Opera Australia Announces 2022 Melbourne Season

Opera Australia (OA) today announced soprano Stacey Alleaume will make her in-theatre debut as Violetta in Elijah Moshinsky's celebrated production of La Traviata, a highlight of the Company's 2022 Melbourne season.

The 2022 program will also feature the Australian premiere of Olivier Py's production of Richard Wagner's Lohengrin and a one-night only concert by arguably the greatest bass alive today, Ferruccio Furlanetto, along with a highly anticipated blockbuster musical.

OA Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini is looking forward to returning to Melbourne with a world-class season including some of the finest talent from Australia and abroad.

"After the challenging time we've all had but particularly Victorians, I am thrilled that we can return to Arts Centre Melbourne and present such fantastic productions for local audiences. Stacey Alleaume is truly becoming a shining star on opera stages all over the world, recently experiencing fantastic success in Austria and booking more international appearances for 2022, so it is important that she makes her in-theatre debut as Violetta in the town where she was born and bred.

"The magnificent calibre and variety of this season's shows and performers hold appeal for everyone from opera fans to musical theatre buffs to arts newcomers. We at OA thank Victorians for their continued support and we look forward to bringing many more top quality productions to Melbourne audiences for years to come," said Terracini.

Following her "heartrendingly triumphant performance as Violetta" (Bachtrack) in Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour this year, soprano Stacey Alleaume will make her in-theatre debut as Violetta in La Traviata on the State Theatre stage. Audiences are invited to witness Stacey's "extraordinary" performance; "her voice was powerful, limber and expressive, scaling Verdi's romantic score with total assurance and clear conviction" (Sunday Telegraph). Renowned Italian maestro Renato Palumbo travels to Melbourne to conduct.

The Australian premiere of director Olivier Py's acclaimed co-production with Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie of Wagner's epic opera Lohengrin will also take place in the State Theatre. Set in the ruins of Berlin during the aftermath of World War II, a cast of international powerhouse singers Emily Magee, Elena Gabouri, Roberto Aronica, Marco Vratogna and Daniel Sumegi tell this romantic tale of mythical proportions. Scheduled with Melbourne's extensive Wagner fan base in mind, Lohengrin features beautiful music Wagner himself called "streams of gold", sung by a huge chorus not to be missed.

In a second Australian premiere, Boito's only complete opera Mefistofele will be presented in concert with one of the world's most sought-after basses Ferruccio Furlanetto singing the title role. American soprano Leah Crocetto returns to Melbourne, after wowing audiences in Aida earlier this year, as Margherita, performing alongside Australian soprano Natalie Aroyan and Australia's favourite tenor Diego Torre.

Ferruccio Furlanetto will also, for the first time in Australia, share the highlights of his 40+ year long career in a one night only concert. Accompanied by international Russian pianist Natalia Sidorenko, Ferruccio will remind Melbourne audiences of his vast vocal range and thundering power with beloved bass arias from some of his greatest successes including Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Boris Godunov and Don Carlo and a range of composers such as Brahms, Mussorgsky and Rachmaninov.

Cameron Mackintosh's new production of one of the most successful musicals of all time, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, will deliver hit after hit from its musical score, featuring new staging and special effects, from the famous chandelier to the underground lake.

OA will continue its commitment to making opera accessible by performing a new production by Kate Gaul of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro to schools around Victoria, touring a new production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville by director Priscilla Jackman to regional theatres, and staging Opera Gala in Uluru once again in the heart of Australia following postponements in 2020 and 2021.

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