Sydney Opera House

For years people have been perplexed by Leonard Bernstein’s Candide. Is it an operetta? A comedy? Musical theatre? A little of all of the above? Perhaps the safest description is that of “comic operetta,” where the draw-card is some dynamic and electric music. Mitchell Butel directs this latest production, which coincides with what would have…

Take a much-loved child star known for her angelic voice, throw in some musical theatre heavy-weights and a modern opera/musical whose composer is celebrating a milestone year, and you have a revival that could very well be the hit of Opera Australia’s 2018 season. The 40th anniversary restaging of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita,…

Starring the incomparable Tina Arena, Evita enjoyed its opening night at the Sydney Opera House last night. Nathan Atkins was there to capture the invited guests on the red carpet at the anticipated premiere! Evita is enjoying performances of the Sydney Opera House until November 3rd. Tickets and more details are available HERE.

Unveiling its 2019 season, Opera Australia has announced its most exhilarating and innovative program to date, with an incredible selection of productions set to take the stage at the Sydney Opera House. Exploding onto the scene with an array of classics and diverse, new inclusions for the year ahead, Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini has said:…

It is as magnificent, jaw-dropping, gasp-enticing and lavish a staging as you can imagine, but Opera Australia’s decision to rely on digital technology for its latest production of Aida nearly came unstuck on opening night, due to a tiny, blinking square of blue light. Using soaring, rotating LED panels as the primary set, onto which…

Up from the 36 chambers the legendary Wu-Tang Clan have announced a triumphant return to Australia with two exclusive, very special shows celebrating the 25th anniversary of their iconic debut Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). The 1993 classic will be performed in full by all nine surviving core members at none other than the Concert…

Tackling Verdi’s Rigoletto in the #metoo era could have been a real opportunity for Opera Australia. A story featuring a leader who believes women merely objects for his desire and a disadvantaged subject who cheers on this behaviour until it is directed towards his own daughter – just think of the possible political parallels to…

The bright lights of Broadway will shine on the Sydney Opera House 12-14 July as the Sydney Symphony Orchestra presents the classic Broadway musical Funny Girl in Concert. With the film celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2018, this special concert production directed by Mitchell Butel will feature some of Australia’s favourite leading ladies who each…

It takes extraordinary strength of character (both in personality and portrayal) to deliver a flawless performance while one of your leads is being rushed to hospital with a serious injury, but that is what the cast of Assassins did on opening night at the Sydney Opera House this week. A sharply designed, brilliantly performed production,…

Bathed in blue and green hues, as smoke envelopes the stage the goal of the night is intimacy, intimacy held perhaps at an arm’s length. No Mono the new project by #1 Dads and Big Scary member Tom Iansek and Tom Snowdon of Lowlakes relishes in the private moments, whether they are obscured by the…

Solange didn’t know if she’d make it to Sydney for her run of Vivid shows. Standing atop the stairs set up in the middle of the Opera House’s Concert Hall, she walked back and forth while telling the sold out crowd that there was a moment back in October where she seriously thought performing would be a…

Leaps and bounds. Apart from being a classic Paul Kelly track, it is exactly what Middle Kids have been coming along over the past two years. While certainly not an overnight success, the steam the now four-piece from Sydney has built up in 2018 is almost unparalleled. Releasing their debut album Lost Friends less than a month…

It’s hard to believe that it’s been over twenty years since the release of the debut LP from Welsh rockers Stereophonics, Word Gets Around. With hit singles like “Local Boy in the Photograph” and “A Thousand Trees”, the album set the stage for the group to eventually become one of the UK’s biggest act; with almost all…

Flying candy, endorsement of cheating and a few life lessons – and that’s just in the first 10 minutes – The Miss Behave Gameshow is hands down the most entertaining night out I’ve had in a long time. In fact, stop reading, jump over to the Sydney Opera House website and grab yourself some tickets…

In its sixth year, All About Women celebrates International Women’s Day (March 8) with a line-up of inspiring and empowering discussions around the universal struggle for equality in a world still dominated by the white, privileged patriarchy. While I could have easily gone to every talk on offer, it wold have been physically impossible given…

The Sydney Opera House have released details on the much anticipated UnWrapped series, a biannual season featuring acclaimed work by new and established artists. Unwrapped will take place in May and August each year, and be the centre stage for the Opera House’s new Artist & Sector Development initiative that aims to support emerging and…

The Sydney Theatre Company is kicking off their 2018 season with the Caryl Churchill classic Top Girls, and will be hitting the stage from 12 February to 24 March. The production is directed by STC Resident Director Imara Savage with an extraordinary all-female ensemble including Helen Thomson, Kate Box, Michelle Lim Davidson, Paula Arundell and…

Strut & Fret have reimagined the wickedly entertaining Limbo production Sydneysiders have come to know and love into Limbo Unhinged, a new show that has toured the country to critical acclaim and constant sell-outs before landing at the Sydney Opera House, where it will sit for the next three months. It is vastly different to…

Graeme Murphy’s divine production of The Merry Widow finally makes its way to the Sydney Opera House and it’s a cracking way for Opera Australia to kick off 2018. The combination of stunning Art Deco design, a witty new English translation and two extremely charismatic leads make this an extremely accessible introduction to opera for…

Seeing is believing. Especially when you are watching a theatre show like, The Unbelievables. This variety show comes from the producers of The Illusionists and Circus 1903 and promises to be the “greatest” one on earth. The finished product is a grand assortment of different treats and tricks, with performers from multiple disciplines and presentations…

Much loved Canadian artist Feist has been in the country this past week, touring her latest LP Pleasure, the six-years-in-waiting follow up to 2011’s acclaimed Metals. Her brief jaunt in Australia came to an end last night at the Sydney Opera House; a night that also called to an end her Pleasure world tour. The…

Bell Shakespeare Company’s latest production of The Merchant of Venice has a few high points. But overall Director Anne-Louise Sarks has played it pretty safe and as a result there’s nothing about this show that really stands out. Listed among Shakespeare’s comedies, The Merchant of Venice contains some of Shakespeare’s most well-known characters. First, there’s…

Miracle City is not your typical musical. The show’s director even dubbed it an anti-musical. It’s what you get when the shiny veneer of a Christian family of televangelists implode, live on air. The results are something that are ironic, funny and tragic in almost equal measure. This show first premiered at Sydney Theatre in…

Netflix original series Stranger Things will premiere its first episode  of its highly anticipated second season at an exclusive event at the Sydney Opera House on October 27 for fans of the show. It will air the same time as the global LA premiere and a number of hours before Australian audiences can access the…

Bryson Tiller’s stock is skyrocketing in the music industry right now. It was only a matter of time really; anyone that caught onto his 2015 debut Trapsoul (or the “still finding his voice” Killer Instinct for the early birds) would have seen this success coming from a mile away, Tiller representing a new wave in…

There’s something surprisingly relaxing yet equally daunting as watching an orchestra accompany a contemporary artist. As I sat looking down at the side of the Sydney Opera House stage, you’d have been forgiven if you forgot that fronting the Sydney Symphony Orchestra was Megan Washington. On night one of her current tour showcasing the tracks…

Khon is a genre of dance drama from Thailand that combines several forms – dance, music, painting and crafts. Traditionally performed exclusively at the court and for royal functions, the masked dance is created for the Devine King with scenes from the Ramakien. On this night at the Sydney Opera House, KHON: Exquisite Masked Dance…

A decade since her last stage musical, Tina Arena will take on the role of Eva Peron in Evita at the Sydney Opera House in September next year. The much loved Australian star will join legendary Director Hal Prince, winner of 21 Tony Awards, in re-creating the original West End and Broadway production created by Tim Rice…

When you get the chance to sit down with a concert producer who has continually worked to bring the video game industry we all love into the theatre, you don’t lose your words, you make some up! Last week, I got to speak with Jason Michael Paul before his globe-trotting adventures bring his The Legend of Zelda:…

When the Sydney Symphony Orchestra first planned a concert series based on the music of George Michael, it was envisioned as a celebration marking 30 years since the release of his first solo album, Faith. But in December last year, Michael’s name was added to the heartbreakingly long list of stellar artists that were lost…