Puccini | Directed by Graeme Murphy | Conducted by Renato Palumbo and Leonardo Sini        

January 12 – March 14, 2022 | Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House

Starring | Lise Lindstrom | Yonghoon Lee | Karah Son | Anna-Louise Cole | Ivan Gyngazov | Mariana Hong

After months of live music deprivation, audiences are invited to experience the power of opera's most famous aria in Puccini's Turandot when it returns to the Sydney Opera House on January 12, 2022.

Achieving pop status when Luciano Pavarotti's “Vincerò” made 73,603 people at the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final hold their breath, 'Nessun dorma' ends with the statement “I will win” – a fitting mantra for the arts industry after its recent decimation, guaranteed to evoke goosebumps and tears in the Joan Sutherland Theatre.

Singing the aria will be celebrated South Korean tenor Yonghoon Lee who will perform “a superb Calàf, his stentorian delivery producing decibels that belie his slim frame”, while stellar American soprano Lise Lindstrom returns to demonstrate how she made a name for herself in the title role, bringing her “commanding voice and an equally commanding presence,” (Limelight).

OA Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini is pleased to announce that rising star Australian soprano Anna-Louise Cole will share the title role. “Anna-Louise has been a member of our Young Artist Program and is ready to tackle these big roles. It is really exciting that she will make her role debut as Turandot so audiences in Sydney can hear what her voice can really do.”

Also sharing the lead roles will be Russian tenor Ivan Gyngazov making his Opera Australia debut as Calàf while South Korean sopranos Karah Son and Mariana Hong will share the part of Liù.

The exceptional Italian maestro Renato Palumbo returns to Australia to lead the Opera Australia Orchestra, Chorus and Children's Chorus through Puccini's intensely moving score. Sharing the baton is Italian Leonardo Sini, known as one of the most promising conductors of his generation.

A fantasy opera of poetry and myth, Turandot transports audiences to an exotic world where fear and love go hand in hand. Viewers will be on the edge of their seats as suitors answer riddles at the risk of death in an attempt to win the hand of the ice princess of opera.

Since its premiere in 1990, director Graeme Murphy's daring production quickly became renowned as one of the ultimate classics in the Opera Australia repertoire that has since stood the test of time. “Murphy's version of this iconic opera should remain in the catalogue as it is an excellent example of homegrown ability to stage world-class versions of much-loved classics,” (Daily Telegraph).

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

Janet Glover | Communications Manager | +61 412 601 816 | janet.glover@opera.org.au

Christy Seddon | Publicist | +61 411 675 490 | christy.seddon@opera.org.au