When Francesca Zambello’s production of West Side Story premiered in 2019, it was the first musical presented by Opera Australia on its outdoor Sydney Harbour stage, and was met with rave reviews. Five years on, it remains the most successful Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour production.

It returns now with a new cast led by Nina Korbe as Maria and Billy Bourchier as Tony.

Nina Korbe and Billy Bourchier in West Side Story, Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour, 2024. Photo © Keith Saunders

Featuring music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Arthur Laurents, the 1957 musical pits two teenage street gangs against each other – the Polish-American Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks – in a reworking of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet set in 1950s New York.

Brian Thomson’s grungy, graffitied set and Jennifer Irwin’s costumes, vividly lit by John Rayment, create the perfect backdrop for the tragic story.

The Opera Australia Orchestra brings Bernstein’s glorious score to lush life under Musical Director and conductor Guy Simpson, who captures the complex rhythms and intoxicating melodies with thrilling panache. The sound design (revived here by Jake Luther)...