Author Archives: arasarafian

Amartuvshin Enkhbat as Rigoletto in Opera Australia's 2019 production of Rigoletto at Arts Centre Melbourne.

Opera Australia’s ‘Rigoletto’

Opera Australia’s production of Verdi’s Rigoletto offers an experience of gorgeous music and magnificent singing, acting, and visual design. From the powerful overture, which foreshadows the tone of the narrative, to the dramatic final curtain, this production enthrals the audience….

Lohengrin Melbourne Opera

Melbourne Opera’s ‘Lohengrin’: a visual feast

Melbourne Opera delights audiences once again with its second Wagnerian opera, Lohengrin, a visual feast that’s well-cast and beautifully sung. This next chapter maintains the high standard set by its acclaimed predecessor, Tannhäuser. Director Suzanne Chaundy delivers once again with…

King Roger Opera Australia Melbourne

Opera Australia’s ‘King Roger’

Opera Australia has collaborated with Dallas Opera to give Melburnians the opportunity to see the rarely-performed King Roger by Karol Szymanowski. It’s a majestic production, executed beautifully with great imagination. Unlike in many operas where there’s a clear conflict between…

My Fair Lady Melbourne Regent's Theatre

‘My Fair Lady’ at the Regent Theatre

My Fair Lady is a beautiful spectacle with delicious costumes, exquisite sets, and amazing actors who bring the stage adaption of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion to vivid life. It is the sixtieth anniversary of the musical, first performed on Broadway…

Opera Australia’s Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci

If you adore music and performance, and want to witness an inspired demonstration of pathos, Opera Australia’s double bill of Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci is a must. These two distinct operas are weaved together through setting, character, and…

Opera Australia’s ‘Carmen’: an exhilarating production

Opera Australia’s colourful production of Carmen brings vibrancy, movement, and fun to Georges Bizet’s otherwise dark tale. Director John Bell has created a vivid atmosphere to accompany the gorgeous score. Eye-catching costumes offer an explosion of colour and the detailed…

Melbourne Opera - H.M.S. Pinafore

Melbourne Opera entertains audiences with ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’

Melbourne Opera’s production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore is a fun and frivolous frolic with the serious British class system of times past. Audiences are treated to a visually pleasing, energetic, and exquisitely sung performance that will leave them…

Opera Australia performs Wagner’s epic Ring Cycle

Strap in for an epic opera experience. Opera Australia’s momentous production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle is a sequence of four works, each one a marvel of music, performance, direction, and artistic design. It offers sixteen hours of powerful storytelling through…

Il Ritorno at The Arts Centre

Il Ritorno blends the physical spectacle of circus and the majesty of opera in a 75-minute retelling of Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria. There can be no doubt about the brilliance of the Circa ensemble. They flawlessly demonstrate numerous…