La Bohème set to dazzle Sydney this Summer

La Bohème - photo courtesy of Opera AustraliaOpera Australia welcomes back to the Joan Sutherland Theatre – Sydney Opera House, one of its most popular productions and one of the world’s all-time favourite operas, Puccini’s La Bohème.

Opening on New Year’s Eve, La Bohème continues to delight audiences with its lush sets and costumes, soaring music and heady mix of comedy and tragedy. With the flickering of a candle, love sparks. Two hands meet in the dark and four friends’ lives are changed forever.

This Sydney season features a dynamic melting pot of local and international talent, many making their Opera Australia debuts such as sought-after Canadian-Lebanese soprano Joyce El-Khoury. Considered to be a young Maria Callas, El-Khoury makes her highly anticipated Australian debut in the celebrated role of Mimì.

Sharing the star role of Mimì is renowned Latvian soprano Maija Kovalevska who will bring her poignancy and grace to this role, which she has played to great acclaim on some of the world’s finest stages, including The Met in New York and Opera Australia’s famous overwater stage in the 2018 Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour.

Also making his debut is Italian tenor Ivan Magrì playing the role of the naïve Rodolfo. Rapidly gaining a reputation as a leading tenor across the globe, and taught by the late great Luciano Pavarotti, Magrì is sought-after by some of the biggest opera houses in the business, including Royal Opera House Covent Garden, The Bolshoi, and Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

Sharing the role of Rodolfo is Australia’s favourite tenor, Diego Torre, who will bring the “richness and power” (Sydney Morning Herald) of his famous voice to the role. The all-star cast also includes incredibly talented Australian singers, Julie Lea Goodwin, Lorina Gore, Samuel Dundas, Luke Gabbedy, David Parkin, Shane Lowrencev, Graeme Macfarlane and more.

Opera Australia’s Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini is thrilled to be presenting such a universally loved production to the summer audiences. “La Bohème has proved to be an incredible drawcard over summer, especially to visitors wanting to have a quintessential Sydney Opera House experience, it’s an opera that delivers on so many levels, it’s visually stunning, it’s moving, and has the most beautiful music” he said.

Some human emotions are too big for words alone, and for that, we have music. La Bohème exposes your soul to the feelings that only music can express. Conducted by a trio of talented Australians who have all achieved success overseas, Opera Australia is delighted to welcome home Benjamin Northey, Nicholas Milton and Dane Lam.

The inspiration behind the musical Rent, Puccini’s classic continues to captivate audiences with its soaring music, lush sets, beautiful costumes and heady mix of comedy and tragedy. This glittering production set in the chaos of street fairs and burlesque bars of 1930’s Berlin, provides the perfect setting for the heart-wrenching love story, filled with the familiar arias of Puccini’s most famous opera.

Conductors: Benjamin Northey, Nicholas Milton, Dane Lam Director: Gale Edwards Featuring: Joyce El-Khoury, Maija Kovalevska, Ivan Magrì, Diego Torre, Anna Princeva, Julie Lea Goodwin, Lorina Gore, Samuel Dundas, Luke Gabbedy, Taras Berezhansky, David Parkin, Shane Lowrencev, Graeme Macfarlane, Andrew Moran, Clifford Plumpton, Malcolm Ede, Nara Lee, Benjamin Rasheed, Opera Australia Chorus, Opera Australia Children’s Chorus, Opera Australia Orchestra Revival Director: Hugh Halliday Set Designer: Brian Thomson Costume Designer: Julie Lynch Lighting Designer: John Rayment Assistant Director: Liesel Badorrek


La Bohème
Joan Sutherland Theatre – Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point
Season: 31 December – 28 March 2019
Bookings: www.sydneyoperahouse.com

For more information, visit: www.opera.org.au for details.

Image: La Bohème – photo courtesy of Opera Australia