Victorian Opera has announced its 2027 season. It’s one with a more than a sprinkle of fairy dust, says Artistic Director Stuart Maunder.

“I want magic,” sings Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, and don’t we all?” he said.

“In 2027, Victorian Opera explores a world in which we all experience magic. Not just illusion or theatrical trickery, though there will be plenty of that too, but the deeper magic that happenswhen a room full of people comes together to feel something profound. That is what opera can do, and that is what Victorian Opera will deliver in 2027.”

Rhonda Burchmore in Victorian Opera’s Iolanthe. Photo supplied

There’s a bit of magic first up in the season, with Gilbert & Sullivan’s fantastical operetta Iolanthe playing at the Palais Theatre across 30 January – 3 February. Following on from 2026’s The Pirates of Penzance, Maunder and conductor James Pratt band together once more for this production, with Rhonda Burchmore set to star as the flighty Queen of the Fairies.

Maunder also directs this year’s season closer – Carl Maria von Weber’s Der Freischütz, in which a marksman whose skills are slipping aims makes a Faustian bargain to win a competition and the hand of his love. The Australian National Academy of Music Orchestra, conducted by Chad Kelly, accompanies a cast that includes Kiandra Howarth, Kyle Stegall, Mechot Marrero and Joshua Bloom.

VO will also take Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro to three different venues in 2027: Horti Hall hosts an intimate two-piano accompaniment, while a full chamber orchestra takes the stage for its run in Ballarat (March) and at Arts Centre Melbourne (October). One of opera’s most popular comedies, the work will be directed by Eugene Lynch.

Antoinette Halloran in Victorian Opera’s A Streetcar Named Desire. Photo supplied

Dean Bryant returns to the VO stage with André Previn’s adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire across 29 June – 3 July at the Palais Theatre. Antoinette Halloran stars as fading Southern belle Blanche Dubois. Brett Weymark will conduct.

VO also dives into cabaret and recitals in its Winter Soiree Series across July and August,with a lineup of musicians including Dimity Shepherd, Michael Petruccellli, Jeremy Kleeman and Lucy Maunder set to star in one-night-only shows.

On 18 August, VO honours its Founding Partner in Celebrating 40 Years of The Robert Salzer Foundation at Hamer Hall.  Soprano Jessica Pratt, conductor Richard Mills and company artists band together for a gala concert with deep gratitude.

Richard Mills. Photo supplied

There’s also two Aussie productions on the bill for 2027. Malcolm Williamson’s one-act opera, The Happy Prince offers a kid-friendly production at The Round, Darebin Arts Centre and Bunjil Place across 7–22 May, and the ends with a sneak peek at a brand new commission from composer Joe Chindamo and writer Peter Tregear.

Starring soprano Nina Korbe, Lola Montez unpacks the colourful and short life of Irish-born Elizabeth Gilbert, who made a name for herself as a Spanish dancer and courtesan.  In a “stripped-back first look”, the work will be presented in November. Maunder directs, Briggs conducts.

More about Victorian Opera’s 2027 season can be found here.