Cirrus@Austlit

'Have you ever heard a lyrebird’s call? You may have, but mistaken it for something else – these ornate birds are expert copycats, mimicking all sorts from kookaburras to camera shutters.

'In this family-friendly opera, one trickster lyrebird goes a step too far and gets in trouble with their friends in the flock. The other birds banish the lyrebird and curse them: never again will the lyrebird be able to use their own voice. From now on, it’s mimicry only.

'Alone in the bush, the lyrebird meets a quirky assortment of Australian animals, where they discover the power of being different. With performances in the outer suburban ring of Melbourne, audiences will meet beetles, a wombat, a kangaroo, a ringtail possum, a jittery emu, all manner of native birds, and a cunning cat.'

Source: Victorian Opera.

'In this dappled landscape lurks both beauty and wonder. The score is mysterious and colourful, with moments of dramatic intensity and hushed beauty. The libretto by Meredith Oakes is poetic and spare.

'Eucalyptus is an ageless story of love and longing, about a daughter and a father – Ellen and Holland. Ellen’s overprotective father has created a safe haven from the world – a forest of eucalypts. But is the forest a sanctuary? Or is Ellen, like Rapunzel, imprisoned? Ellen encounters a Stranger amongst her father’s trees – a storyteller with enchanting tales of far-away lands…'

Source: Victorian Opera.