Co-Opera

Gounod's Faust
2026-05-27 18:00 - 22:00 (Australia/Adelaide) | Centenary Hall Goolwa, 14 Cadell St, Goolwa, South Australia, 5214, Australia
Charles Gounod: Faust
With its irresistible stream of melodies, Gounod’s Faust has long been a favourite in the international world of opera. Like Carmen, it began life as an Opera Comique with dialogue interspersed with musical numbers and, also like Carmen, was only transformed into “Grand Opera” with sung recitatives in order to satisfy the demands of Paris Opera House.
We plan a flirtation with Faust’s treatment in different countries in its “formative” years, including Valentin’s aria which was only composed (in English) for the Covent Garden premiere and later translated into French for the Paris Opera House season.
Bookings

Gounod's Faust
2026-05-29 18:00 - 22:00 | Willunga Festival Hall, Main Road, Willunga, SA, 5172, Australia
Charles Gounod: Faust.
With its irresistible stream of melodies, Gounod’s Faust has long been a favourite in the international world of opera. Like Carmen, it began life as an Opera Comique with dialogue interspersed with musical numbers and, also like Carmen, was only transformed into “Grand Opera” with sung recitatives in order to satisfy the demands of Paris Opera House.
We plan a flirtation with Faust’s treatment in different countries in its “formative” years, including Valentin’s aria which was only composed (in English) for the Covent Garden premiere and later translated into French for the Paris Opera House season.
Bookings

Gounod's Faust
2026-05-30 18:00 - 22:00 | Holdfast Bay Community Centre, 51 King George Ave, Hove, South Australia, 5048, Australia

Gounod's Faust
2026-05-31 18:00 - 22:00 | Osborne Community Hall, 539 Victoria Rd, Osborne, South Australia, 5017, Australia

An American Double Bill
2026-07-02 19:30 - 21:30, 2026-07-03 19:30 - 21:30, 2026-07-04 19:30 - 21:30, 2026-07-05 19:30 - 21:30 | Ayers House Ballroom, 288 North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia
Samuel Barber: A Hand of Bridge.
A Hand of Bridge, composed by Samuel Barber, has a libretto written by Menotti, his life partner. One of the shortest operas to be regularly performed (under ten minutes), introduces two unhappily married couples playing a hand of bridge, during which each character has an arietta in which he or she professes his or her inner desires.

Gian Carlo Menotti: The Medium

The second of these operas is Menotti’s The Medium. Premiering in 1946, The Medium tells the story of Madame Flora who, with the help of her daughter Monica and Toby, a mute servant, tries to cheat her clients through faked seances. She is touched herself by a hand during one of them, an occurrence she cannot explain, and which drives her to insanity and murder. The ballroom of Ayers House provides the perfect ‘drawing room’ atmosphere needed for these intimate works. Run time – approx. 1 ½ hours, including a 20 minute interval.

Bookings

Der Freischütz
2026-10-14 18:00 - 22:00 | Centenary Hall Goolwa, 14 Cadell St, Goolwa, South Australia, 5214, Australia
Carl Maria von Weber: Der Freischütz.
This seminal work stylistically bridges the period between Beethoven’s Fidelio and Wagner’s first success, Rienzi, and is widely regarded as the first German Romantic opera. Weber’s Der Freischütz draws deeply on German folklore and folk music, while also offering moments of striking lyricism and theatrical grandeur. True to its folk origins, the opera unfolds as a dark and atmospheric tale of a young forester who, unknowingly, enters into a pact with the Devil in a desperate attempt to win a shooting contest, the final trial required to earn his beloved’s hand in marriage. Beneath the supernatural drama lie enduring themes of fate and free will, temptation and moral weakness, and the tension between the natural and supernatural, all set against the brooding landscape of the German forest.

Der Freischütz
2026-10-16 18:00 - 22:00 | Willunga Festival Hall, Main Road, Willunga, SA, 5172, Australia

Der Freischütz
2026-10-18 18:00 - 22:00 | Osborne Community Hall, 539 Victoria Rd, Osborne, South Australia, 5017, Australia

Der Freischütz
2026-10-30 18:00 - 22:00 | Echunga Memorial Hall, 23 Adelaide Rd, Echunga, South Australia, 5153, Australia

Der Freischütz
2026-10-31 18:00 - 22:00 | Observatory 23, 23 Hackney Road, Hackney, South Australia, 5069, Australia

Der Freischütz - Matinee
2026-11-01 15:00 - 19:00 | Observatory 23, 23 Hackney Road, Hackney, South Australia, 5069, Australia
