Artistic Director

Once, there was a barber who had it all — a happy life, a beautiful wife. But it all ended in a savage act of betrayal. Enter Sweeney Todd.

From the haunting melodies of Stephen Sondheim to the chilling narrative crafted by Hugh Wheeler, this production transports you to the dark heart of London’s Fleet Street. Witness the transformation of a once-content barber into the infamous “demon barber,” a suave and perilous figure with his rising desire for vengeance. Alongside the beguiling and eccentric Mrs. Lovett, they hatch a twisted plan — equal parts genius and ghastly. Mrs Lovett’s reputation of serving the best pies in town may be short-lived as Sweeney’s thirst for vengeance teeters on the razor’s edge.

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Sweeney Todd

Arts Centre Melbourne

Puccini’s gift for mesmerising melodies captures the essence of romance and love at first sight between a Parisian courtesan, Magda, and her naive and ardent admirer Ruggero. Magda, a metaphorical swallow, is torn between the life she needs and the life she knows.

Puccini’s exquisite score is warm and sensually delicate. It vividly shapes the characters and choruses, evoking the beguiling essence of Parisian life. La Rondine navigates a spectrum of emotions from the gaiety of the City of Love, the bittersweet sorrow of regret, and the sensuality of young love.

La Rondine (The Swallow)

Palais Theatre

This production champions Victorian Opera’s new shining stars as part of our ongoing VO Emerges series, our commitment to fostering new talent. Come and be thoroughly entertained by an array of characters that continually one-up the last in peculiarity, in a revolving door of  aristocrats, tradesmen, maids and clergy, exploring the idiosyncrasies that lie within them.

English Eccentrics

The University of Melbourne

In a run-down theatre scheduled for demolition, former chorus girls reunite to honour their performances there during the interwar years. The theatre is ramshackle and the harshness of age has tarnished the rosy tint of their nostalgia. But as the women remember those glamorous years, the faded theatre is propelled back through time and transforms into its former grandeur. Sparkling ghosts of their youth perform old numbers, and the women’s unfinished business soon becomes clear.

Follies

Published in 1814, Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park tells the story of Fanny Price who, as a girl, was sent from her impoverished family to live with her wealthy relatives in their opulent manor. As a young woman of marrying age, Fanny must navigate her new social environment, including the romantic entanglements and moral dilemmas of her cousins.

Stuart Maunder

Artistic Director

Events

Upcoming events

1 - 6 Feb, 2025

Follies · Victorian Opera

4 - 5 Apr, 2025

Mansfield Park · Victorian Opera

Past events

14 - 21 Sep, 2024

Sweeney Todd · Victorian Opera

8 - 10 Aug, 2024

La Rondine (The Swallow) · Victorian Opera

About

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