Sydney Conservatorium of Music Opera School presents:

LA CALISTO

Francesco Cavalli

SATURDAY 20 MAY, 6.30PM TUESDAY 23 MAY, 6.30PM THURSDAY 25 MAY, 11.30AM SATURDAY 27 MAY, 2PM

MUSIC WORKSHOP, SYDNEY CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC Sydney Conservatorium of Music Opera School presents

LA CALISTO CHARACTERS (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE) Francesco Cavalli (1602–1676) NATURE (LA NATURA) (SOPRANO) Transcendent mystical woman of power, Opera in three acts controlling all mortal lives Libretto by Giovanni Faustini ETERNITY (ETERNITÀ) / FURY (FURIA) Sung in Italian with English surtitles (SOPRANO) Transcendent mystical woman Pitch: A = 440 Herz of power, controlling all mortal lives Temperament: 1/4 comma meantone DESTINY (IL DESTINO) / FURY (FURIA) Approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes, (MEZZO SOPRANO) Transcendent mystical with one interval of 20 minutes woman of power, controlling all mortal lives Director JUPITER (GIOVE)/JUPITER AS DIANA Elsie Edgerton-Till (BARITONE) Smooth talking good time Music Director guy and god of the heavens and of all Professor Neal Peres Da Costa humankind Set and Costume Designer MERCURY (MERCURIO) (BARITONE) Isabella Andronos Jupiter’s wingman and god of trickery Lighting Designer Christopher Page CALISTO (SOPRANO) A young woman and follower of Diana ENDYMION (ENDIMIONE) (MEZZO SOPRANO) A young man of humble origins Warning - this production contains DIANA (MEZZO SOPRANO) A powerful, adult themes. independent woman and goddess of the hunt

LINFEA (COUNTER TENOR) A playful woman and follower of Diana Stay tuned with What’s on at the Con YOUNG SATYR (SATIRINO) (SOPRANO) by signing up to A young faun and follower of Pan our eNewsletter here: PAN (PANE) (TENOR) Lust-sick leader of music.sydney.edu.au/enews the pack and god of the fauns SILVANUS (SILVANO) (BASS) A world weary faun and wingman to Pan JUNO (GIUNONE) The long-suffering wife of Jupiter and matriarchal goddess of the heavens and of all humankind FEMALE CHORUS Young women and Cover image Isabella Andronos followers of Diana

2 MALE CHORUS Young men and followers of Pan Synopsis

Prologue to check up on her husband – she knows Giving a preview of the opera’s ending, him well, and knows that he is a serial Destiny, Eternity and Nature decide that philanderer. She comes across Calisto Calisto deserves a place with them in the who innocently tells her that she has been heavens. intimate with Diana. But Juno is suspicious and believes that this may have been one Act 1 of her husband’s tricks; this is confirmed Jupiter (Giove), king of the gods, comes when ‘Diana’ arrives with Mercury, looking down to earth to restore order after a for Calisto. To complicate things, Endymion war. He sees the nymph Calisto looking arrives and starts to woo ‘Diana’ – not for drinking water and is struck by her surprisingly, as this is really Jupiter, he beauty. Jupiter replenishes a spring to doesn’t get far. Now the satyrs know Diana’s impress Calisto, but as she is a follower of secret admirer and they action their plan to the goddess Diana, sworn to chastity, so deal with him. They capture Endymion and his amorous advances are firmly rejected. mistreat him, mocking his true love in favour Mercury, Jupiter’s son and right-hand man, of their more earthy and uncomplicated suggests that he should take on the form of lust. Even Diana’s chaste companion Linfea Diana and press his suit again. Calisto is very seems ready to get some action. happy to receive ‘Diana’s’ affection. Act 3 The real Diana appears with Lynfea and her Juno and three of her Furies from the followers. The young man Endymion is in underworld confront Calisto. Juno curses love with Diana and tells her his feelings; she Calisto and turns her into a bear. Jupiter feels much the same, but feigns disinterest. admits that he loves Calisto, but can’t do Calisto turns up and joins the party, elated anything about Juno’s curse. The real Diana from her recent encounter, and tells the remains the object of many desires and real Diana how much she enjoyed their lusts. She and Endymion have fallen in love, caresses. Diana doesn’t understand; she is but the satyr Pane still wants her. Eventually, shocked at what she hears and banishes Pane and his boys decide that he has no Calisto. Linfea has her own encounter chance and leave in disgust. Jupiter, as king with the advances of the lusty young faun of the gods, allows Calisto a brief time on Satirino. Pane, a satyr, also lusts after Diana Earth wandering the woods as a bear. but has an idea that she is interested in someone else. Sylvano, god of the woods, The opera ends with him taking her up and his satyr friends – half human half into the heavens and turning her into the animal – concoct a plan to remove Diana’s constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. lover, though who this might be they don’t She is still there now! yet know. Act 2 Endymion looks up at the moon (Diana is the goddess of the moon) and falls asleep to beautiful dreams. Diana just can’t help herself. She gives him a kiss, and he wakes happily and continues the embrace. Neither of them notices that Satirino is spying on them. Juno (Giunone) descends to earth 3 Director and Designer’s Note

True love and unbridled lust. These two heterosexuality with the bride in immutable human experiences sit at the virginal white, the groom in a suit, heart of the narrative of La Calisto. bridesmaids and groomsmen. ‘Male’ Calisto, the virgin follower of Diana, is and ‘female’ groups have been created an object of desire. After refusing the through costuming. Combined with the advances of Giove, she is tricked into a singers performing travesty roles, the sexual encounter with the man who lusted performative binaries of gender and after her. sexuality that exist in a contemporary wedding are playfully questioned. Diana, the fiercely independent goddess of the hunt, swears she and the young The myths on which La Calisto is based virgin women who follow her have no need are populated with many well known for a man. Teased and taunted for her Greek and Roman gods. These gods have convictions by the men who lust after her, imperfections and jealousies; they are Diana’s world is turned upside down when lustful and succumb to emotion. It is she falls head over heels in love. And in a these amplified human characteristics true meeting of souls, the young man loves that this production embraces. Here, her back. the gods are guests at the wedding reception, distinguished in status This is the point of departure for this through their entrances and their regal epic opera’s narrative. Based loosely on attire. two Greek myths, Giovanni Faustini’s libretto is a titillating interpretation of The world of the opera is rooted in reality the seduction of Calisto and Diana’s and with a touch of old world magic. The adventure with Endymione. set echoes the period when the opera was written and performed. It evokes La Calisto explores love and lust an ancient, majestic space with deep exclusively through a masculine, hetero- blue ceilings with painted gold stars. In normative gaze. To honour the delightful the opera’s prologue, the three Fates comedy and frivolity of the score and promise the audience that tonight we libretto, we felt it was important to will witness Calisto’s ascent to the stars. shift the implicit power imbalance: the By the epilogue of the opera, Calisto has women need to be more than objects become the constellation Ursa Major. of desire; love and lust need to exist This is a story these women, who have outside a heterosexual paradigm. In seen all, have told before. Tonight they keeping with the baroque precedent of are singing it for you. male singers taking female roles, we have cast a number of roles cross-gender. As We would like to thank the Sydney we still hear the gender of each singer Conservatorium of Music Opera Division performing the role, the comedy of the and the Early Music Ensemble. Our opera is revealed. special thanks to our wonderful cast, production team and creative team for This production of the opera is set at a bringing this world and music to life. modern wedding reception venue. The wedding in contemporary Australian Elsie Edgerton-Till and Isabella Andronos society remains, for the most part, a celebration of gender binaries and

4 Music Director’s Note

It is splendid and extremely rewarding to for the first time for a Conservatorium bring the talented students of the Opera student), the cornetto – the instrument and Vocal, Historical Performance and that was much favoured during the Orchestral Studies Divisions together Renaissance and early Baroque eras. For to work on Cavalli’s opera La Calisto. some students, this will be their first time I am grateful to Dr Stephen Mould for playing on these instruments – a great his unstinting dedication to preparing introduction which will give them more this work with the singers and for the choice in future career paths. incredible work of the vocal teachers and In forming our interpretation of La coaches. Working with Elsie Edgerton-Till Calisto, we have had to come to grips is also a complete delight – her staging with a style that, while pushing forward, ideas are inspirational. retains (at least in its notation) vestiges of La Calisto has given us all a rich and rare late-Renaissance practice. In particular, opportunity to immerse ourselves in the we have experimented with ideas of intriguing world of mid seventeenth- keeping regular the large-scale beat (the century Italian (Venetian) opera. This was tactus), and we have had to decipher a a time in Western art music performance multiplicity of time signatures that look when the meaning of words and clarity backwards rather than forwards. For of delivery and pronunciation were of information about this I have consulted paramount importance. The text and experts from around the world. story was all; to be delivered in the style Ornamentation, phrasing (based on word of a master orator. Interestingly, during stress rather than line), and instrumental this era all well-educated musicians colour from the basso continuo team are received in-depth training in oration and among other important considerations rhetorical delivery. This style of delivery that have gone into bringing this amazing receded sometime through the second and colourful opera to life. half of the 19th century or later but is We hope you enjoy it. essential for this early form of opera. Professor Neal Peres Da Costa, So, our vocal students have really been Program Leader, Postgraduate Research coming to terms with this and expanding and Professor of Historical Performance their palate of expressive means. To support them, our orchestral players (on period instruments) in the Early Music Ensemble have been learning about seventeenth-century performance style. It is exciting for us to have not only the complement of bowed string instruments (violins, violas, cellos, viola da gamba and violone), but also a range of plucked strings (theorboes – lutes with long giraffe-like necks, guitar, harpsichords), organ and the not-so-often-heard precursor to the bassoon – the bass dulcian. Added to this, is our recorder playing team and of special interest (and 5 Artistic Director of Con Opera’s Note

In 1651, an opera, La Calisto was performed to modern audiences a reflection of the in Venice on 11 occasions, thereafter society that existed in the liberal fabric of remaining silent until the early 1970s, Venice that in many ways mirrors our own. when the score was rediscovered and In recreating a work nearly 400 years old, its performance history effectively re- we have been fortunate for the inspiration, started. The death of the impresario (who enthusiasm and encyclopaedic knowledge was also the librettist) during those initial of Professor Neal Peres Da Costa, who performances was probably a factor in La has worked tirelessly with our cast, and Calisto not becoming as widely performed who leads this performance authentically as other Cavalli operas of the period. Most from the harpsichord with his Early Music operas of this period shared a similar Ensemble. We are very grateful to Neal for fate of being forgotten until the twentieth his leadership and patience in demystifying century interest in works of the past, this work for us. I am delighted to welcome along with the decline in the composition back to the Conservatorium Elsie Edgerton- of new operas, caused such works to Till, who follows her poignant staging of be rediscovered in the dusty shelves of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen with another, neglected libraries. more challenging Baroque work. Elsie has Since then, La Calisto has emerged as a helped us to realise that love and lust have major opera by the standards of any era, traversed the centuries unchanged, and that a genuine lost masterpiece that rivals the human passions and dilemmas that ignite other works by its composer, Francesco this work are as alive today as they were Cavalli, as well as his more visible teacher, over four centuries ago. We are grateful to Claudio Monteverdi. The poetry of librettist Elsie and her extraordinary team for taking Giovanni Faustini, (one of the earliest our students (and hence our audience) on opera librettists) along with the melodic this brave journey that has not been without and declamatory gifts of Cavalli, combined moments of rawness and revelation. with an unexpected, tantalisingly dissonant I hope that you will enjoy this production and frequently plangent harmonic palette, of one of the masterpieces of the have produced a work that retains a clear seventeenth century. appeal to modern sensibilities, as complex infatuations, liaisons and betrayals are Dr Stephen Mould, Senior Lecturer in portrayed and explored with a frankness, Conducting and Opera Studies humour and suggestiveness that reveals

6 Costume design by Isabella Andronos Biographies

Elsie Edgerton-Till Professor Neal Peres Da Costa Director Music Director

Elsie Edgerton-Till’s extensive theatre A graduate of the University of Sydney, experience includes directing engagements the Guildhall School of Music and Drama for Sydney Conservatorium of Music, New (London), the City University (London) Zealand Playhouse, The Ensemble Theatre, and the University of Leeds (UK), Neal National Institute of Dramatic Arts, The Peres Da Costa is a renowned performing Court Theatre, World Busker’s Festival, The scholar and educator. He is Professor of Forge and the New Theatre. As assistant Historical Performance within the Historical director she has worked for Sydney Theatre Performance Division and Program Leader Company, Opera Australia, Melbourne of Postgraduate Research at the SCM. His Theatre Company, Auckland Theatre monograph Off the Record: Performing Company and Sydney Chamber Opera. She Practices in Romantic Piano Playing (New is a 2017 Glorias Fellowship recipient. York: Oxford University Press, 2012) and Bärenreiter Urtext performing edition of Recent directing credits include The Fairy Brahms chamber sonatas have received Queen [Sydney Conservatorium of Music], critical acclaim. Neal has recently received a national tour of Phone A Friend [New prestigious Australian Research Council Zealand Playhouse], Moira MacKenzie’s (ARC) funding for a three-year Discovery Wheel of Fortune [The World Busker’s Project (2017-19) for performance research Festival], Boys, Rausch, The Red Shoes in 19th-century piano playing. [National Institute of Dramatic Arts], Book of Days [The New Theatre], The Great Piratical Neal regularly performs with Australia’s Rumbustification, Antarctic Adventure, leading ensembles including the Australian Goldilocks, The Elves and the Shoemaker Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Symphony [The Court Theatre], A Midsummer Night’s Orchestra, Pinchgut Opera, the Song Dream [The Canterbury Young Shakespeare Company, the Australian Haydn Ensemble Company], Punk Rock [International Screen and Ironwood. With Ironwood, Neal Academy]. In her time spent working in undertakes cutting-edge creative research professional theatre as an actor, Elsie that has led to performances and recordings has appeared widely in productions of of late-Romantic chamber repertoire in new New Zealand works, contemporary period style. Winner of the 2008 Fine Arts comedy, musicals and classics. Performance ARIA for Best Classical Recording for Bach’s highlights include The Seagull, Under Milk Sonatas for violin and obbligato harpsichord Wood, Cabaret, The Female of the Species , (ABC Classics, 2007) with Richard Tognetti The Country Wife [The Court Theatre], POE and Daniel Yeadon, Neal’s discography [The Forge], A Midsummer Night’s Dream includes: Bach’s Complete Sonatas for Viola [The Christchurch Arts Festival]. For many Da Gamba and Harpsichord with Daniel years she was a member of The Court Yeadon (ABC Classics, 2009), The Baroque Theatre’s ‘Court Jesters’, the longest running Trombone with Christian Lindberg and the professional improvisational theatre troupe ACO (BIS, 2009); The Galant Bassoon with in Australasia. Matthew Wilke and Kees Boersma (Melba, www.elsieedgerton-till.com 2009); Baroque Duets (Vexations 840, 2011) which he directed with Fiona Campbell, David Walker and Ironwood; Music for a While with Ironwood and Miriam Allan (2012); 3 with Genevieve Lacey and Daniel

7 Yeadon (ABC Classics, 2012); Mozart: Stolen recipient of the William Fletcher Foundation Beauties with Anneke Scott and Ironwood Tertiary Grant in 2014, and was selected to (ABC Classics, 2015) and most recently exhibit in World Stage Design 2017 in Taipei. Brahms: Tones of Romantic Extravagance Isabella has also worked as a swing dresser (ABC Classics, 2016). He has also recorded on Matilda: The Musical (HOD: Sue Lyons, extensively on the Channel Classics label Sydney Lyric Theatre) for Miss Honey/Mrs. with Florilegium, the British ensemble which Wormwood, the child cast and the female he co-founded in 1991 and of which he was a ensemble. She also had the great fortune of member for 10 years. collaborating with director Agnes Baginska music.sydney.edu.au/people/professor- on a miniature for her filmLast Tree Standing, neal-peres-da-costa which was created as part of the MA in Film David Lynch Scholarship. The film was Isabella Andronos selected to premiere at Festival de Cannes. Set and Costume Designer www.isabellaandronos.com Isabella Andronos is a set and costume Christopher Page designer who works across theatre, film and Lighting Designer opera. She holds a Bachelor of Dramatic Arts (Design) from the National Institute of Christopher is a creator of worlds and has Dramatic Arts and a Bachelor of Visual Arts crafted unique lighting environments for (Honours: Class I) from Sydney College of a diverse range of shows. Recent credits the Arts. Isabella has been nominated for include: Odd Man Out, Betrayal, A History four Australian Production Design Guild of Falling Things, The Good Doctor, Blue/ (APDG) awards. Winner: APDG Award for Orange and video design on E-Baby Emerging Live Performance Design 2014, Set (Ensemble Theatre); A Life In The Theatre, The Design: The Greeks (Dir. John Sheedy, NIDA). Man With Five Children and Ride/Fourplay Nominations: APDG Award for Emerging Live (Darlinghurst Theatre); BU21, 4:12 (Outhouse Performance Design 2014, Set and Costume Theatre); Journey’s End (ATYP Cameo’s); Design: Fewer Emergencies (Dir. Susanna Defying Gravity, Blood Brothers, Do You Hear Dowling, NIDA), APDG Award for Costume The People Sing? (Enda Markey Presents); Design for Stage 2015: A Midsummer Night’s Lighten Up, The Witches, Five Properties of Dream (Dir. Susanna Dowling, Sport For Jove) Chainmale (Griffin Theatre);Between the and Blood Wedding (Dir. Kristine Landon- Streetlight and the Moon, House of Ramon Smith, NIDA). Iglesia, Platonov (Mop Head); Black Jesus, His Mother’s Voice, Great Expectations Her set and costume design credits (Bakehouse Theatre); The Dark Room, include: Il Tabarro (Opera, Dir. Constantine Windmill Baby, As You Like It (Belvoir) and Costi, Alfie’s Newtown), The Fairy Queen Truck Stop (Q Theatre). (Opera, Dir. Elsie Edgerton-Till, The Sydney Conservatorium of Music), The Screwtape Chris’ site-specific work include: Ancient Letters (Theatre, Dir. Hailey McQueen, Clock Lives (Powerhouse Museum), El Anatsui and Spiel Productions), This, This Is Mine (Carriageworks); Action Stations (National (Theatre, Dir. Duncan Ragg, Corinthian Food Maritime Museum); Becalmed Heart, Met Store Collective), Rausch (Theatre, Dir. Elsie You in a City That Isn’t on a Map (Underbelly Edgerton-Till, NIDA), The Greenhouse (Feature Arts Festival); Mangroves (Kate Richards film, Dir. Tom Wilson),Green River I and II and UNSW) and Parramasala Festival 2012 (Short Films, Dir. Nick Andrews) and Stranger (Parramatta City Council). (Short Film, Dir. Peter Skinner). Isabella was a www.cpagedesign.com.au 8 Production Credits Acknowledgments

Director Thank you to: Opera Australia, ERTH Elsie Edgerton-Till – Visual and Physical Incorporated, Music Director Stephanie Troost, Georgia Eliza Professor Neal Peres Da Costa Melville, Stella Hannock, Nathan Bryon, Christopher Vasilescu, Fabia Andronos, Production Manager Marrianne Carter Melissa Laird, Perry Andronos, Peter Set and Costume Designer Cozens, David Parissi-Smyth, Jessica Isabella Andronos Allison, Emmeline Dulhunty, Panetonia Bichon Jeseptua, Ellen McNeil, Jarrad Lighting Designer Christopher Page Salmon, Dr David Kim-Boyle and Guy Costume Supervisor Caitlyn Elliott McEwan. Choreographer Kylie Bonaccorso Special thanks to Carey Beebe for the Stage Manager Olivia Benson generous loan of the Zuckerman Italian harpsichord after Grimaldi. Assistant Conductors TaeSoo Kim, Luis Fernando Madrid Assistant Director Clemence Williams Repetiteurs Julia de Plater, Josephine Flores Tam, Jasmine Wei Italian Language Coach Tanith Bryce Production Assistants Cassidy Lobb, Jack Ayoub Surtitle Operation TaeSoo Kim Score and Music Preparation Stephen Yates Hair and Make-up Rachel Dal Santo Lighting Programer Matthew Tweedle Lighting Board Operator Geoffrey Bellingham Carpenters and Staging Technicians Alex Pringle, Anthony Arnold, Rhys Robinson, Anthony Danaro Orchestral Management Scott Ryan, Tom Westley Publicity Jacqui Smith, Aaron Cornelius Production Photography Patrick Boland The Fairy Queen - Con Opera, 2016 9 Vocal and Opera Studies Division

Artistic Director, Con Opera Opera Language and Diction Dr Stephen Mould Tanith Bryce (Italian) [email protected] Anke Hoeppner (German) Simon Lobelson (French) Unit of Study Coordinator, Voice and Opera Dance and Movement Dr Rowena Cowley Olivia Ansell [email protected] Jo Ansell Unit of Study Coordinator, Stage Stagecraft Dr Narelle Yeo Dr Narelle Yeo [email protected] Acting Unit of Study Coordinator, Paige Gardiner

Language and Diction Theatre Studies Anke Hoeppner Simon Lobelson [email protected] Andy Morton Opera Coordinator Ensemble Marrianne Carter Dr Stephen Mould Voice and Opera Performance Julia de Plater Dr Rowena Cowley Opera Performance Class Andrew Dalton Barry Ryan OAM Associate Professor Michael Halliwell Anke Hoeppner-Ryan Opera History Maree Ryan AM Associate Professor Michael Halliwell Barry Ryan OAM music.sydney.edu.au/opera Robyn Wells Stephen Yalouris Dr Narelle Yeo Opera Coaching Dr Stephen Mould Siro Battaglin Julia de Plater Kate Johnson Ingrid Sakurovs Robert Andrew Greene Alan Hicks

Early Music Ensemble The Fairy Queen - Con Opera, 2016 10 Cast (in order of appearance)

Juno and Nature Female Chorus Cello (soprano) Sophie Funston Aimee O’Neill Soprano 1 Yosiah Oshiro Meredith Cheng Eternity and Fury 1 Katherine Allen Viola Da Gamba (soprano) Anna Reid Esther Song Soprano 2 Daniel Yeadon (tutor) Madeleine O’Dea Destiny and Fury 2 Victoria Bromberger Violone (mezzo soprano) Serena Lim Victoria Hodgkinson Male Chorus Dulcian Jupiter/Jupiter as Diana Tenor Hamish Spicer (baritone) Nathan Bryon Tristan Entwistle * Alexander Young Cornetto Allen Qi ‡ Lachlan Mahoney Baritone Mercury (baritone) Gabriel Hole Recorder Jeremy Dubé Brendan Zlatkis Aimee Brown Isabelle Palmer * Performing 20 and 25 May Calisto (soprano) ‡ Performing 23 and 27 May Peter Petocz Samanta Lestavel * Ashlee Woodgate ‡ Theorbo Dean Gray Endymion Early Music Daniel Morris (mezzo soprano) Rebecca Hart Ensemble Guitar Professor Neal Peres George Wills Diana (mezzo soprano) Da Costa, Director Viktoria Bolonina * Harpsichord Jia Yao Sun ‡ Violin Nathan Cox James Tarbotton (leader) Jasmine Wei Linfea (countertenor) Cameron Chan Neal Peres Da Costa (Tutor) Robert Adam Joshua Kok Calvin Leung Special thanks to tutors Young Satyr (soprano) Tania Ma Daniel Yeadon, Nicole Sitong Liu Kathryn Parker Forsyth and Matthew Holly Smith Manchester, and to Nathan Pan (tenor) Cox for preparation and Joshua Oxley Viola tuning of the chamber organ Dana Lee and harpsichords. Silvanus (bass) Samuel Lord Vincent Farrell Eunice Wong Nicole Forsyth (tutor)

11 JOIN THE FAST TRACK TO THE OPERATIC STAGE AT THE SYDNEY CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC

Specialist Opera Training Sydney Conservatorium of Music has a long tradition of producing opera productions of exceptional quality, which have been an important stepping stone into the operatic profession for a large number of graduates who have gone on to become leading singers, conductors, coaches and opera administrators. Professional Preparation and Partnerships The Vocal and Opera Division and Con Opera offer the only specialist opera training courses in Australia for singers and repetiteurs. Our degrees are: • Graduate Diploma in Music (Opera Performance) (one year) • Master of Music Studies (Opera Performance) (two years). Both courses emphasise the practice of opera performance to a professional standard to prepare for a career in opera in Australia and internationally. Partnerships with major institutions, such as Opera Australia, provide invaluable contact with industry and opportunities to connect with the international opera community. Core Operatic Skills Both courses concentrate on core operatic skills in singing, languages, role preparation and repertoire, stagecraft, acting, dance, ensemble and opera history. Con Opera Con Opera, our opera studio, presents two fully-staged operas with orchestra each year, and features the work of up and coming directors. These are ideal opportunities for students to immerse themselves in all aspects of the craft of staging an opera, and to acquire experience singing entire character roles. In Semester 2, 2017, Con Opera will present a fully staged production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) sung in German.

The Fairy Queen - Con Opera, 2016

Auditions and Further Information Early round auditions will be held in September 2017 (later round audition will be held in November 2017) for entry in 2018. For more information about our opera and vocal studies programs, please visit:

music.sydney.edu.au/opera