Starting out as The Elizabethan Theatre Trust, whose first performance was The Marriage of Figaro in Adelaide in 1956, Opera Australia has endured countless highs and lows to become one of the nation’s oldest arts companies. Undoubtedly it’s the largest, so a mighty force of musicians and singers was marshalled for a one-off 70th anniversary concert.

Hosted with relaxed poise by ABC Classic presenter Mairi Nicolson, and directed by Stuart Maunder (currently Victorian Opera’s Artistic Director, but formerly an Opera Australia Executive Producer and director), this gala was not the flashy, aria-driven affair one might have expected.

Opera Australia’s 70th Anniversary Gala. Photo © Opera Australia

At first glance the program seemed to be another greatest hits concert, like Opera Australia’s Verdi and Puccini galas of recent years. Those two composers were represented, of course, alongside other greats including Mozart, Wagner and Bizet.

Refreshingly, many of their chosen pieces were not instantly recognisable ones that would almost guarantee the concert’s success. A couple of modern composers made the cut too.

The program emphasised ensemble singing, which reflected Opera Australia’s long tradition of providing opportunities for local performers, and gave the gala a sense of celebratory camaraderie with 19 principals in evening finery.

They were joined on occasion by the Opera Australia Chorus, but otherwise the stage of the company’s temporary Melbourne home, the Regent Theatre, was almost bare: just a chandelier, and a parade of archival projections, faux curtains and backdrops, including one painted by Sidney Nolan for a production of Il trovatore.

Opera Australia’s 70th Anniversary Gala. Photo © Opera Australia

The concert opened with Orchestra Victoria and conductor Giampaolo Bisanti in full flight with Rossini’s mini symphony, the William Tell Overture. Here, as in the second act’s Triumphal Scene from Aida, the showcased brass were majestic. Indeed the entire orchestra was in fine form throughout, their rich, beautifully balanced sound aided by not being confined to a pit.

While there was no official star of the show, the stand-out performer was soon apparent. Fresh from her memorable Violetta in Opera Australia’s La traviata, Stacey Alleaume showed off her remarkably powerful, agile soprano in several ensemble pieces – especially with the bel cantofireworks of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and Lucrezia Borgia.

Emma Matthews, who frequently thrilled Opera Australia audiences early this century, was also among the concert’s six sopranos. Her bell-like clarity and control was on display in a Tales of Hoffman trio and gorgeous, wordless, bird-inspired aria from The Love of the Nightingale, by the program’s only living composer, Australian Richard Mills.

Opera Australia’s 70th Anniversary Gala (Emma Matthews). Photo © Opera Australia

Tenor Diego Torre delivered the night’s one big aria in the grand opera tradition, Nessun dorma. There were a couple of little wobbles early on, and the final, massive note was cut cautiously short, but otherwise Torre made those few minutes his own with soaring expressiveness.

Andrii Kymach’s warm, supple baritone was notable even before he took centre stage in Carmen’s Toreador Song, and eight sopranos and mezzos popped up all over the theatre for a Ride of the Valkyries that was a scintillating concert highlight.

From a cameo by recent Rotterdam International Conducting Competition winner Sam Weller for a rollicking Old Joe has gone fishing from Britten’s Peter Grimes, to the chorus’s measured Va pensiero (better known as the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves), this was a feast for opera lovers.

The thoughtful programming, simple staging and absence of surtitles suggests the gala was aimed at devotees more than dilettantes; at people who have been attending Opera Australia performances for years, even decades.

As such it was a satisfying affair, that was already well past its anticipated two hours (plus interval) when the inevitable encore of Traviata’s Brindisi began. Happy 70th birthday, Opera Australia, and many happy returns.

For more information on Opera Australia in 2026, visit opera.org.au