Opera Australia will perform its new production by director Priscilla Jackman of Gioachino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville in Tasmania in September.

Performances will be in Hobart on 7 and 8 September with another two performances in Launceston on 10 September as part of their national tour.

Bringing high level opera and some of the country’s premier singers to the state of Tasmania, the tour also provides an invaluable opportunity for local children to join the children’s chorus and experience the thrill of performing on stage with the company.

Under the direction of the Opera Australia Children’s Chorus Master, Kate Stuart, students in both Hobart and Launceston have been selected by local choir leaders to learn music from The Barber of Seville before joining the professional cast for rehearsals and then on stage for performances in their respective cities.

Local chorus leader in Launceston, Denise Sam, who has led the Regional Children’s Chorus in Launceston since 2014, strongly believes that the Regional Children’s Chorus is an important introduction for many students to the world of opera.

“Every year that I have participated in Opera Australia’s national tour I get to see the children really dedicate themselves to learning a style of music that is quite new to them,” said Sam.

“At the beginning they are usually a bit nervous about the whole endeavour, most of them have never been to an opera before, they may have heard a little bit of opera music but they really don’t know what’s involved. By the end of the process you can see that they have grown in confidence and have a real sense of pride and appreciation for the music.”

In this contemporary Australian production of The Barber of Seville, the story has been set in the real-life Victorian town of Seville, nestled just below the renowned Yarra Valley wine region. Award-winning director Jackman brings a hipster aesthetic to the famous barber Figaro and presents leading lady Rosina as more than just a pretty face.

The cast combines some of Opera Australia’s most experienced singers with some of their brightest newcomers, including Hobart-born Michael Lampard who shares the role of Dr Bartolo with Senior Principal OA artist Andrew Moran.

Creatives
Conductor Luke Spicer
Director Priscilla Jackman
Set Designer Michael Scott-Mitchell
Costume Designer Sabina Myers
Lighting Designer Morgan Moroney
Orchestration Simon Bruckard

Cast
Rosina – Esther Song, Cathy-Di Zhang
Count Almaviva – Nicholas Jones, John Longmuir
Figaro – Haotian Qi, Andrew Williams
Dr Bartolo – Andrew Moran, Michael Lampard
Don Basilio/ Fiorello – Shane Lowrencev, David King
Berta – Jennifer Black, Dominica Matthews

Opera Australia is committed to COVID Safe practices. Please refer to the website for the Company’s COVID Safe procedures: https://opera.org.au/covid-safety.

Running time
Approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes including 1 interval. Performed in Italian with English surtitles.

Tickets
Adult tickets from $79 (fees may apply)