13 & 15 November 2024 | The Play House, Geelong Arts Centre
The spotlight will be firmly focused on the acclaimed Opera Australia Chorus when it arrives in Geelong for the first time this November to perform in a new production, aptly named Chorus! at Geelong Arts Centre for two exclusive performances.
This will be the first reprise of Chorus! since wowing audiences and thrilling critics at the Sydney Opera House, where the sheer magnitude of 44 of Australia’s finest voices singing a selection of opera’s most iconic choral pieces proved to be a blow-your-hair-back kind of experience.
Featuring music from popular operas such as Madama Butterfly, Il Trovatore and Rigoletto this production takes audiences on a musical journey, spanning five languages and three centuries of operatic masterpieces.
Devised and directed by Matthew Barclay, who uses his wealth of knowledge of the operatic repertoire to shape this original production into a celebration of the Opera Australia Chorus.
Chorus Master Paul Fitzsimon will conduct, drawing not only on his expertise as a conductor but his close relationship with the Chorus, to showcase the skills of each member as a unique performing artist.
Also stepping into the spotlight are Assistant Chorus Master Michael Curtain and repetiteur Kate Johnson, both playing piano throughout the evening.
The Opera Australia Chorus is the nation’s only full-time opera chorus and one of the busiest and most celebrated in the world. They perform all year round in productions at the Sydney Opera House and in Melbourne, plus venues across the country and many spectacular outdoor sites. Their demanding schedule can see them performing and rehearsing in multiple productions in a single week and even two different operas on the same day.
Audiences in Geelong will first enjoy the Opera Australia Chorus when they perform in Mozart’s classic The Magic Flute, which Opera Australia will also present at Geelong Arts Centre from 9-16 November.
