CLAUDE DEBUSSY

PELLEAS AND MELISANDE

VICTORIAN OPERA IN ASSOCIATION WITH AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC (ANAM) PRESENT

PELLEAS AND MELISANDEDRAME LYRIQUE IN FIVE ACTS AND 12 SCENES

Composer Claude DebussyLibrettist Maurice Maeterlinck

Conductor Richard Mills AMDirector Elizabeth Hill

Set and Costume Designer Candice MacAllisterLighting Designer Joseph MercurioAssistant Director Laura Hansford

CASTPelleas Angus Wood

Melisande Siobhan Stagg*Golaud Samuel Dundas

Arkel David Parkin Genevieve Liane Keegan

Yniold Sophia Wasley Shepherd/Physician Stephen Marsh

Women of Allemonde Erinn Arnel

Chloé Henderson Maria Peker

ANAM Orchestra

11 and 13 OCTOBER 2018Palais Theatre, St Kilda

Original premiere 30 April 1902, Opéra Comique, ParisRunning Time is approximately 3 hours, including interval

Sung in French with English surtitles

*Siobhan Stagg’s appearance is generously supported by Siobhan Lenihan.

Siobhan Stagg (Melisande) and Samuel Dundas

(Golaud)3

PRODUCTIONPRODUCTION TEAM

Production Manager Eduard InglésStage Manager Marina Milankovic

Deputy Stage Manager Laura Hansford

MUSIC STAFFPrincipal Repetiteur Phoebe Briggs

Repetiteur Phillipa SafeyChorus Preparation Simon Bruckard

CHORUSMezzo Soprano

Kerrie Bolton, Emily Briggs Rebecca Crabtree, Shakira Dugan, Ursula Paez, Belinda Paterson, Joanna Patocs, Juel Riggall, Lynlee Williams

TenorCarlos E. Bárcenas, Paul Batey, Alistair Cooper-Golec,

Ernst Ens, Tom Harvey, Alister Lamont

BaritoneStephen Coutts, Nathan Lay, Stephen Marsh, Matthew Tng

BassDarcy Carroll, Nick Cowall, Angus Grant, Oliver Mann, Alex Pokryshevsky

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSShow Works, Baaclight, Norwest, Kent Storage, Rob Hails, George Kulikovskis, Amanda Silk, Lynn Hunt (Diploma of Live Production & Technical Services from

Melbourne Polytechnic)

Surtitles Brian FitzGerald (Courtesy of Opera Australia)

ORCHESTRA

FLUTECassandra Slater (QLD) PrincipalNichaud Munday (guest)

PICCOLOEliza Shephard (NSW) Principal

OBOEEdward Wang (VIC) PrincipalJonathan Ryan (guest)

COR ANGLAISOwen Jackson (QLD) Principal

CLARINETMitchell Jones (QLD) PrincipalCameron Smith (VIC)

BASSOONCarol Wang (NZ) PrincipalMatthew Ventura (NSW)Christopher Haycroft (alumnus)

HORNEmily Newham (QLD) PrincipalMaraika Smit (TAS) Freya Hombergen (WA)William Tanner (QLD)

TRUMPETChristopher Grace (VIC) PrincipalSophie Spencer (NSW) Anthony Frantz (alumnus)

TROMBONEDale Vail (NZ) PrincipalPius Choi (NSW)

BASS TROMBONESimon Baldwin (VIC) Principal

TUBAJason Catchpowle (alumnus) Principal

TIMPANIJason Connors (guest) Principal

PERCUSSIONJames Townsend (alumnus) Principal

HARPMelina van Leeuwen (alumna) PrincipalSamantha Ramirez (guest)

FIRST VIOLINRoger Jonsson (Orchestra Victoria) ConcertmasterPhoebe Masel (QLD)Hana King (NSW)Sunkyoung Kim (QLD)Johnny van Gend (QLD)Harry Ward (NSW)Kyla Matsuura-Miller (QLD)Laura Barton (NZ)William Huxtable (WA)Cameron Jamieson (alumnus)

SECOND VIOLINJo Beaumont (guest) PrincipalMeg Cohen (NSW)Liam Oborne (VIC)Elliott Plumpton (QLD)Jasmine Baric (NSW)Natasha Hanna (VIC)Mana Ohashi (VIC)Emma Buss (alumna)

VIOLACaroline Henbest (ANAM Faculty) PrincipalAlexander MacDonald (NZ)Cora Fabbri (NSW)Molly Collier-O’Boyle (QLD)Jared Yapp (WA)Ruby Shirres (VIC)Tom Higham (alumnus)Madeleine Coco (guest)

CELLOLiam Meany (NSW) PrincipalVicky Zhang (NSW)Caleb Murray (NSW)Jeremy Garside (WA)David Moran (SA)Howard Penny (ANAM Facaulty)

DOUBLE BASSDavid Barlow (NSW) PrincipalGiovanni Vinci (WA)Simon Pauperis (alumnus)Isabella Brown (guest)

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The approach to both the orchestra and the process of operatic storytelling and the way in which text is set is utterly individual. Debussy created an important and lasting legacy to the remainder of the 20th century.

We have a wonderful, all-Australian cast and creative team for this classically simple production of the opera – which follows the composer’s stage directions and does not indulge in ‘interpreting’ the symbolism of the work.

It has been a great pleasure to realise this production with my frequent collaborator Elizabeth Hill, and similarly with emerging designer Candice MacAllister, in their mainstage opera debuts.

Victorian Opera has always taken its obligation to education and talent development very seriously. The young artists of ANAM have had a first-hand encounter with this masterwork, a life-changing experience for a young professional.

Similarly, with the exception of Angus Wood and Liane Keegan, every member of our talented cast is making role debuts which will have, I am sure, a positive and

useful influence on their subsequent careers. It has also been a great pleasure to welcome Siobhan Stagg and Angus Wood home to Melbourne, and former Victorian Opera young artist Samuel Dundas back to the company.

Our fine cast and creative team have formed a wonderful collaboration, enriched by the talent, enthusiasm and dedication of both students and staff at ANAM – a great Australian institution. Enjoy.

RICHARD MILLS Artistic Director, Victorian Opera and Conductor

WELCOMEI am very proud to welcome you to our first mainstage collaboration with the Australian Academy of Music (ANAM) to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the death of Claude Debussy. His single opera Pelleas and Melisande is unique in the canon: it changed the language of music.

Phillipa Safey (Repetiteur), Samuel Dundas (Golaud),

Richard Mills (Conductor) and Siobhan Stagg (Melisande)

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DIRECTOR’S NOTE

Debussy’s score of Pelleas and Melisande is prodigious, terrifying and incredibly beautiful. It is an honour to realise his opera and give it fresh life with this production. I thank Richard Mills for his trust, guidance and incredible insight. The hours we have spent together in his studio analysing the opera have formed some of the most joyous learning experiences of our seven-year working relationship.

When I first started working with Candice MacAllister three years ago, I quickly identified her as a young designer of great talent and we have since collaborated on many projects. For Pelleas and Melisande, our work began a year ago: a year of devising, adapting and developing ideas. As we explored the relationships between the central characters, the opera’s symbolism and its inherent architecture of time, we found a design that we believe honours the grandeur and simplicity of the work.

Lighting Designer Joe Mercurio and I have known one another for many decades, and our projects have always proved inspiring, challenging and rewarding. There was no other choice

for this opera and his haunting design reiterates why.

Richard has assembled a cast who inhabit these richly complex characters and our time creating this production has been a genuine collaboration. I thank them all for their focus and individual insights. We have worked hard to remain true to the text, score and stage direction asked of us by Debussy.

Our aim has been to allow you to take from it what you see, hear and feel. We have many questions and very few answers, and this was the joy of discovery for every member of our team. We now invite your interpretation and encourage your own sense of curiosity and discovery.

ELIZABETH HILL Director

Opera is an art form that requires a balance of relationships. The balance between the musical score, the vision of the production’s creative team, and each individual artist is delicate and extremely powerful. If well balanced, the work can be extraordinary.

Samuel Dundas (Golaud), Siobhan Stagg (Melisande) and

Elizabeth Hill (Director)

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SYNOPSISMythical kingdom of Allemonde

ACT ONE

Golaud, King Arkel’s grandson, is lost in the forest when he comes upon a strange girl weeping at a fountain. She cannot or will not reveal anything of her past, but Golaud manages to draw out her name – Melisande – and persuades her to follow him out of the dark woods.

King Arkel and his daughter Genevieve read a letter written by Golaud to his half-brother, Pelleas. Golaud has been married to Melisande for six months but he still knows nothing of her past. He is worried that his grandfather won’t accept his marriage because Arkel has other marriage plans in place for Golaud. Arkel decides to forgive him and tells Pelleas to give Golaud the sign to return. Pelleas wants to leave the castle to visit a dying friend but Arkel urges him to remain to attend to his sick father and to await his brother’s return.

Melisande arrives at the castle and is struck by its gloominess. She is comforted by Genevieve who assures her that she will get used to it. Pelleas and Melisande watch the ship that brought her to the castle as it disappears into the distance.

ACT TWO

Pelleas and Melisande sit by a well. She plays with her wedding ring and it slips through her fingers into the depths of the well.

At the same moment, in another part of the kingdom, Golaud is thrown from his horse. Melisande later tends to him by his bedside and she weeps, telling him that she feels ill living in the cold, dark castle. As Golaud comforts her, he notices her ring is gone. She lies and says she lost it in a sea grotto. Angrily, he sends her out into the night to look for it with Pelleas.

In the dark grotto, Melisande is frightened by three sleeping beggars.

ACT THREE

Melisande combs her hair in the window of the castle tower. Pelleas comes to the base of the tower to say goodbye, as he is leaving the next day. As she leans over, her long hair covers Pelleas and he plays with it. Golaud catches them and scolds them for their childishness.

Golaud leads Pelleas down to the castle vaults, a chilling place with the suffocating atmosphere of death. After exiting the vaults, Golaud tells

him that Melisande is expecting a child and, as she is very fragile, Pelleas must stay away from her.

Golaud interrogates his son, Yniold, about Pelleas and Melisande’s relationship and is frustrated by the boy’s childish responses. Golaud asks him to spy on Melisande in her room and Yniold reports seeing Pelleas in the room, but observes nothing untoward.

ACT IV

Pelleas tells Melisande that he must talk to her as, now that his father’s health has improved, he is setting off on his travels the following day. They arrange to meet by the well.

Arkel tells Melisande that he pities her unhappiness, but he hopes her youth and beauty will bring on a new era. Golaud enters, angrily challenging Melisande’s innocence, and throws her across the room.

Yniold is trying to retrieve his ball from behind a boulder when a shepherd passes by.

Realising it may be the last time he sees her, Pelleas confronts his feelings and tells Melisande all the things he has left unsaid. They confess their love for each other and share a brief moment

of happiness. Golaud appears from the shadows. He kills Pelleas, and Melisande flees in terror.

ACT V

As Melisande lies gravely ill, the Doctor tells Golaud that her death will not be caused by the insignificant wound inflicted by him. Golaud feels remorse for killing his brother and he reflects on the pair’s innocence. He asks Melisande for her forgiveness but continues to press her for the truth about her relationship with Pelleas. Arkel carries in Melisande’s baby daughter but she is too weak to hold the child.

Melisande dies and Arkel observes that the cycle will continue with the next generation.

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BIOGRAPHIES

RICHARD MILLS Conductor

Richard is one of Australia’s most prolific and internationally recognised composers. He pursues a diverse career as a composer, conductor and artistic director, and has an extensive discography of orchestral works including his own compositions. He has held numerous prestigious posts, and received many scholarships, fellowships and awards including an AM in 1999. He is currently Artistic Director of Victorian Opera, and was Artistic Director of West Australian Opera 1997 – 2012, Director of the Australian Music Project for the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra 2002 – 2008 and Musica Viva’s Composer of the Year in 2008. This year Richard conducts Victorian Opera’s William Tell, The Capulets and the Montagues, and Pelleas and Melisande.

ELIZABETH HILL Director

Elizabeth began her career as a classical ballet dancer with West Australian Ballet. Moving into choreography and directing, she discovered her love of opera.

She has created or restaged productions for several state opera companies. Elizabeth joined Opera Australia in 1999 where she regularly collaborated with Stuart Maunder, several guest directors and designers. Her credits include: Fledermaus, The Gypsy Princess, The Tales of Hoffmann, My Fair Lady, The Pirates of Penzance, A Little Night Music, Rusalka, Lakmé and Arabella.

Joining Victorian Opera in 2012, Elizabeth has created a suite of education and community engagement productions and now moves onto the mainstage with Pelleas and Melisande.

CANDICE MACALLISTER Set and Costume Designer

An emerging designer, Candice graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2015 where she was awarded the Cassidy Bequest Scholarship.

She made her professional debut in 2016 as the Production Designer for Victorian Opera’s Cinderella and The Pied Piper, and Costume Designer for Four Saints in Three Acts. She became the company’s inaugural Developing Artist (Design) in 2017 and subsequently designed The Princess and the Pea and The Snow Queen.

With the support of the Ian Potter Cultural Trust, Candice interned with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on Coraline in March. Pelleas and Melisande marks her first mainstage production design.

BIO

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JOSEPH MERCURIO Lighting Designer

Joseph Mercurio was born in Melbourne and raised in Fremantle, Western Australia before moving to Sydney in 1993, working in a wide range of styles in Australia and touring the world extensively. He has collaborated with some of Australia’s leading theatre makers, including Stephen Page, Angela Chaplin, Sue Healey, Juliàn Reta Fuentes, Phillip Adams, Natalie Weir, Roger Hodgman, Chrissie Parrot and Graeme Murphy. He was Lighting Coordinator at WAAPA for four years and was Coordinator of Performance Technology at the Victorian College of the Arts. After working as a freelance lighting designer in Spain for three years he is now lecturing in Shanghai at the Western International School of Shanghai (WISS).

ANGUS WOOD Pelleas

Angus Wood completed his Bachelor of Music (Honours) at the University of Melbourne and Master of Music at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He was a young artist with Victoria State Opera and the Australian Opera, and a resident principal artist with the Australian Opera, and also at the Hessisches Staatstheater, Wiesbaden, the Anhaltisches Theater in Dessau and from 2011–2015 at the theatre in Heidelberg, with guest engagements throughout Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the United States. Concert engagements in Australia include performances with the Melbourne, Sydney, Tasmanian and West Australian Symphony Orchestras, the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.

SIOBHAN STAGG Melisande

Siobhan Stagg is one of Australia’s most outstanding young sopranos. Recent opera highlights include Pamina Die Zauberflöte (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden), Gilda Rigoletto (Hamburg State Opera), Najade Ariadne auf Naxos (Bavarian State Opera) and Zerlina Don Giovanni, Musetta La bohème and Contessa di Folleville Il viaggio a Reims (Deutsche Oper Berlin). Concert highlights include Brahms’ Requiem (Berliner Philharmoniker), Zemlinsky’s Lyric Symphony (BBC Proms), Mozart arias (Salzburg Mozartwoche), Australian tour with Roberto Alagna, Haydn Creation (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra) and the 2018 Australian Festival of Chamber Music. Upcoming: U.S. debut, title role of Massenet’s Cendrillon at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Siobhan Stagg’s appearance is generously supported by Siobhan Lenihan

SAMUEL DUNDAS Golaud

Samuel Dundas is a graduate of the Melba Conservatorium of Music, Melbourne. He made his opera debut with Opera Queensland, before joining Victorian Opera’s Artist Development program and Opera Australia’s Moffatt Oxenbould Young Artist program. He subsequently became a principal artist with Opera Australia, and has also performed with West Australian Opera. In concert, he has performed with the Adelaide, Melbourne, Tasmanian and West Australian Symphony Orchestras, the Australian Youth Orchestra, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and the Auckland Philharmonia. He was the recipient of the 2013 Lady Fairfax New York Scholarship and the inaugural Dame Heather Begg Award in 2014.

DAVID PARKIN Arkel

Winner of the Vienna State Opera Award and Lady Fairfax New York Scholarship, among many others, David Parkin has performed with Opera Australia, Pinchgut Opera, West Australian Opera, State Opera of South Australia, Melbourne and West Australian Symphony Orchestras and recently for Sydney Opera House Trust as Henry Kissinger (The Nixon Tapes). David’s repertoire encompasses Sarastro (The Magic Flute), Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor), Ramfis (Aida), Frate (Don Carlos), Basilio (Barber of Seville), Colline (La bohème), Angelotti (Tosca), Commendatore (Don Giovanni), Sparafucile (Rigoletto), Walter (Luisa Miller), Ferrando (Il trovatore), and Titurel (Parsifal) and the Requiems of Mozart and Verdi.

LIANE KEEGAN Genevieve

Born in Australia, Liane is a specialist in the works of Mahler and is a regular soloist with MSO in concert and oratorio repertoire. Her extensive career has been divided between leading roles in Australia and Europe. She has performed for Victorian Opera (The Flying Dutchman, The Sleeping Beauty, William Tell); SOSA (Erda, First Norn and Waltraute: Der Ring Des Nibelungen, Azucena: Il Trovatore); OA (Erda: Der Ring Des Nibelungen, Ulrica: Un ballo in Maschera); ENO (First Norn: The Twilight of the Gods); Theater Hagen (Klytämnestra: Elektra, Mistress Quickly: Falstaff, Leocadja Begbick: Aufstieg und fall der Stadt Mahagonny) and Deutsche Oper Berlin (Anna: Les Troyens, Emilia: Otello, Marcellina: Le Nozze di Figaro, Siegrune: Die Walküre).BI

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SOPHIA WASLEY Yniold

Sophia Wasley commenced her musical education by studying violin. After seven years of violin, she decided to commence vocal training. In 2016, Sophia auditioned and was accepted into the Victorian Opera Youth Chorus Ensemble (VOYCE). During the same year, Sophia was cast in the principal role of Saint Theresa in Victorian Opera’s Youth Opera Four Saints in Three Acts. In 2017, Sophia performed the roles of Cricket, Pepik and a Fox Cub in Victorian Opera’s Cunning Little Vixen. Currently completing her VCE, she is delighted to perform Yniold in Pelleas and Melisande. In 2019, Sophia will appear in Victorian Opera’s production of A Little Night Music.

STEPHEN MARSH Shepherd/Physician

Stephen is studying with Roger Howell and has performed with Victorian Opera, Australian Music Events and Melbourne Opera. He received the esteemed Betty Amsden AO Scholar of the Year Award with Opera Scholars Australia and is the recipient of numerous vocal scholarships, including a full scholarship for Opera Scholars Australia’s young artist program. He has performed at Opera in the Alps and Opera in the Market alongside Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Roy Best. A current Youth Artist for Victorian Opera, his credits include The Sleeping Beauty, The Grumpiest Boy in the World, Hansel and Gretel, Heroes and Villains, The Snow Queen and The Magic Pudding - The Opera.

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IN DEPTHWHY PELLEAS?This year marks the centenary of Debussy’s death, so we were especially excited to collaborate with the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) on a project to celebrate the extraordinary heritage of this composer, his legacy to the 20th century, and to the music of the present day. Debussy broke away from the conventions of the 19th century and, despite his pèlerinages passionnés to Bayreuth, eventually rejected the Wagnerian apparatus and established his own approach to opera ‘post Wagner’, rather than as a disciple of Wagner.

Nevertheless, there is a lot of subliminal Wagnerian process in Pelléas et Mélisande – almost direct quotes from Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal and Die Walküre – but filtered through Debussy’s own musical personality to such an extent that they remain suggestions rather than outstanding signposts.

Debussy also appropriated the Wagnerian ‘stream of consciousness’ of Tristan und Isolde, the Ring operas and Parsifal; each singer is a solo entity, there are no ensembles – only the backstage chorus of sailors in Act I (iii) offers a commonality with operatic conventions of chorus and ensemble.

The gestures of Pelléas et Mélisande are inseparable from the particular qualities of the French language: the text of the opera could be spoken as it exists, there are no repetitions, verse structures, etc. It is a prose text, albeit very subtle and full of poetic gestures and the sometimes curious non-sequiturs of symbolist poetry. Golaud asks Melisande, ‘how old are you’, and she replies, ‘I am beginning to feel cold’. The kind of causality that is found in the ‘well-made play’ is absent here. The composer wanted a short libretto with mobile scenes and no discussions between the characters whom he saw at the mercy of life and destiny.

This literary quality of the text reflects one of the major influences on Debussy’s evolution as an artist – the work of the symbolist poets, particularly Mallarmé. He attended Mallarmé’s ‘Tuesday evenings’, soirées where the symbolist aesthetic was explored and individuals offered up spontaneous improvisations for the group. Here is an example from the famous sonnet – untitled, but commonly referred to as le cygne – the swan – which is also a homonym for le signe – a sign: obviously a symbolist conceit.

Angus Wood (Pelleas) and Siobhan Stagg (Melisande)

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Le vierge, le vivace et le bel aujourd’hui Va-t-il nous déchirer avec un coup d’aile ivre Ce lac dur oublié que hante sous le givre Le transparent glacier des vols qui n’ont pas fui!

Un cygne d’autrefois se souvient que c’est lui Magnifique mais qui sans espoir se délivre Pour n’avoir pas chanté la région où vivre Quand du sterile hiver a resplendi l’ennui.

This is almost untranslatable, but might go this way, in a very literal sense:

The virgin, vivacity and the beautiful today Will it be torn up by us with the blow of a drunken wing This hard lake, forgotten, which haunts under the frost The transparent glacier of flights not flown!

A swan of other times remembers that it is him Magnificent, but who without hope frees himself For not having sung the region where lives

When from sterile winter proceeds a splendid listlessness.

Dear readers, we can argue over the details of this forever, however, the point that is important for an understanding of Debussy is this: there is not a word of this text (in both French and English) that is not commonplace. It’s the relationships, the juxtapositions of meaning and the devolved syntax that make the utterance unique and fascinating – and, some would say, pretentious and nonsensical – as Australia’s ‘Ern Malley’ hoax famously illustrated years later.

However, Debussy pursued the same disconnect in his harmony. All of his chords can be found in Wagner (and Massenet), it is his use of them as independent entities, relating to each other outside the traditions of classical tonality, which makes his music unique.

I hasten to add that this ‘free association’ is governed by a masterful sense of structure which operates on many levels, informed by an infallible dramatic sense. For example, the tuba has 28 notes in the entire opera, but all carefully associated with darkness. Every scene, every act and the whole opera are constructed around the ‘Golden Section’: the ratio a/b = (a+b)/a, the purest form of a rectangle

that is found in classical architecture, for example, the Parthenon in the Acropolis. All the harmony can be analysed around the way the composer partitions the 12 semitones of the octave around the interval of the augmented fourth (the first notes of ‘Maria’ in West Side Story).

But in all this incredible sophistication, there is a transcendent humanity. Debussy himself says that his intention was to have his characters sing naturally, not in an ‘arbitrary language made from superannuated traditions’. There is melody, but not the kind of emotional tune – something that the composer says can be purchased on the street for a couple of sous – rather a declamation which follows the tides of feeling and perception underscored by an orchestral fabric which continuously evolves and transforms with great subtlety, formal poise, colour and dramatic intention, and art conceals art at almost every turn.

Let the composer have the last word:

‘I don’t pretend to have discovered everything in Pelleas, but I have tried to clear a road that others may follow, an enlargement from personal discoveries which perhaps can free music drama from the heavy constraints which it has laboured under for some time.’

A fairly modest and understated summary of a work which not only changed the history of opera – but, indeed, of music itself.

RICHARD MILLS Artistic Director and Conductor

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Reimagining the potential of opera, for everyone.

A national leader and state icon, Victorian Opera is one of the most celebrated opera companies in Australia. Recognised for its unique voice and contribution to the country’s operatic landscape, Victorian Opera joins the Australian Major Performing Arts Group (AMPAG) from 2019.

We are committed to presenting creative opera accessible to everyone, and evolving the art form in daring ways. Whether commissioning new operas or reimagining century-old works for new generations, we believe opera-making is a continuous process, and with each production we are excited by the opportunity to bring something entirely new.

Victorian Opera is at the forefront of creating opera in Australia. We premiere at least one new Australian work each year and have staged 21 new works since the company formed in 2005.

From opera diehards to first-timers, over 30,000 people experience our work annually through live performances and streamed events.

We employ hundreds of people across the creative industries, recruit some of the finest singers from Australia and

around the world, and collaborate with Australia’s leading companies, venues and learning institutions.

We regularly tour Victoria with community, family and concert productions and, in 2017, began an ongoing commitment to staging opera in Tasmania.

The next generation of talent is developed from the ground up through the Victorian Opera Youth Chorus Ensemble (VOYCE) and our innovative Access All Areas: Livestream Program.

Victorian Opera inspires eclectic audiences with an imaginative approach to opera, and we invite you to join us.

Visit victorianopera.com.au to discover more about the company through podcasts, videos and blogs throughout the season.

@VictorianOpera #VictorianOpera

© Photography: Charlie Kinross pp 2, 7, 8, 11, 18, 25. © Cover illustration: Julien Pacaud

ABOUT US

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CONDUCTOR EMERITUSRichard Gill AO

VICTORIAN OPERA BOARDChairman Genevieve OverellRoger Box, Vivienne Corcoran, Siobhan Lenihan, Selina Lightfoot, Stephen McIntyre, Grant Powell, Penny Stragalinos, Sasha Zegenhagen (Board Observer)

EXECUTIVEArtistic Director Dr Richard Mills AMManaging Director Andrew SnellExecutive Producer and Artistic Associate Elizabeth Hill

ARTISTIC, ENGAGEMENT & PRODUCTIONHead of Music Phoebe BriggsRepetiteur Phillipa SafeyAssistant Company Manager Candice MacAllisterEducation Officer Ioanna SalmanidisProduction Manager Eduard InglésTechnical and Operations Coordinator Peter DarbyProduction Coordinator Luke HalesVOYCE Director Angus Grant

FINANCE & ADMINISTRATIONFinance and HR Manager John OrrFinance Assistant Claire Voumard

MARKETINGMarketing, Media and Sales Manager Henri MarronMarketing Content Producer Beata BowesMedia and Communications Executive Scott WhinfieldCRM and Ticketing Executive Nichole O’Duffy

DEVELOPMENTDevelopment Manager Louise O’LoughlinIndividual Giving Manager Pooja DuttDevelopment Assistant Rhylla Mitchell

SEASON STAFFCostume Supervisor Kate Glenn-SmithAssistant Costume Supervisor Amelia PeaceWardrobe Staff Lara Barwick, Emma IkinDressers Carletta Childs, Simon DoeHead of Wigs Linda CowallWigs/Make-up Pauline Clauzon, Simon SetterLighting Crew Dave Craven, Evan Anderson, Harrison Cope, Allee Richards, Jon Bargen, Siobhan HeenanHead Mechanist Andrew DysonMechanists Jerem Leach, Nathan Burmeister, Adam Brunskill, Tiernan Maclaren, Bec Nesson, Kelsey Henderson, Jacob ZachariasSound Consultant Jim AtkinsSurtitle Operator Tim MallisStudent Volunteers Hiroko Yamauchi, Thomas Wall, Hugh Benyon, Michelle Chapman, Caroline Cody

OUR TEAM

Richard Mills and Elizabeth Hill

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BRONZE PATRONS ($500+)Prof Dennis Altman AMJenny AndersonLesley BawdenInes & Dr Don BehrendPhilip Benjamin & Sandy Benjamin OAMMaura BestShirley BreeseStuart BrownSusan BrownriggPam CaldwellDr Jennifer Coghlan-Bell & A/Prof Simon BellBrian & Kaye DempsterJean DunnDennis FreemanDr Irene IrvineAngela Kayser

Robert & Pamela KnightJane KunstlerJocelyn & Andrew McLeishIan Morrey & Dr Geoffrey MinterJill Page OAM & Roy PageGreg J ReinhardtRuth & Ralph RenardCharles RoxburghGraeme Samuel AC & Jill DaviesAubrey SchraderProf Michael SmithNeil TwistCaroline VaillantHon Heidi VictoriaCatherine Walter AMRev Noel Whale Secret admirers (9)

BEQUESTSJenny AndersonG Bawden and L DeKievetLesley BawdenFrank and Danielle Chamberlin Colin Gunther and Richard LaslettJane KunstlerTony Wildman and Robert GibbsSecret admirers (3)

If you are interested in becoming a Victorian Opera Patron, or having a confidential discussion about leaving a gift to Victorian Opera in your Will, please contact Pooja Dutt, Individual Giving Manager on (03) 9001 6408 or email poojad@victorianopera.com.au

Current at time of printing.

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We acknowledge and thank our partners who make our work possible.

OUR PARTNERS

GOVERNMENT PARTNERS FOUNDATION PARTNER

OFFICIAL PARTNER MEDIA PARTNERS

SUPPLY PARTNERS

PERFORMANCE PARTNERS

William Angliss Charitable Fund

Henkell Family Fund

TRUSTS AND FOUNDATIONS

Leo and MinaFink Fund

The Marian & E.H. Flack Trust

UNIVERSITY PARTNER AWARDS

Butler Freight Services is one of Australia’s premier wharf transport companies.

Their personalised service ensures the safe and efficient delivery of your goods wherever, whenever, from the Melbourne waterfront.

Auscoastal Logistics is a proud supply partner of Victorian Opera, providing freight and on-site storage facilities for the company’s sets and costumes.

Auscoastal Logistics is an intermodal specialist servicing all major cities in Australia.

Give your freight the best seat in the house.

MAJOR PARTNERS

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UPCOMING EVENTSLoreleiPart cabaret, part opera, all seduction

Ancient myth meets modern woman in an allegory of resilience and reclaiming one’s destiny. Three irresistible sirens await you at the rock for an intoxicating encounter with love and death.

3–10 November 2018 | The Coopers Malthouse, Merlyn Theatre

Parsifal*The ultimate operatic odyssey

Immerse yourself in the legend of the Holy Grail and the knights who protect it. Witness the most memerising Wagnerian quest for redemption.

20, 22 and 24 February 2019 | Palais Theatre, St Kilda

Alice Through the Opera Glass**A marvellous adventure for the whole family

Peer into the magic looking glass and come on a fantastical journey through opera’s most memorable music with Alice and the White Rabbit.

14 and 15 June 2019 | Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse

A Little Night Music**The most musical of musicals

Musical theatre lovers rejoice - Sondheim is back! His bittersweet musical comedy about a group of romantically entangled characters captures the uncertainities of love with playfulness and heartbreaking accuracy.

27 June – 6 July 2019 | Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse

EXPERIENCE ANAM The Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) is a place where young musicians fulfil their potential, distinguished by their skill, imagination and courage, and by their determined contribution to a vibrant music culture.

ANAM musicians share the stage with the world’s finest artists, performing in over 180 public performances across Australia. Alumni work in orchestras and chamber ensembles around the world, perform as soloists, educate the next generation of musicians, and are the recipients of major national and international awards.

ANAM aims to inspire these future music leaders and invites audiences to share their journey.

FIND OUT MORE anam.com.au info@anam.com.au03 9645 7911 Department of Communications and the Arts

*Single tickets on sale Friday 12 October 2018 at 2pm.**Only currently available as part of a Season 2019 subscription. Single tickets on sale Monday 12 November 2018. For more information, visit victorianopera.com.au.

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