The prospect of a brand-new opera composed by Nico Muhly is always exciting, a world premiere in Australia even more so.

But does Aphrodite, commissioned by Sydney Chamber Opera and his third collaboration with Omega Ensemble, live up to expectations? It sure does! And you can punctuate that with an Olympian thunderclap!

Coming in at just under an hour and written for two glorious voices – Jessica O’Donoghue and Meechot Marrero in her Australian debut – Aphrodite is a meditation on the endless search for beauty that is only skin-deep.

Jessica O’Donoghue and Meechot Marrero in Sydney Chamber Opera’s Aphrodite. Photo Daniel Boud

Having written Dark Sisters for chamber ensemble and two further operas – Two Boys and Marnie – for full orchestral forces, Muhly returns to a more pared-back instrumentation, and it’s a perfect fit for this intimate moment in the life of Ava (O’Donoghue), an academic and author who returns to her hotel room after the launch of a Netflix documentary based on her bestseller The Aphrodite Complex.

The meditative nature of the piece, with a libretto by Laura Lethlean, lends itself to Muhly’s fragmented score which follows Ava’s thoughts as they...