Victorian Opera
Victorian Opera — Melbourne’s contemporary opera company
Victorian Opera is the principal Melbourne-based opera company alongside Opera Australia’s Melbourne season. Founded in 2005 as a state-supported alternative to Opera Australia’s Melbourne mainstage, Victorian Opera has built its identity around contemporary opera commissioning, smaller-scale and chamber-format opera, the Italian and French Romantic repertoire that suits the Palais Theatre’s mid-scale capacity, and a substantial education and emerging-artist programme. Orchestra Victoria is the resident pit orchestra. The artistic director since 2024 is Stuart Maunder.
The company’s signature programme has been the contemporary Australian opera commissions — recent commissions have included Iain Grandage’s The Riders, the new operatic version of Lorelei, and the regular collaborations with the Australian Music Centre’s commissioning programme. The company also produces selected mainstream Italian repertoire (Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti) at the Palais Theatre or the Arts Centre Melbourne State Theatre.
Home venues
- Palais Theatre, St Kilda — the principal mid-scale mainstage.
- Arts Centre Melbourne — State Theatre and Playhouse — used for selected larger-scale productions.
How to book
Subscriptions open in mid-September; single tickets follow in late October. The contemporary opera commissions tend to sell more slowly than the canonical repertoire — for the marquee Italian or French Romantic productions, book within four weeks of single-ticket release.
Pair a Victorian Opera evening at the Palais Theatre with a meal in St Kilda — the Acland Street and Fitzroy Street restaurant precinct is two minutes’ walk from the theatre.
Useful links
- Official: victorianopera.com.au
- Where we cover them: Companies, Reviews