Yarra Valley Opera Festival, Melbourne
October 13, 2018

The idea to stage an opera festival has long been mulled over by Artistic Director of Melbourne’s lesser-known Gertrude Opera, Linda Thompson. It’s a daring undertaking but Thompson took up the challenge in mounting Australia’s first comprehensive festival in 2015 with the inaugural Nagambie Lakes Opera Festival in central Victoria. Then came a second in 2016 but it didn’t survive another season. Now, with experience and newfound support, a festival has arrived that has potential to grow in reputation to become a part of the Australian opera lover’s wish list and, what Thompson and everyone involved dreams of, stretch with international recognition.

Sarah Heltzel as Offred in The Handmaid’s Tale. Photo © Rebecca Keith

Just an hour’s drive from Melbourne, the scenic countryside of the Yarra Valley is an idyllic place already carrying prestige for its wine and gourmet food industries. The inaugural Yarra Valley Opera Festival aims to become an integral part of its allure. It has a long way to go but judging by its opening weekend on Friday evening with a gala concert featuring rising star of Opera Australia, dynamic soprano Stacey Alleaume, the...