 August, musician and composer Simon James Phillips presents a performative approach that broadens the relational connections between music, participants, heritages, and practices.

Originally trained as a classical pianist, Phillips has worked as a...