Melbourne Opera

Melbourne-born tenor Joshua Erdelyi-Götz joins the Il Trovatore cast as Ruiz. A graduate of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, Joshua's path to the tenor repertoire is one of the more compelling stories in Australian opera — he trained originally as a baritone before making the transition, and has since performed principal and ensemble roles with Melbourne Opera across Maria Stuarda, Samson et Dalila, and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. A previous member of Melbourne Opera's Richard Divall Program, he is exactly the kind of artist this company exists to champion.

Il Trovatore | 23, 26, 28 and 30 August | Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne

Tickets at ticketmaster.com.au

From the Royal Opera House Covent Garden to Welsh National Opera under Carlo Rizzi, from the Wiener Volksoper to seasons across Europe, the USA, and South America. Steven Gallop has built one of the most impressive international careers of any Australian bass working today.

Melbourne Opera audiences will know him as a defining voice in the company’s Ring Cycle, his Hagen in Götterdämmerung drew praise from Classic Melbourne as “thrilling in its immense power,” while Arts Hub wrote that his voice was “as commanding as his physicality” and Australian Arts Review called it “brilliant casting.” He returned to the company most recently for Pogner in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in 2025.

This August, Steven joins the cast of Il Trovatore as Ferrando. We are very glad to have him back.

Il Trovatore | 23, 26, 28 and 30 August | Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne

Tickets at ticketmaster.com.au

Matthew Barclay brings something most opera directors don't, a career built equally on the body and the score. His work is described as bringing "physical storytelling, musical intelligence and clear dramatic architecture" to everything he touches, and the reviews bear that out.

His Night Songs on Coney Island for Sydney Festival was called "exquisite," "magical," and "a brilliant conception, in situ, and multiform, like none other" by Sydney Arts Review. His Chorus!, devised for Opera Australia's world-renowned chorus at the Sydney Opera House, prompted the Sydney Morning Herald to write that the chorus had "seized their own destiny to make their own opera, a narrative of collectivism... talk about a revolution." Limelight called it "a fully-fledged exploration of humanity" and "as demanding physically as it is vocally." His Carmen for Opera Australia toured nationally, with Limelight praising choreography that "swirls and ignites just about every surface" and Australian Arts Review declaring "Opera Australia has hit the jackpot."

We look forward to seeing what Matthew brings to our production of Il Trovatore.

Il Trovatore | 23, 26, 28 and 30 August | Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne
https://www.ticketmaster.com.au/il-trovatore-tickets/artist/943079

Congratulations to Richard Divall Program alumni Rachael Joyce, Amelia Wawrzon, Louis Hurley and Bailey Montgomerie on the opening of The Coronation of Poppea with Victorian Opera. So wonderful to see artists from the Melbourne Opera family continuing to make their mark