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Opera Australia is pleased to announce its stunning Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour production of Madama Butterfly, which premiered to great acclaim in 2014, will return to the iconic over- water stage at Mrs Macquaries Point in 2023.
Visitors to Sydney in March and April next year will have the opportunity to attend this unmissable highlight of Australia’s cultural calendar that showcases the best of Sydney, with iconic Harbour views, world-class performances and nightly fireworks.
Opera Australia Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini AM is thrilled to be bringing this striking production back to Sydney Harbour:
“This production of Madama Butterfly by Spanish Director Alex Ollè is one of the most beautiful operas we’ve performed on the Harbour, so we’re thrilled to be giving people another opportunity to see it in 2023.”
More than 500,000 people from across the globe have attended Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour since its inaugural season in 2012. Attendance at the 2014 premiere season of Madama Butterfly exceeded 42,500, breaking all the previous box office sales.
Recognised as one of the world’s most-loved operas, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly features beautiful melodies, including Un bel dì vedremo (One Beautiful Day) and The Humming Chorus, and is based on the same heartbreaking tale as hit musical Miss Saigon.
Under the stars, with fireworks every night as well as pop up bars and eateries, this is “the most impressive outdoor event in Australia… You don’t need to understand opera to understand what makes the occasion great” (Concrete Playground).
Take your seats overlooking ‘Paradise’ – complete with a bamboo grove, a giant moon, and a rising sun floating in the harbour. The picture-perfect backdrop of the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge twinkles with thousands of city lights as night falls.
For innocent Cio-Cio-San, love flutters on wings of desire. For brash Pinkerton, a flight of fancy is irresistible. On their wedding night, passions ignite. Yet, how ephemeral is their ecstatic embrace?
Puccini’s intimate ode to unrequited love has always been shocking. East meets West, devotion meets disregard, expectation meets disappointment. In the clash, Cio-Cio-San’s dreams shatter.
Madama Butterfly on Sydney Harbour is a “five star world-beating triumph, surely one of the most spectacular outdoor operas ever staged anywhere” (Time Out).
The custom-built pop-up venue offers an impressive range of dining and drinking options that make the most of the magnificent Harbourside location.
The Platinum Club hosts a fine-dining room, bar and lounge set amid the treetops. Dinner and show packages include a three-course pre-show dinner, interval drinks, program and performance. The Platinum Club can also be booked privately for groups and corporate entertaining.
To arrive in style, guests can catch a water taxi to the venue, which departs from the Man O’War Steps at the Opera House and drops off at Andrew Boy Charlton Pool, just a short walk to the venue.
Travel packages will be available, offering planned itineraries and discounts on accommodation, dining, and other iconic Sydney experiences with the purchase of a show ticket.
This is the perfect, quintessential cultural Sydney experience to add to every visitor’s itinerary.
Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour is proudly supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW and Dr Haruhisa Handa through the International Foundation for Arts and Culture.
CONDUCTOR – Brian Castles-Onion AM
DIRECTOR – Alex Ollé
REVIVAL DIRECTOR – Susana Gómez
SET DESIGNER – Alfons Flores
COSTUME DESIGNER – Lluc Castells
BASED ON ORIGINAL LIGHTING DESIGN BY – Alexander Koppelmann
SOUND DESIGNER – Tony David Cray
CIO-CIO-SAN – Karah Son & Eva Kong
SUZUKI – Sian Sharp & Agnes Sarkis
PINKERTON – Diego Torre
SHARPLESS – Michael Honeyman & Luke Gabbedy
GORO – Virgilio Marino
Opera Australia Chorus
Opera Australia Orchestra
Location: Fleet Steps, Mrs Macquaries Point, Sydney
Dates: 24 March – 23 April, 2023, excluding Mondays and Good Friday on 7 April
Running time: Approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes including one interval
Tickets on sale to the public Tuesday 16 August
To join the pre-sale waitlist and get first access to tickets visit the Opera Australia Website:
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Michelle is a musician and composer from the UK. She has performed across the UK and Europe and is passionate about arts education and opportunities for women and girls.
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