PRESENTED BY THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET

Vaslav Nijinsky was at the height of his career during the early 20th century. His unparalleled performances brought him adoring fans while his evocative and sensual choreography caused riots in theatres in Paris.

In a tragic turn of events, Nijinsky succumbed to the effects of schizophrenia, spending the remainder of his life in and out of treatment centres. He gave his last public performance in 1919 in a Swiss hotel in a dance that reflected the gamut of emotions.

Acclaimed narrative ballet choreographer John Neumeier examines Nijinsky’s final performance, charting the rise and fall of a creative genius in vivid detail. He recalls his troubled family, his ill-fated romances and the transcendent performances that brought him fame.

In a production that defies categorisation, Nijinsky offers an opportunity for The Australian Ballet’s male artists to take on the dancer’s distinctive style. Set within the glamour of early 20th century Paris, rich sets and costumes create a world-within-a-world, brimming with visionary opulence.

A spectacular piece of theatre, Nijinsky is a tribute to the visionary dancer and choreographer who changed the ballet world forever.

PRESENTED BY THE ROYAL MELBOURNE PHILHARMONIC

RMP presents its ever-popular “Carols in the Cathedral” – Melbourne’s premier concerts of traditional Christmas music, carols, and readings, in the stunning setting of St Paul’s Cathedral.

A magnificent feast of spectacular fanfares and carols, and glorious Christmas music and verse, performed by massed choirs, superb soloists and majestic brass and percussion.

This year’s concerts will again feature a magnificent selection of music of festive music by composers from around the world, including ever-popular classics such as “O Come All Ye Faithful”, “Once in Royal David’s City”, “Silent Night”, and many more, as well as beautiful works by composers including William G. James, Hamish Ander, Z. Randall Stroope, John Rutter, Dan Forrest, Joan Pinkston and more! Featuring the angelic voices of special guest performers The National Boys Choir of Australia, and outstanding soloists.

A Christmas event not to be missed. Celebrate the season in style and book your tickets now.

Andrew Wailes, conductor
Jesse Linke, soprano
William Schmidt, Peter de Jager piano
Andrew Bainbridge, organ 
Roland Rocchiccioli, reader
Julie Houghton, reader
The National Boys Choir of Australia
Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir
Melbourne University Choral Society

Box Hill Chorale
RMP Orchestra soloists 
RMP Brass and Percussion Consort
City of Melbourne Highland Pipe Band

PRESENTED BY SYDNEY CHAMBER OPERA, OPERA AUSTRALIA AND CARRIAGEWORKS

The world’s oldest poem. Opera’s most cutting-edge artists.

The ancient and contemporary collide to dazzling effect in this world premiere.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is humanity’s oldest written epic poem. Emerging from ancient Mesopotamian mythology, it tells of a restless young king who, through experiences of love and loss, becomes a better person. His unexpected love for a half-man, half-animal leads him wide-eyed into mysterious realms.

Gilgamesh’s story sings to us across millennia, and this brand-new opera uncovers all that remains strikingly relevant: its approach to mortality, sexuality and our relationship with nature. This is the first opera in English based upon this foundational part of civilisation.

Composed by Sydney Chamber Opera Artistic Director Jack Symonds and brought to Carriageworks’ vast performance space by visionary director Kip Williams (Sydney Theatre Company’s The Picture of Dorian Gray), Gilgamesh is an epic that must be experienced.

Singing scorpions share the stage with a Bull of Heaven and oracles predicting the end of the world.

This marks the first time we’ve collaborated with Sydney Chamber Opera, a company renowned for presenting “an astonishing new vision of what contemporary opera can achieve” (Time Out). Two outstanding chamber music ensembles bring a collective virtuosity to this colourful new score: Australian String Quartet and Ensemble Offspring.

Symonds conducts a cast of Australian contemporary opera specialists. Jeremy Kleeman and Mitchell Riley play Gilgamesh and the beast Enkidu, joined by Jane Sheldon, Jessica O’Donoghue and Daniel Szesiong Todd.

PRESENTED BY VICTORIAN OPERA

Puccini’s gift for mesmerising melodies captures the essence of romance and love at first sight between a Parisian courtesan, Magda, and her naive and ardent admirer Ruggero. Magda, a metaphorical swallow, is torn between the life she needs and the life she knows.

Puccini’s exquisite score is warm and sensually delicate. It vividly shapes the characters and choruses, evoking the beguiling essence of Parisian life. La Rondine navigates a spectrum of emotions from the gaiety of the City of Love, the bittersweet sorrow of regret, and the sensuality of young love.

Puccini’s late masterpiece, brimming with themes of youth, passion and heartbreak, will rekindle your understanding of what it truly means to be alive and in love.

PRESENTED BY OPERA AUSTRALIA

A star-studded celebration of some of opera’s most moving music.

Italian composer Giacomo Puccini was opera’s defining force at the turn of the 20th century. His operas reach deep into your soul and transform you through their humanity and beautiful music.

And they’re still amongst the most-performed today: La Bohème, Turandot, Tosca and Madama Butterfly.

No other composer captures the rush of true love, the thrill of discovering something new, or the force of tragedy like Puccini.

2024 marks the centenary of the great composer’s passing. To celebrate his contribution to opera, we’re performing a concert of his finest music.

Homegrown superstar Nicole Car and one of the world’s most popular tenors, Joseph Calleja, are joined by a fabulous cast of singers, including Peter Coleman-Wright AO and Julie Lea Goodwin.

Swoon to the arias and duets you know and love, alongside lesser-known gems from his extraordinary operas, performed by some of our greatest singers along with the extraordinary Orchestra Victoria.

PRESENTED BY MUSICA VIVA AUSTRALIA

Every year on Christmas Eve listeners around the world tune in to hear The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge celebrate the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in a glorious display of the British choral tradition. Now this unique and precious sound returns to Australia. 

The Choir will perform soaring anthems and sacred works alongside two touchstones of the choral repertoire: Stravinsky’s Mass for choir and double wind quintet (ten of Australia’s best instrumentalists); and Maurice Duruflé’s magnificent Requiem, a radiant meditation on life and death for choir and organ. 

It’s not all top hats and heavenly voices: just as boys grow up and voices change, the Choir’s work evolves across the generations. Which is why Daniel Hyde, Director since 2019, asked us what The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge might learn from us. Integral to their performance is a new work commissioned from Australian composer Damian Barbeler, working with a text by Judith Nangala Crispin (a descendant of the Bpangerang people), which weaves a new tapestry from the threads of history.

Program 1: Sydney (Sydney Opera House), Perth (Perth Concert Hall), Brisbane (QPAC), Adelaide (Adelaide Town Hall)

HANDEL Zadok the Priest 
BAINTON And I saw a new Heaven 
DURUFLÉ Requiem, Op. 9 
Damian BARBELER (music) & Judith Nangala CRISPIN (poem) Charlotte (2023)* 

OR 

Program 2: Sydney (City Recital Hall), Melbourne (Hamer Hall & Melbourne Recital Centre) Canberra (Llewellyn Hall)

GABRIELI O magnum mysterium 
BULL Almighty God, which by the leading of a star 
TALLIS Videte miraculum 
WEIR Vertue 
STRAVINSKY Mass 
Damian BARBELER (music) & Judith Nangala CRISPIN (poem) Charlotte (2023)* 

*World premiere performances. Commissioned for Musica Viva Australia by Richard Wilkins. 

Concert Duration: The concert has an approximate duration of 105 minutes (including interval).

PRESENTED BY OPERA AUSTRALIA

Love. Jealousy. Betrayal.

“Ah! Tosca.” Scarpia growls it, lust in his voice, danger in his eyes. Tosca thinks of her lover, his captive. How far will she go to save him?

Opera’s greatest thriller is a taut tale of passion and betrayal, taking place over just 24 hours in Rome. Renowned prima donna Tosca is in love with Cavaradossi, a painter and revolutionary. When the sadistic Chief of Police Scarpia tries to crush them, our heroine finds the strength to do the unspeakable.

Puccini’s music is sensational: from the overpowering choral power of the famous Te Deum, Tosca’s ode to art ‘Vissi d’arte’ and the haunting tenor showpiece ‘E lucevan le stelle’ as Cavaradossi faces death.

When the final note rings into silence, and you pick your jaw up off the floor, you’ll feel an extraordinary emotional release.

In this acclaimed, five-star production from Opera North, director Edward Dick writes the tension large upon the stage. A stunning renaissance fresco colours a gilded dome hanging over the performers. Dramatic, stadium-style lights by Lee Curran put a razor focus on the unfolding action, revealing beauty and menace in turn.

Tosca is the perfect first taste of opera, and one opera lovers return to again and again, to experience how music can bring great stories to emotional highs. Tosca has it all: romance, action and an unforgettable ending.

Performed in the Margaret Court Arena with all the drama and scale of an epic theatrical experience, this will be very special night at the opera.

The action turns on a trio of brilliant performers, so we’ve found singers you don’t want to miss: Opera Australia audience favourite Karah Son shares the heroic title role with British star Nadine Benjamin. Diego Torre returns to our stage as Cavaradossi, along with Young Woo Kim, making his Australian debut in the role. And we have two formidable Scarpias: Helpmann Award-winning baritone Warwick Fyfe and English singer Robert Hayward.

PRESENTED BY THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET

Christopher Wheeldon’s extravagant Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland© returns to take audiences back down the rabbit hole in 2024. Masterfully translated from Lewis Carroll’s beloved book, Wheeldon brings the humour and eccentricities of the original story to the ballet stage in a fantastical tale suitable for the whole family. Watch as The Queen of Hearts rampages around her court, the White Rabbit shimmies his tail and the Caterpillar sparkles in 16 crystal-covered pointe shoes.

Tony Award-winning designer Bob Crowley has blended high-tech wizardry and traditional stage craft, weaving magic through puppetry and eye-catching design elements. Composer Joby Talbot captures Wonderland’s moods in an evocative score alive with Cheshire purrs and ticking clocks.

The Australian Ballet’s production of Alice won the 2018 Helpmann Award for Best Ballet and Best Female Dancer (Ako Kondo), and was nominated in three other categories, including Best Choreography, Best Scenic Design and Best Male Dancer.

This family favourite is The Australian Ballet’s farewell season at Melbourne's State Theatre before it closes for renovations until 2027, and the company temporarily relocates to Melbourne’s historic Regent Theatre.

As the White Rabbit insists, “Don’t be late for this very important date!”

PRESENTED BY THE MELBOURNE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The Force will be with the MSO when it performs The Empire Strikes Back in Concert, featuring the classic 1980 movie on the big screen with John Williams’ legendary score performed live.

After the destruction of the Death Star, the Empire has regrouped – with Darth Vader leading the hunt for Luke Skywalker. Enjoy the most memorable moments from this iconic film including Han Solo being frozen in carbonite, Luke Skywalker discovering who his true father is and his training methods as a Jedi under the watchful eye of his master, Yoda, all while the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra plays the incredible music in full symphonic surround sound.

Film classification
PG (mild science fiction violence)

Running time
Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, including a 20-minute interval

Featuring

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Nicholas Buc conductor

PRESENTED BY THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET

George Balanchine’s Jewels is a three-part ballet celebrating his vision of three jewels. Visually and thematically structured around the motifs of Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds, the piece explores the idea of movement radiating from the body through each specific jewel.

Making its world premiere at New York City Ballet in 1967, Jewels showcases Balanchine’s atmospheric musicality. These contrasting works explore his time in Paris, New York and St Petersburg through the harmony of music and the defining visual elements of colour, shape and silhouette. Each of the three acts is distinct in style and mood, set to music by three different composers: Fauré for Emeralds, Stravinsky for Rubies, Tchaikovsky for Diamonds. Opulent costumes and sets unify each of the three sections to achieve one regal whole, which will showcase the breathtaking classical precision of The Australian Ballet’s artists.

A mesmerising spectacle that is both soft and sharp, racy and refined, flashy and majestic, Jewels is a lavish work capturing the company’s celebratory spirit in its milestone 60th anniversary year.

PRESENTED BY THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET

“ Two world premieres see Daniel Riley break new ground, while Alice Topp rejoices in our national company's diamond anniversary. ”

"Daniel Riley and Alice Topp are two of Australia’s leading choreographic voices. They both explore what identity means to them, whether it be the identity of Australia, the identity of community, or the identity of art. In honour of our 60th anniversary, we look at the sense of identity in today’s artists."

PRESENTED BY OPERA AUSTRALIA

Before Eurovision, there was the Wartburg Song Contest. Eurovision could only wish for this much drama!

Imagine basking in the adoration of Venus herself. Our minstrel-knight Tannhäuser has found a paradise of passion and pleasure with the goddess of love and beauty. Life is perfect. Until, he gets bored – and homesick.

Venus banishes him. Much to the joy of his friends and former love Elisabeth, Tannhäuser finds himself in Wartburg and enters the upcoming song contest. Only, he is unable to forget the sensuous realm of Venusberg, and praises Venus in song. Horrified, the crowd turns on him, insisting he atone for his sins with a pilgrimage. Elisabeth prays for his soul as Tannhäuser seeks salvation in Rome. Will he be absolved, or are Venus’ charms impossible to resist?

Understatement was never in Wagner’s vocabulary. His works are epic in scale, mythical of storyline, and radical in their orchestration. Tannhäuser is no exception.

From its thrilling overture to its shattering climax, Wagner’s exploration of love, religion and redemption through German folklore has fascinated and entranced audiences since its scandalous premiere.

Presented in concert at Arts Centre Melbourne, Wagner’s magnificent orchestrations are conducted by Johannes Fritzsch and gloriously played by Orchestra Victoria. Featuring our own “Pilgrim’s Chorus”, the Opera Australia Chorus, this is ‘Romantic grand opera’ at its legendary best.

PRESENTED BY THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET

In a creative feat that will see ballet transposed from screen to stage, Don Quixote recreates Rudolf Nureyev and Robert Helpmann’s 1973 film in a wildly colourful, palpably textured stage spectacle. A tribute to the legacy of the legendary Russian dancer and director who was a guest of The Australian Ballet in the early 1970s, this production resembles a painting come to life, enriched by a Spanish-flavoured score by veteran 19th-century ballet composer Ludwig Minkus, and vibrant costumes and sets that immerse audiences in a sultry experience of classical ballet.

Don Quixote moves from a rowdy Barcelona port to the ethereal happenings of the Don’s dream, to the candle-lit finery of the wedding celebration. A spirited ballet bursting with humour, the story follows the barber Basilio, who wins the hand of his girlfriend Kitri with the help of the visionary knight.

No detail is left unexplored in this rendition of Don Quixote. Emphasising the integral role of the set in evoking the film’s seductive atmosphere, the stage brims with everything from flowers to candles, evoking the bustling streets of Spain.

From the ballet’s spectacular lifts in Act I, to rousing ensemble scenes and a glittering confection of tutus, Don Quixote is a multi-sensory feast that reminds us of ballet’s power in the historical creative canon.

The re-design and restoration of Don Quixote has been funded by The David Hallberg Fund, with support from The Barry Kay Fund.

PRESENTED BY TEG VAN EGMOND

TEG Van Egmond is thrilled to announce one of the world’s greatest classical stars, esteemed Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, will return to Australian stages with the 70-piece Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra and 75-voice Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir, this October/November for a 5-city national tour.

Drawing from his extensive back catalogue – which spans almost 3 decades – Andrea Bocelli is set to uplift Australian audiences with a stunning selection of soul-stirring arias, enduring love songs, and beloved crossover hits, conducted by his lifelong friend and musical collaborator, maestro Carlo Bernini.

Of his upcoming Australian tour, which is bound to be one for the history books, Bocelli says, “It will be like finally being able to hug many friends I hadn’t seen in a long time. The magic of a packed auditorium is incomparable.”

Secure your tickets early to avoid disappointment and then prepare for standing ovations galore. You don’t want to miss this voice of an angel in full flight.

PRESENTED BY THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET

In the history of dance, there are only a handful of productions that translate Shakespeare’s story of tragic love into compelling ballet form. John Cranko’s majestic version is one of them. His Romeo and Juliet premiered in 1962, the year The Australian Ballet was founded, and generations of our dancers have grown up with the production and gone on to shine in its many dream roles.

An artist who effortlessly fused dance and drama, Cranko richly evokes the grandeur of the Capulets’ ball, the fierce clashes of the rival families and the brief, luminous flare of young love. His choreography seems to flow spontaneously out of Sergei Prokofiev’s score, which has proven itself as immortal as Shakespeare’s play. As clearly as words could, the music lays out the progress of the story, evoking swordplay, ecstasy, murder and the looming approach of the lovers’ fate.

Jürgen Rose’s dramatically resonant design captures the pageantry of medieval Verona, contrasting the heavy splendour of the aristocratic elder generation with the billowing fabrics of the young lovers’ carefree abandon.

Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet binds artists and audiences in a profound emotional experience that will linger long after the curtain falls.

PRESENTED BY THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET

In this contemporary triple bill, resident choreographers from three of the world’s top companies respond to scores from modern-day composers working in very different musical fields.

Justin Peck, resident choreographer of New York City Ballet, has invigorated the company with his fresh take on classical technique. He makes his Australian debut with Everywhere We Go. Set to a score commissioned from indie singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens, costumed in witty nautical stripes, it’s a nine-part ballet for 25 dancers who stream in and out of complex group formations and pin-sharp pas de deux. Like his predecessors at New York City Ballet, George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, Peck brings the energy of Hollywood and Broadway to the classical stage.

Wayne McGregor’s all-male Obsidian Tear takes us to the shadowy depths of the planet – and the psyche. McGregor, the rigorously cerebral resident choreographer of The Royal Ballet, assembles movement around multi-disciplinary explorations: in this case, into geology, myth and the violent effects of emotion on the body. Responding to violin works by the Finnish conductor-composer Esa-Pekka Salonen, McGregor moves away from the hyperextended, piston-fast movement of works like Chroma and Dyad 1929, finding a more flowing and introspective movement quality. Nine men circle and clash, evoking ritual, brutality, sensuality and the tectonic forces that mould the earth.

The third resident choreographer of the program is The Australian Ballet’s own, Alice Topp. Her new work will feature Australian design and a commissioned score by Australian composer Bryony Marks, and will continue her journey into the emotional core of human experience.

Bringing together fascinating works from three corners of the globe, Instruments of Dance maps the shape of the art form in the 21st century.

PRESENTED BY THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET

A lively love story based on commedia dell’arte, Harlequinade was created in 1900 by Marius Petipa, who choreographed some of classical ballet’s most enduring works, including Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty. Working with the original notation of Petipa’s choreography, Alexei Ratmansky, former director of the Bolshoi Ballet and artist in residence at American Ballet Theatre, has produced a loving and humorous revival.

Harlequin and Columbine are in love, but her father, who wants her to marry a rich buffoon, has her locked up by Pierrot, his loyal servant. Pierrot’s wife, sympathetic to the young couple, helps her escape, and a Good Fairy gives Harlequin a magical slap stick that helps him triumph over the odds and win Columbine’s hand in marriage.

The melodic, lilting score is by Riccardo Drigo, a close collaborator of Tchaikovsky’s; the sets and costumes were created by Robert Perdziola, based on a close study of the 1900 originals, which are held at a museum in St Petersburg.

After his century-long sleep, the irrepressible Harlequin is wide awake and ready to charm ballet lovers of all ages.