Enriching lives with rare and reimagined operatic experiences.
Established in 2003, Lyric Opera of Melbourne is a bold, creative opera company committed to developing operatic artists, building new audiences and enriching the operatic repertoire by creating a forum for the production of lesser-known works. Lyric's work is focused on producing innovative and exploratory music-based theatre, using contemporary practices that challenge, engage and inspire artists and audiences alike.
Season 2024
Following on from our sold-out performance during the 2023 fortyfivedownstairs Chamber Music Festival, we are delighted to present a performance of three Australian song cycles, featuring some of our most beloved performers.
This concert presents the world premiere of Stuart Greenbaum’s Nelson Suite, Linda Kouvaras’ profoundly moving vocal suite Winter Came Early, and Kevin March’s evocative meditation on Sapphic fragments, Mythweaver.
The Children's Bach is a chamber opera by the Australian composer Andrew Schultz to a libretto by Glenn Perry, based on the 1984 novella of the same name by Helen Garner.
It tells the story of Athena and Dexter, who lead a tight-knit family life in Melbourne, innocent of fashion and bound by duty towards their autistic child, Billy. Their comfortable rut is disrupted by the arrival of Elizabeth, a colourful figure from Dexter’s past. With her sister (Vicki), fickle boyfriend (Philip) and his smart teenage daughter (Poppy), the couple are drawn into a world of casual egotism and sexuality they had barely dreamed of. As the two worlds crash together, there is substantial fallout and collateral damage. Can they get home again, can they heal, and will they ever be the same again?
The Age
'Utterly captivating… Biographica is high art that successfully reflects on the past while offering a glimpse of opera’s future.'
Limelight
‘...a significant achievement... Biographica is a fascinating, refreshingly different contemporary opera presented with intelligence and talent'
Stage Whispers
'...a magnificent, moving, almost magical production.'