It was announced this week that the widely praised international opera Hamlet is to have its Australian premiere at the Adelaide Festival in March 2018. Little old Adelaide will play host to the acclaimed production for three nights to kick off the beginning of the festival.
Adelaidians were already treated to a large-scale international opera earlier this year, with Barry Kosky’s Saul opening the Adelaide Festival amid much hype. The production was a win for The Festival State, with 40% of Saul ticket sales going to international or interstate visitors. The festivals’ joint artistic directors, Neil Armfield and Rachel Healy, were delighted to announce that Hamlet’s Australian premiere would be transpiring at their festival in 2018.
“It’s thrilling,” Healy affirmed, “To know that despite the clamouring of other international opera houses around the world, that Adelaide has secured it’s next international engagement, and that fellow Australians are able to see the work of their countrymen here on home turf.”
Healy’s co-artistic director Neil Armfield is directing the opera, and is pleased to feature an array of local and international talents. Armfield declared Hamlet: “One of my most wonderful experiences professionally, in over 30 years of directing.”
“[Hamlet] came to life in a way that it never has before. It completely came together into a thrilling whole,” he said on Thursday, before showing a short video that showcased the magnificent score and gripping drama that Adelaidians can experience in March.
Brett Dean’s Hamlet will be shown on March 2nd, 4th, and 6th at the Festival Theatre, and is composed by Nicholas Carter of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. The opera is exclusive to Adelaide and will feature a number of Australian talents, including set designer Ralph Myers and costume designer Alice Babidge, as well as Australian sopranos Cheryl Barker playing Gertrude and Lorina Gore playing Ophelia.
The event is expected to sell out quickly, so be quick to secure your tickets! Tickets go on sale to the general public on August 31 2018, 9am.
Images: Liberty Petersen, Richard Hubert Smith
