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Melbourne Opera was founded in 2002 as a charitable not-for-profit company dedicated to producing opera and associated art forms in Melbourne, Victoria. With philanthropic assistance[1] it has also toured to outer-suburban and regional Victorian theatres, as well as to Canberra and Hobart interstate. Despite receiving no government funding since its foundation,[2][3][4] the company mounts between three and five main stage productions each year. Its principal rehearsal and performance home is the Athenaeum Theatre.

Melbourne Opera is the business and trading name of South East Regional Touring Opera Ltd.[5] The corporate name was changed on 1 June 2007 to reflect the company's much expanded geographical scope.

History

Melbourne Opera's inaugural season consisted of La traviata directed by Blair Edgar, a new production of Bizet's The Pearl Fishers using Bizet's restored 1863 score, and Mozart's The Magic Flute, directed by Caroline Stacey. A proposed merger with Melbourne City Opera, in 2005, did not proceed.[6] In 2006 the company's first large scale tour commenced with a production of Don Giovanni travelling to Ballarat, Benalla, Frankston, Geelong, Hobart, Plenty Ranges, Sale, Warrnambool, and the Theatre Royal, Hobart. From 2010 to 2018 the company partnered with Monash University to bring performances to its Clayton Campus. In 2017 Melbourne Opera established the Richard Divall Emerging Artists Programme. In 2020 the company announced that it was embarking on a four-year project to perform Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, commencing with Das Rheingold. This production was postponed due to the global outbreak of COVID-19[7] and was premiered in early 2021.[8] It was the first independent production of Der Ring des Nibelungen to be staged Australia in over 100 years.[9]

Productions[10]

* Australian premiere ** World premiere † Concert performance

Governance

Melbourne Opera is charitable company[5] governed by a board; the current chair is Michael Flemming. There is also a chairman's advisory council consisting of twenty leading figures drawn from the opera and business world.[33]

Patrons

Patron-in-Chief: Lady Potter AC CMRI
Patron: Maestro Richard Bonynge AC CBE
Founding Patrons: Sir Zelman Cowen AK GCMG GCVO KStJ QC, Prof Richard Divall AO OBE, Sir Rupert Hamer AC KCMG, Lady Hamer, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE, Dame Joan Sutherland OM AC CBE.

Orchestra

The Melbourne Opera Orchestra was founded in 2003 and has developed into an ensemble in its own right. In December 2015/January 2016, and December 2016/January 2017 the orchestra undertook a concert tour of China.[34]

Conductors

Greg Hocking AM is Melbourne Opera's conductor-in-residence and Raymond Lawrence is Head of Music. Guest conductors include John Dingle, Richard Divall, Patrick Burns, Ben Hudson, David Kram AM, Armando Krieger, Anthony Negus, Aldo Salvagno, Warwick Stengards and Matthew Toogood.

Stage Directors

Directors who have worked with the company include: Bruce Beresford, Greg Carroll, Suzanne Chaundy, Blair Edgar, Hugh Halliday, Plamen Kartaloff, Robert Ray, and Caroline Stacey.

Richard Divall Emerging Artists Programme

The Richard Divall Emerging Artists Programme was created to honour the memory of Maestro Richard Divall AO OBE, supported by a bequest made by Melbourne born soprano, Sylvia Fisher. Upon her death, Fisher made this bequest to ensure the continuing support of the development new artists of operatic excellence in her hometown, Melbourne. Divall was closely involved in the planning and creation of this program before his death in 2017. The first intake of performers was in 2018.[35]

The Programme aims to develop singers of great potential to a performance-ready standard, focusing on providing opportunities for emerging opera singers to experience the pressure of intensive role preparation, rehearsal and performance in a professional setting whilst continuing artistic development with tailored high quality coaching, workshops, master classes and mentoring.

References

  1. ↑ "Henkell Family Fund – Support". henkellfamilyfund.com.au.
  2. ↑ "The opera wars". The Age. 25 September 2004.
  3. ↑ "OperaChaser: From Melbourne Opera, intellectual and visceral strength greet the long overdue Australian premiere of Donizetti's Roberto Devereux". 12 November 2017.
  4. ↑ Quinn, Emily (3 August 2005). "New Melbourne Opera Company Will Reap Benefits of Australian Government Funding". Playbill.
  5. 1 2 "South East Regional Touring Opera Company Limited". acnc.gov.au. 6 May 2021.
  6. ↑ Quinn, Emily (16 May 2005). "Merger of Melbourne Opera Companies Called Off". Playbill. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  7. ↑ "Wagner's das Rheingold | Regent Theatre". Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  8. 1 2 "Das Rheingold Melbourne Opera". Limelight Magazine.
  9. ↑ "Das Rheingold (2021)". 2021.
  10. ↑ "Past productions", Melbourne Opera
  11. ↑ "La traviata – Melbourne Opera". australianstage.com.au.
  12. ↑ Gérard Schneider (13 October 2009). "Tosca: Melbourne Opera". visual.artshub.com.au. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  13. ↑ "opera-offers-a-merry-opening". Herald Sun. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  14. 1 2 "faust-is-short-on-vocal-stature". Herald Sun. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  15. ↑ "Carmen – Melbourne Opera". australianstage.com.au.
  16. ↑ "La bohéme – Melbourne Opera". australianstage.com.au.
  17. ↑ Shmith, Michael (9 December 2013). "Melbourne Opera's performs Rienzi, a lumpish curiosity piece not one of Wagner's best". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  18. ↑ "Der Freischütz – Melbourne Opera". australianstage.com.au.
  19. ↑ Holdsworth, Rob. "The Barber of Seville (Melbourne Opera)". australianbookreview.com.au.
  20. ↑ Holdsworth, Rob. "Mary Stuart (Melbourne Opera)". australianbookreview.com.au.
  21. ↑ Selar, Paul (4 February 2016). "Opera review: The Abduction from the Seraglio, Melbourne Opera". Herald Sun.
  22. ↑ Shmith, Michael (15 August 2016). "Tannhäuser review: Grand, romantic new production a great leap forward for Melbourne Opera". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  23. ↑ "Melbourne Opera's HMS Pinafore is a handsome, spit and polished production". Herald Sun.
  24. ↑ "Lohengrin (Melbourne Opera)". Limelight.
  25. ↑ Zwartz, Barney (12 November 2017). "Melbourne Opera – Roberto Devereux: Helena Dix imbues work with real credibility". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  26. ↑ "Tristan and Isolde (Melbourne Opera)". Limelight.
  27. ↑ Davies, Bridget (13 August 2018). "Opera gets a Donald Trump makeover". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  28. ↑ "Otello (Melbourne Opera)". Limelight.
  29. ↑ "The Flying Dutchman review – Theatre in Melbourne". Time Out Melbourne.
  30. ↑ "Norma review". Time Out Melbourne.
  31. ↑ Davies, Bridget (6 February 2020). "Melbourne Opera in superb voice for Beethoven's magnificent Fidelio". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  32. ↑ "Macbeth Melbourne Opera".
  33. ↑ "About". Melbourne Opera.
  34. ↑ "Melbourne Opera Orchestra". National Centre for the Performing Arts (China).
  35. ↑ "Singers selected for Melbourne Opera's Richard Divall Emerging Artists Program". Limelight.
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