2006 (inaugural) season Victorian Opera's first production was Britten's ''
Noye's Fludde'', performed by the Victorian Youth Opera from 30 June to 2 July 2006. It was a collaboration with the
Victorian College of the Arts' School of Production, whose students designed and crewed the show. This was followed by an Opera Gala Concert on 15 July 2006, at Melbourne's
Hamer Hall, accompanied by
Orchestra Victoria under the baton of Richard Gill. The company's inaugural mainstage production was Mozart's
Così fan tutte, directed by Jean-Pierre Mignon and presented at
Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne between 19 and 26 August 2006. The principals were Gary Rowley (Don Alfonso), Christopher Saunders (Ferrando), Christopher Tonkin (Guglielmo),
Antoinette Halloran (Fiordiligi),
Jacqueline Dark (Dorabella) and Tiffany Speight (Despina). Bach's
St John Passion was performed on 8 September, at
St Michael's Uniting Church, Collins Street, Melbourne. The principals were Matthew Davine (The Evangelist). A concert version of Brian Howard's
Metamorphosis was performed on 3 November, at Melba Hall, Conservatorium of Music,
University of Melbourne which completed the Victorian Opera's first season.
2007 season The historic
Horti Hall in
Victoria Street, Melbourne, became the company's permanent headquarters in 2007. The company's second season commenced on 17 February 2007, with a concert presentation at Hamer Hall of a double bill of Stravinsky's
Les noces and
Oedipus Rex, with Richard Gill conducting Orchestra Victoria, and a cast which included most of the coming season's principals and the Victorian Opera Chorus. Between 1–3 June, the Victorian Youth Opera, again in collaboration with the Victorian College of the Arts School of Production, presented an interpretation of Andersen's story
The Snow Queen, by Grahame Dudley and
Nick Enright. A new production of
The Love of the Nightingale by
Richard Mills and
Timberlake Wertenbaker, directed by
Lindy Hume, premiered at
Her Majesty's Theatre on 27 and 29 July. Based on the 3000-year-old legend of
Philomela and
Procne, it featured Leanne Kenneally (Philomele), Elizabeth Campbell (Niobe), James Egglestone (Captain/Hippolytus), Adrian McEniery (First Soldier/Pandion), Samuel Dundas (Second Soldier),
Sarah Crane (Hero), Sarah Cole (Iris) and Roxanne Hislop (Juno). Once again Richard Gill conducted Orchestra Victoria. Gluck's
Orphée et Eurydice was performed at Her Majesty's Theatre between 6–13 August in the
Berlioz version, directed by
Stephen Page, with mezzo-soprano
Dimity Shepherd as Orphée, Alison Rae Jones (Eurydice) and Jacqueline Porter (L'Amour). The Victorian Opera Chorus and Orchestra Victoria were conducted by
Matthew Coorey. The previous season's production of
Così fan tutte toured metropolitan and regional Victoria during October and November. Sung in English, with a chamber ensemble drawn from Orchestra Victoria, and conducted by Nicholas Carter, only Gary Rowley (Don Alfonso) and Jacqueline Dark (Dorabella) remained from the original cast, with James Egglestone as Ferrando, Samuel Dundas (Guglielmo), Mylinda Joyce (Fiordiligi) and Jacqueline Porter (Despina).
2008 season The opening performance of the year was a Gala Concert on 16 February at Hamer Hall. Entitled
Puccini ~ The Sacred and Profane, it consisted of Puccini's
Messa di Gloria, several well-known arias from his operas, and the complete Act II of
La bohème. The season's new contemporary production was the
chamber opera Through the Looking Glass by
Alan John and
Andrew Upton, directed by Michael Kantor, and performed at the Merlyn Theatre,
CUB Malthouse, South Melbourne, 17–31 May. The small cast of
David Hobson, Dimity Shepherd,
Suzanne Johnston, Margaret Haggard, Gary Rowley and
Kanen Breen, sang multiple roles, and a small on-stage ensemble was conducted by Richard Gill. (Won 2008
Green Room Award for Best New Opera.) Monteverdi's
The Coronation of Poppea, •
The Play of Herod 2015 season The 2015 season was announced on 7 August 2014. •
The Flying Dutchman •
I puritani •
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street •
The Grumpiest Boy in the World •
The Seven Deadly Sins 2016 season The 2016 season was announced on 20 August 2015. •
Voyage to the Moon (based on
Orlando furioso), a collaboration between Victorian Opera and
Musica Viva Australia •
Banquet of Secrets •
Cendrillon (
Cinderella) •
The Pied Piper •
Laughter and Tears, a collaboration between Victorian Opera and
Circus Oz •
Four Saints in Three Acts 2017 season The 2017 season was announced on 13 September 2016. •
Tis Pity, an Operatic Fantasia on Selling the Skin and the Teeth, 4–8 February,
Melbourne Recital Centre •
La bella dormente nel bosco (
The Sleeping Beauty), 11–18 March, Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse •
The Princess and the Pea, 25 March, Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse •
La sonnambula, 5 May, Arts Centre Melbourne,
Hamer Hall •
The Cunning Little Vixen, 22 June – 1 July, Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse •
The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets, 15 September – 8 October, a co-production between Victorian Opera and
Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne 2018 season The 2018 season was announced on 27 September 2017 at Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse •
William Tell(
Guillaume Tell), 14–19 July 2018,
Palais Theatre, St Kilda •
The Capulets and the Montagues (
I Capuleti e i Montecchi), 14 September 2018,
Hamer Hall •
Pelleas and Melisande (
Pelléas et Mélisande), 11–13 October 2018, Palais Theatre, St Kilda •
Lorelei (new work), 3–10 November 2018, The Coopers Malthouse, Merlyn Theatre, Melbourne •
The Magic Pudding – The Opera, 15–17 March 2018 Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse •
Hansel and Gretel, 9–12 June 2018, Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse
2019 season Victorian Opera's season 2019 was announced on 10 October 2018 at Palais Theatre, St Kilda. This season marked Victorian Opera's first year as Major Performing Arts company. •
Parsifal, 20–24 February 2019, Palais Theatre, St Kilda •
Alice through the Opera Glass, 14–15 June 2019, Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse •
A Little Night Music, 27 June – 6 July 2019, Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse •
Heroic Bel Canto, 14 July 2019,
Hamer Hall •
The Selfish Giant (new work), 17–19 October 2019, Gasworks Theatre, Albert Park •
The Barber of Seville, 21 November at Princess Theatre, Launceston, 12–14 December at Melbourne Recital Centre
2020 season Victorian Opera launched its Season 2020 on 3 September 2019 at Palais Theatre, St Kilda; the company's largest season to date. •
Salome, 22–27 February 2020, Palais Theatre, St Kilda •
Cendrillon, 12–13 June 2020, Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse •
Yma Sumac: The Peruvian Songbird, 18–20 June 2020, Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse •
Three Tales (new work, based on Flaubert's
Three Tales), 26–27 June 2020, Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse • ''
The Who's Tommy'', 14–21 August 2020, Palais Theatre, St Kilda •
Die tote Stadt, 21 August 2020, Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall •
Margaret Fulton: The Musical, 15–19 September 2020, Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse •
Die Freunde von Salamanka, 25–26 September 2020, Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse ==References==