Opera Australia Announces Great Opera Hits Concert Series

Feel like you don’t know you Bizet from your Verdi? Your Turandot from your Rigoletto? Then Opera Australia’s Great Opera Hits it for you. A perfect test drive of the world’s most famous arias, the concert introduces novices to the vast world of opera through familiar tunes.

Great Opera Hits – Live at Sydney Opera House

Musical masterpieces by history’s greatest composers, including Bizet, Puccini, Rossini and Verdi, are showcased in a relaxed – and at times irreverent, 90-minute concert – performed by some of Opera Australia’s finest opera singers accompanied by piano, making this an ideal first-time experience of the impact and atmosphere of live opera performance.

From ‘Pretty Woman’ wannabes to ‘Star Trekkies’, many people may be more familiar with opera than they think, recognising tunes from their favourite TV shows or fast-food and pasta ads.

Celebrated conductor Brian Castles-Onion AM who plays host and pianist, will captivate and guide audiences through the world of opera with his light-hearted, witty charm.

Each performance will feature a combination of four of OA’s finest principal artists: sopranos Petah Chapman, Sophie Salvesani and Anne-Louise Cole, mezzos soprano Sian Sharp and Chanyang Choi, tenors Simon Kim and Thomas Strong, and baritones tenor Luke Gabbedy and Alexander Sefton.

Performed under the iconic sails of the Sydney Opera House, share the magic of experiencing an unforgettable evening listening to opera’s finest on a world-renowned stage.

Performance Information

The Great Opera Hits concerts will be held at the Joan Sutherland Theatre, at the Sydney Opera House with a run between December 2021 through to March 2022. The performance dates and times are:

Afternoons at 2:00pm

26^th and 28^th December

1^st and 2^nd January

Evenings at 5:00pm

26^th, 27^th and 28^th December

1^st, 2^nd, 9^th, 23^rd and 30^th January

1^st and 3^rd February

6^th and 20^th March

Evenings at 7:30pm

14^th January

The featured vocalists will be performing on the following dates:

SOPRANO

Petah Chapman (1 – 2 Jan, 14 Jan, 30 Jan – 13 Feb, 17 – 24 Jul)

Sophie Salvesani (9, 23 Jan, 6 – 20 Mar, 30 Oct)

Anna-Louise Cole (23 Jan, 6 Mar)

MEZZO

Sian Sharp (2 – 9 Jan, 23 Jan, 6 Mar, 17 – 24 Jul)

Chanyang Choi (1, 14 Jan, 30 Jan – 13 Feb, 20 Mar, 30 Oct)

TENOR

Thomas Strong (9 Jan, 30 Jan – 13 Feb)

Simon Kim

BARITONE

Alexander Sefton (1, 14 Jan)

Luke Gabbedy (2, 30 Jan, 17 – 24 Jul)

Haotian Qi (9, 23 Jan, 13 Feb – 20 Mar, 30 Oct)

Running time

The show runs for approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes including a 20-minute interval.

Bookings

Adult tickets start from $69 (fees may apply) and concession tickets are also available. Book your tickets via the Opera Australia Website, or call the Opera Australia Box Office (02) 9318 8200

Opera Australia is committed to COVID Safe practices. Please refer to the website for the Company’s COVID Safe procedures: https://opera.org.au/covid-safety

More from Opera Australia

Following a tough few years with restrictions, Opera Australia is entering an exciting new chapter, with several exciting productions programmed and announced for the coming year. If the Great Opera Hits concert sparks a new love for the genre, you’ll be pleased to know that a ‘normal’ season resumes from the beginning of 2022 – as previously reported by TheatreArtLife, a year full of incredible work is scheduled and not to be missed.

While Opera Australia is known for regularly producing traditional operas, they also have a reputation as being also strong advocates for new works as well as reimagined productions of classics – it’s recently been announced that Opera Australia will be premiering an innovative new interpretation of Wagner’s The Ring Cycle. Created by visionary director Chen Shi-Zheng, it will be the first large scale performance of the full Ring Cycle to be held in Queensland, and also the first fully digital version ever staged.

Links:

Opera Australia Website

Opera Australia on YouTube