RUSALKA
18 - 27 July 2024
His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth
An Opera Conference production.
Composer
Antonín Dvořák
Librettist
Jaroslav Kvapil
Conductor
Christopher van Tuinen
Director
Sarah Giles
Assistant Director
Laura Hansford
Movement Director & Intimacy Coordinator
Lyndall Grant
Set Designer
Charles Davis
Costume Designer
Renée Mulder
Lighting Designer
Paul Jackson
Video Designer & Content Creator
David Bergman
Repetiteur
Tommaso Pollio
Czech Language Coach
Alzbeta Rekosh
Rusalka
Elena Perroni
The Prince
Paul O’Neill
The Water King
Warwick Fyfe
The Duchess
Naomi Johns*
Ježibaba
Ashlyn Tymms
First Wood Sprite Bella Marslen*
Second Wood Sprite
Chelsea Burns
Third Wood Sprite Brigitte Heuser
The Gamekeeper
Stuart Laing
The Kitchenhand
Brianna Louwen
The Hunter / Chorus
Brett Peart
This production is supported by the Artistic Director Circle. *Supported by The Roberts Emerging Artists Program.
West Australian Opera Chorus
West Australian Symphony Orchestra
Production Manager
Mandy Farmer
Stage Manager
Karen Farmer
Deputy Stage Manager
Jacinta Wajon
Assistant Stage Managers
Holly Ballam, Rose Liggins
Head of Wardrobe
Nora Stelter
Wardrobe Assistants
Tricia David, Rose Finlay, Nicole Marrington, Shani Mulheron, Amy Webb
Art Finisher
Cherish Marrington
Dressers
Laura Hill, Kat MacKay, Phoebe Mitchell, Lily Stewart
Head of Wigs
Virginia Vona
Wigs Assistant
Christopher Lyons
Head of Make Up
Sharon Kyrwood
Make up Assistants
Olivia Ellis, Elsa Galvan, Emily Lowry
WAAPA Design Secondment
Elisa Von Perger
Surtitle Operator
Allison Fyfe
Senior Technicians
Aiden Masiee-Taylor, Joshua Tilson, Peter Young
Head Mechanist Ian Studham
Opera Australia
Mechanists
John Mackay, Rob Bristow
Set and Props built by Opera Australia
Additional Props built by Luke Salfinger
Mirror Screen by Showtex
Costumes built by Opera Queensland
Jewellery by Christie Nicolaides
Scenic Art Marek Syzler, Alison Little
Thanks to Stephen Matthews and Black Swan
Production Facility
West Australian Opera acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work, the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation. We pay our respects to Elders past and present. Kalyakoorl, ngalak warangka (forever we sing).
Vice Regal Patron’s Message
The Honourable Chris Dawson AC APM Governor of Western Australia Vice Regal Patron, West Australian Opera
I am proud to be the Vice-Regal Patron of West Australian Opera, one of the State’s leading arts organisations.
It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge this production of Dvořák’s opera, Rusalka, a hidden gem of the opera repertoire.
I hope you enjoy the unique opportunity to discover this new production, which will be seen for the first time in Western Australia. Always a champion of local talent, West Australian Opera has brought together the best singers and instrumentalists to perform this work in His Majesty’s Theatre, which is celebrating its 120th year.
I encourage you to continue to support West Australian Opera, in the presentation of world-class performances, education and community programs, regional tours, and young artist development through the Wesfarmers Arts Young Artist Program and Roberts Emerging Artist Program.
Under the stewardship of Carolyn Chard AM and Christopher van Tuinen, West Australian Opera continues to enrich the performing arts in the State.
Executive Director’s Message
Carolyn Chard AM
Executive Director, West Australian Opera
West Australian Opera is proud to present this new production with our coproduction partners Opera Australia, Opera Queensland and the State Opera South Australia. Dvořák’s Rusalka includes beautiful music, romantic melodies, and a familiar story based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid.
The creative team, including director Sarah Giles, assistant director Laura Hansford, set designer Charles Davis, costume designer Renée Mulder, lighting designer Paul Jackson, movement director and intimacy coordinator Lyndall Grant, video designer and content creator David Bergmann, have woven their magic together to create a beautiful new production which is first seen in Perth, Western Australia in July 2024. Thanks to the workshops in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth who have built the scenery, costumes and props.
The magic is bought to life with the singers, chorus and musicians and we thank conductor Christopher van Tuinen, repetiteur Tommaso Pollio, Czech language coach Alzbeta Rekosh, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, stage management, crew, and backstage teams.
At West Australian Opera, our dream is to speak to the heart through the human voice and to unite people through the joy of music.
The excitement of taking your seats for a performance, the anticipation of the curtain rising, and the drama that is set to unfold on stage makes live performance such a special experience.
Whether this is your first performance with West Australian Opera or a return visit, we hope it is memorable for you and we thank you for supporting West Australian Opera.
Chairman’s Message
Andrew Pascoe Chairman, West Australian Opera
West Australian Opera is grateful for the continued support of the federal government through Creative Australia, the State Government through the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries, and our valued Principal Partner, Wesfarmers Arts. We thank major partners City of Perth, Lotterywest, Healthway, MM Electrical and Data Suppliers, and JCDecaux.
We acknowledge and appreciate the significant contribution of the Roberts Emerging Artist Program which supports developing young talent in WA. We thank all of our partners, patrons, trusts, foundations, donors, and government funders.
The Board, management, company, and artists give thanks to the opera family of supporters and to you, our audience members, who enable us to continue to share the power of music. We acknowledge your support which plays an important role in the life of West Australian Opera and its ecology within the arts and cultural landscape of Western Australia.
Dryads and Nyads, costume designs by Renée Mulder
Conductor’s Notes
Christopher van Tuinen Conductor
In the last years of his life, Dvořák devoted himself almost entirely to composing operas. After several years overseas, he felt this artform would be the best way to promote and celebrate all that he felt about his homeland. He could tell stories from home, in his native Czech, and incorporate musical influences from the local folk traditions.
For his ninth opera he chose the fable of the Rusalka, a mermaid or water nymph, a story which on the face of it looks like a cautionary story about love’s pitfalls. Staged by the national theatre in 1901 it was a massive success at home and, after several decades, became established in the repertoire of opera companies in the West.
While the opera contains all the excellent dramatic tension of supernatural beings, love given at a great price only to be rejected, a descent into purgatory and, finally, a redemptive death, it speaks to me more openly about the questions of “where do I belong?” and “what is the price of leaving behind your true nature in the pursuit of great passion?”.
Rusalka’s great leap during the opera is to find herself without a voice in a foreign land, trusting the fickleness of mankind, possessed of body and soul to be quickly rejected as not belonging. It’s something we can all imagine (if not already known) and an experience which would have been close in Dvořák’s memory. Luckily for us, it inspired some of the greatest music he ever composed, incredibly orchestrated, as nuanced, variable, and embracing as the water of Rusalka’s world.
Director’s Notes
Sarah Giles Director
There is an old Czech tale about a water goblin named Vodník.
Parents would tell their children that if they got too close to the water’s edge, the water goblin Vodník would grab them by their legs and drag them down to the bottom of the lake. Terrified children would stay away from the water’s edge to make sure that Vodník could not reach them and pull them down to their watery death.
Fairytales teach us lessons. Some are designed to scare us into certain behaviours, whether for our own good (like stopping children from drowning) or to make us fit into society’s norms. Other tales are there to inspire us and instil certain values. Some are there to protect us. And depending on who is telling the fairytale and how that fairytale is told you can emit different lessons and fears from the story.
Disney’s The Little Mermaid can be about love conquering all, whereas Hans Christan Andersen’s earlier version (the one without the happy ending) can be about the virtue of putting others’ needs first.
Dreams and nightmares also have their use in imparting lessons and fears. Nightmares are said to help us prepare for the worst, dreams to help us process what we’ve learnt that day and see beyond our limited reality.
Our Rusalka is all three, a dream, a nightmare, a fairytale. Inside her story, there are many lessons: lessons about putting yourself first, lessons about bravery, about pursuing a better life, about making mistakes and trying again, about being different, and about searching for where you fit in and not stopping until you find that place.
Palace Guests, costume designs by Renée Mulder
Synopsis
ACT I
Rusalka, an unhappy water spirit, wants to leave her native waters. She has fallen in love with a Prince and she dreams of a life with him in the sunshine. She begs her father, the Water King, to free her from her watery home and to help make her human so she can live on land with him. Her confession devastates her father. He thinks humans are evil and full of sin, but he sees that Rusalka has made up her mind. He advises her to visit the enchantress of the forest, the wise Ježibaba. Rusalka confides in the moon and calls on the moon to help her.
Rusalka visits the wise enchantress of the forest, Ježibaba, who explains that once human, Rusalka will never be able to return to her native waters, and that should she fail to find love with the Prince she will be damned for eternity, trapped between the worlds. Ježibaba explains that it will not be easy to find this love, because no human will be able to hear a word Rusalka says. Rusalka is determined that she can find love despite having no voice. Ježibaba adds that should Rusalka fail to find and keep this love, her Prince will also be damned for eternity. Rusalka agrees and Ježibaba turns her into a human.
The sound of horns heralds the breaking of dawn and the entrance of the Prince. He is in pursuit of a white doe but feels a mysterious attraction when he comes to the lake. Rusalka comes into sight. The Prince is enchanted and doesn’t know if she is human or a fairy tale. Rusalka is elated to meet her Prince and they leave for his palace. By the lake, the water spirits mourn the loss of Rusalka.
ACT II
It is a week later. The palace is preparing a feast to celebrate the engagement of the Prince and Rusalka. Gossip builds among the servants and the guests, who are deeply suspicious of this foreigner Rusalka; they believe the Prince is still in love with an old flame, the Duchess, and that the relationship between the Prince and Rusalka is already falling apart.
The party is in full swing, but the Prince is distracted with Rusalka. The Duchess comes to reprimand the Prince for ignoring his guests. The Prince apologises and returns to the party with the Duchess – sending Rusalka to go get dressed for the party.
The formal ball is a disaster, and Rusalka runs outside, humiliated and devastated. She finds her father, The Water King, waiting for her. She explains that she cannot make it work with the Prince – her father insists she must try to fix it. Rusalka and the Water King hide as the Duchess and the Prince come outside.
The Duchess has doubts about the Prince changing his affections so quickly. The Prince tries to convince her that he wants to be only with her. Rusalka emerges from her hiding and confronts him. The Water King reveals himself to the humans and reprimands the Prince for betraying Rusalka. The Duchess is horrified to see the terrifying Water King and runs away. The Water King drags Rusalka back beneath the surface. The Prince, never having seen the Water King until now, faints from shock.
ACT III
Rusalka is condemned to wander forever as a will-o’-the-wisp. As she longs for death, Ježibaba appears to note that only killing the Prince can redeem Rusalka from her curse. Rusalka refuses. Her sisters call to her from beneath the water, and Rusalka is left to accept her fate.
The wood sprites gather by the lake to sing and dance until The Water King appears, who begs them to stop and reminds them of Rusalka’s woes. The Prince, now crazed with remorse, staggers out of the forest thinking only of Rusalka. He calls on her to return. As Rusalka speaks to him for the first time from above the lake, he begs her forgiveness and for her to take his life. Rusalka warns him that if they touch, he will die. Accepting his destiny, the Prince asks for peace and dies as they embrace.
Rusalka’s final act of killing the Prince releases her from her eternal curse and she is freed to begin her new life.
Biographies
Conductor
Christopher graduated with a B.Mus from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2001. In 2005 he completed a Masters in Conducting at the VCA.
He also holds a B.A. from the University of Queensland, an LLB from Q.U.T. and an A.Mus.A from the AMEB. He has been nominated by the Musical Theatre Guild and Green Room Awards in the ‘Best Conductor’ category.
During 2008 and 2009 he was a member of the Young Artists Program with Opera Australia. In 2007 Chris was appointed as the inaugural Conducting Fellowship at the Australian Ballet. He has worked with the WASO, Orchestra Victoria, AOBO and the QSO. Previous roles include Perth Festival, WASO, Musica Viva and Lost and Found Opera.
Previous opera credits include, Otello, La bohème, La traviata, Le nozze di Figaro, Cav/ Pag, Cosi fan tutte, Iolanta, Elijah, Madama Butterfly, Hansel und Gretel, Don Procopio, Der Kaiser von Atlantis, Medeé, La voix humaine amongst others. He has recorded and been broadcast by the ABC.
He is currently the Artistic Director of West Australian Opera.
Sarah Giles is an award-winning opera and theatre director. Sarah’s directing credits for opera include: La traviata (Opera Queensland, State Opera South Australia, and West Australian Opera), La traviata on New Year’s Eve (Opera Australia), Lorelei (Victorian Opera, Opera Queensland), O Mensch!, Pas À Pas – Nulle Part and Into The Little Hill (Sydney Chamber Opera with Carriageworks and Sydney Festival)
Other directing credits include: No Pay? No Way!, Accidental Death Of An Anarchist, Perplex, Mrs Warren’s Profession, Marriage Blanc, Money Shots, Ruby Moon (Sydney Theatre Company); A Very Jewish Christmas Carol, The Truth, Straight White Men (Melbourne Theatre Company); Blaque Showgirls, SS Metaphor (Malthouse Theatre); The Popular Mechanicals (State Theatre of South Australia).
Sarah was Resident Director at Sydney Theatre Company in 2013, the Richard Wherrett Fellow at Sydney Theatre Company in 2011. Sarah has won a Sydney Theatre Award for Best Director. Her production Lorelei with Victorian Opera, in addition to being nominated for a Helpmann Award for Best Direction of an Opera, was nominated for 5 Green Room Awards, including Best Direction of an Opera, and won the Helpmann Award for Best New Australian Work.
Sarah Giles Director
Christopher van Tuinen
Laura has worked extensively with companies such as Opera Australia, Victorian Opera, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand Opera and State Opera South Australia. She directed OQ’s most successful touring production Are You Lonesome Tonight (2021), co-directed The Sopranos (OQ), Home Grown Opera (for OQ and Bleach*), and wrote and directed regional touring productions, Do We Need Another Hero and Lady Sings the Maroons.
In 2021/2022 Laura was a Resident Director with Circa. She was Project Lead on their inclusive Circus program Circability, Associate Director on Circa’s Italian Baroque presented with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra at Sydney Festival 2022.
Laura previously worked as the Artistic Associate for OQ and was Associate Director on a variety of productions – for OQ: Così fan tutte (2023) The Marriage of Figaro (2021), Tosca (2019), Songs to Die For (2019); for West Australian Opera La bohème (2023) and for Victorian Opera: The Barber of Seville (2019), Pelléas and Mélisande (2018). She currently holds the position of Director of Learning, Regional and Community with Opera Queensland.
Lyndall Grant is a movement director, fight director and actor. She trained in acting at London’s ArtsEd School of Acting and specialised in fight performance and movement from 2007. She has been working with intimacy performance since 2023. Lyndall was a guest instructor at the Paddy Crean International Workshop in Canada, and teaches at the Victorian College of the Arts, National Theatre Drama School and 16th Street Actors Studio. Fight/movement credits include The Picture of Dorian Gray (Michael Cassel Group); Beauty and the Beast (Disney Australia); Who’s Afraid of Virgina Wolf, Groundhog Day the Musical, Sunset Boulevard, Death of A Salesman, An American in Paris (GWB); 37 (Melbourne Theatre Company & Queensland Theatre Company); Is God Is (Melbourne Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company); The Almighty Sometimes, My Sister Jill, A Very Jewish Christmas Carol, Sunday, As You Like It, Berlin, The Lifespan of a Fact, The Architect, Cosi, Torch the Place, The Lady in the Van, Astroman (Melbourne Theatre Company); Macbeth: An Undoing, Nosferatu, Looking for Alibrandi, Atlantis, The Return, Because the Night and Cloudstreet (Malthouse Theatre); Il viaggio a Reims (Opera Australia); Lohengrin (Melbourne Opera). Lyndall was Movement Captain, Ensemble Member and principal cover in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
Laura Hansford Assistant Director
Lyndall Grant Movement Director and Intimacy Coordinator
Biographies
Charles is an award-winning set and costume designer for theatre, opera, dance and film.
Charles’s for opera include: La bohème (West Australian Opera and Opera Queensland); La traviata (Opera Queensland / West Australian Opera / State Opera South Australia); Médée, Artaserse, The Coronation Of Poppea (Pinchgut Opera); Seven Deadly Sins & Mahogonny Songspiel set design (Red Line Productions); Breaking Glass, Biographica (with Sydney Festival), Oh Mensch! Costume design (Sydney Chamber Opera); Hansel And Gretel (Queensland Conservatorium).
Other designs include: Circle Electric (The Australian Ballet); The Importance Of Being Earnest set, Do Not Go Gentle, No Pay? No Way! (Sydney Theatre Company); Twelfth Night (Bell Shakespeare); Buyer And Cellar, The Kitchen Sink (Ensemble Theatre); and many others.
Charles won a Sydney Theatre Award for Best Stage Design of an Independent Production for Happy Days and is the winner of the Mike Walsh Fellowship. Artaserse, which he designed for Pinchgut Opera, won the International Opera Award for Best Rediscovered Work. Charles was the 2024 recipient of the Kristian Fredrikson Scholarship for Design in The Performing Arts.
Design credits include: Sydney Theatre Company: Julia, Grand Horizons, Triple X (Queensland Theatre), The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Banging Denmark, The Torrents (Black Swan State Theatre Company), Black Is The New White, The Bleeding Tree (Griffin), Hamlet: Prince of Skidmark, Orlando, Battle of Waterloo, Perplex, The Effect, The Long Way Home, Dance Better At Parties, Mrs Warren’s Profession, The Splinter, Edward Gant’s Amazing Feats of Loneliness (La Boite).
Costume Design: The Seagull, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Playing Beatie Bow, The Harp in the South, Saint Joan, Top Girls, Chimerica, Endgame, Children of the Sun, Vere (Faith) Melbourne Theatre Company: Is God Is, Home I’m Darling, Arbus & West. Griffin Theatre Company: Dogged, Prima Facie, The Bleeding Tree, A Hoax, The Boys. Queensland Theatre: Gaslight, Family Values, First Casualty, Boy Swallows Universe, Mouthpiece, Nearer the Gods, An Octoroon, Rice (Griffin), Sacre Bleu, Fat Pig. Training: National Institute of Dramatic Art & Queensland College of Art.
Renée Mulder Costume Designer
Charles Davis Set Designer
Paul Jackson Lighting Designer
Paul Jackson ADPG is a multi-award-winning lighting and set designer working across Australia and internationally.
Lighting design credits for opera include: La traviata (Opera Australia, Opera Queensland / West Australian Opera / State Opera South Australia); La traviata On New Year’s Eve, Carmen National Tour (Opera Australia); Happy End, Cassandra Echo & Narcissus (Victorian Opera); Lorelei (Victorian Opera, Opera Queensland).
Other lighting design credits include: No Pay? No Way!, Oil, Do Not Go Gentle, Lifespan Of A Fact, Death Of A Salesman, (Sydney Theatre Company); Sunday, Cyrano, Escaped Alone/ What If If Only (Melbourne Theatre Company); Nosferatu, This Is Living (Malthouse Theatre).
Paul has won a Helpmann Award, two Sydney Theatre Awards, seven Green Room Awards, a Critics’ Award for Theatre in Scotland, and five Australian Production Design Guild Awards. In addition, he has also received a further four Helpmann Award nomination, thirty-two Green Room Award nominations, five APDG nominations and four Sydney Theatre nominations. He is a Churchill Fellow and an Australia Council Fellow. Paul is accredited with the Australian Production Design Guild.
Bergman Video Designer and Content Creator
David is an award-winning composer, video and sound designer for theatre, dance, opera, installation and film.
David’s recent video credits for opera include: for Victorian Opera and Opera Australia, Idomeneo; for Sydney Chamber Opera, video design for Breaking Class
David’s recent theatre credits include: for Sydney Theatre Company, video designer for the ground-breaking productions Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and The Picture of Dorian Gray for which he won a Sydney Theatre Award for best Stage Design of a Mainstage Production (with Marg Horwell), and which toured to the West End in 2024; for Bell Shakespeare, sound designer for Twelfth Night, The Lovers; for Belvoir, composer and sound designer for Scenes from the Climate Era, sound designer for Into the Woods, video designer for Blue, sound designer on At What Cost?; for Griffin Theatre Company, sound designer for Green Park for which he won a Sydney Theatre Award for Best Sound Design of a Mainstage Production, composer and sound designer for Superheroes, and many others.
David
Biographies
Elena, a 2018 Curtis Institute of Music graduate, made her professional debut with Opera Philadelphia as Doris Parker in Charlie Parker’s Yardbird, at the Apollo Theatre in New York City. She reprised the role in her English National Opera, London debut.
Past seasons include performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra - Les nuits d’été as well as appearing with them in concert as Rusalka (Rusalka), Tatyana (Eugene Onegin). Elena made her main stage Carnegie Hall debut in Schubert’s Mass in G Major and Konzerthaushaus Berlin debut in 2022.
This season Elena made her Italian debut at the prestigious Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Tuscany presenting a new work written in honor of Nicola Bulgari and will join New Zealand Opera as Gilda in Rigoletto
Past seasons include Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Britten’s War Requiem with Maestro Asher Fisch, West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Mimì in La bohème, Violetta in La traviata and Iolanta, WAO. Juliet in Tchaikovsky’s Romeo & Juliet with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.
Australian tenor Paul O’Neill has forged a compelling international career singing in opera houses and concert halls throughout Europe and Australasia. His 2021/2022 engagements included Alfredo (La traviata) for Opera Australia and Turiddu (Cavalleria rusticana) and Canio (Pagliacci) for West Australian Opera.
In 2022/23, he sang Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) for Opera Australia, Macduff (Macbeth) for State Opera South Australia and Don José, Cavaradossi, Alfredo, Rodolfo and Otello for West Australian Opera; he was tenor soloist in Britten’s War Requiem and Siegmund in Die Walküre for West Australian Symphony Orchestra. He returns to WA Opera this year as The Prince in Rusalka.
Other recent engagements include Don José and Cavaradossi for West Australian Opera, Rodolfo, Narraboth (Salome) and Alfredo for Opera Australia and the title role in Faust for Theater Münster. He has sung Don José at the Glyndebourne Festival; Laca (Jenůfa) for Opéra de Lille; Rodolfo for Halle Opera; Elvino (La sonnambula) and Laca with Graz Opera.
Paul O’Neill The Prince
Elena Perroni Rusalka
Warwick Fyfe is a Helpmann Award-winning singer and is considered one of Australia’s finest baritones.
Recent appearances include Beckmesser (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Alberich (Der Ring des Nibelungen), Sancho Panza (Don Quichotte), Amonasro (Aida), Geronio (Il turco in Italia), Barone di Trombonok (Il viaggio a Reims) and Klingsor (Parsifal) for Opera Australia, Alberich (Das Rheingold) for the Japan Philharmonic and Tianjin Symphony Orchestras, Athanaël (Thaïs) and Amonasro for Finnish National Opera, Wotan (Die Walküre) in Singapore and Melbourne, Pizarro (Fidelio) in Melbourne and Perth, Bottom (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) in Adelaide and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 for the Melbourne Symphony.
In 2022, he sang Scarpia (Tosca) for West Australian Opera, The Herald (Lohengrin) for Opera Australia and Wotan (Die Walküre) for Melbourne Opera. In 2023, he returned to OA as Amonasro and Alberich, to Melbourne Opera as Wotan/The Wanderer in their landmark Der Ring des Nibelungen and was soloist with the Melbourne and West Australian Symphony Orchestras. In 2024, he returns to Opera Australia as Scarpia.
Naomi Johns is a Perth based Australian Soprano. She has worked professionally in Music Theatre and Opera around the country since finishing her studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She is known to demonstrate versatility and substance across both Lyric and Coloratura repertoire and recently has shown her ability to “capture the purity and pathos” of more serious lyric roles.
She was overjoyed to be the first female winner of the Bel Canto Award from The Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge Opera Foundation before studying extensively overseas and debuted the role of Mimì in Puccini’s La bohème in Canada before being called home to Perth. Since her return to Australia, Naomi made her principal debut in 2020 with West Australian Symphony Orchestra for Last Night of the Proms and also made her West Australian Opera principal debut as Berta in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, closely followed by her role debut as Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello last year. For Opera Australia, Naomi has covered the role of Madama Cortese in Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims and has also made her principal debut with Opera Australia as Carlotta Giudicelli in the Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour Phantom of the Opera in 2022.
*Supported by The Roberts Emerging Artist Program.
Warwick Fyfe The Water King
Naomi Johns* The Duchess
Biographies
Ashlyn Tymms Ježibaba
In 2024, Ashlyn Tymms will sing Ježibaba in Rusalka and Dido in Dido and Aeneas for West Australian Opera and Fanny Price in Mansfield Park for New Zealand Opera; she takes the alto solos in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, Mozart’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 for West Australian Symphony. She also sings the Beethoven with the Queensland Symphony and Bach’s St. John Passion with the Melbourne Symphony.
For West Australian Opera, Ashlyn has sung the title role in Carmen, Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Santuzza (Cavalleria rusticana), Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), Emilia (Otello) and Flora (La traviata). She made her Sydney Opera House début in Handel’s Messiah
Overseas, Ashlyn has sung Rosimonda in Handel’s Faramondo at the London Handel Festival, Judith in the world premiere of The Two Sisters with Tête à Tête Opera, La marchande de journaux in Poulenc’s Les mamelles de Tirésias, Euridice in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo and the title role in Dido and Aeneas
Bella was a 2022/2023 Young Artist and Bendat Scholar with West Australian Opera. She is currently undertaking a Master of Performance degree at the Royal College of Music in London as the Helen Marjorie Tonks/ Inaugural Andrew Treagus Scholar under Professor Janis Kelly.
Bella performed “Lauretta” and “Una Conversa” in Gianni Schicchi and Suor Angelica with Freeze Frame Opera (2021) and the “Soprano Soloist” for West Australian Opera’s Bach Easter Oratorio (2023).
Her accolades include the 2017 ROSL Junior Singing Award (first), the 2017 WAAPA 1st Year Singing Prize, 2020 ROSL Art Song Prize (first), 2020 Opera Lovers Aria Competition (first), 2020 WAAPA Dame Mary Gilmore Award, 2023 Bloomhouse Projects Emerging Artist (Dr. Ken Collins AO Award), 2023 Bel Canto Awards (Megan Evans OAM Encouragement award), 2023 Australian Music Foundation award and 2024 Wigmore Hall French Song Exchange program.
Bella will debut at the Wigmore Hall in London and the Salle Cortot in Paris in September this year.
*Supported by The Roberts Emerging Artist Program.
Bella Marslen* First Wood Sprite
Chelsea Burns is an Australian soprano. Previously a Wesfarmers Arts Young Artist and Bendat Scholarship winner at West Australian Opera, she made her solo debut with the company in 2020 when she performed the role of Lucy in a filmed version of Menotti’s The Telephone. She has since made her main stage debut as Brigitte (Iolanta).
At WAO, she was also the cover for Tosca (Tosca), Nedda (I pagliacci), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte) and the Mother / Witch (Hansel and Gretel).
In 2023, Chelsea was the winner of the Sundell American Institute of Musical Studies award, presented by the Opera Foundation for young Australians, as well as a semi-finalist in the 2023 German Australian Opera Grant.
Over 2018, Chelsea was fortunate enough to work with Opera North in Leeds, UK. She shadowed the role of Kate Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) and was a part of their Chorus Mentorship Scheme.
New Zealand born mezzo-soprano Brigitte Heuser began her vocal studies at the New Zealand School of Music (BMus, Hons) and furthered her operatic training at the Australian Opera Studio before gaining a Master of Arts in Performance Voice at the Wales International Academy of Voice.
Brigitte has performed opera, concert, and cabaret across Europe and Australasia. She has been a soloist for New Zealand Opera, Auckland Philharmonia, Opernloft Hamburg, the International Foundation for Arts and Culture in Japan, Australian Baroque and at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Brigitte is now a principal artist for West Australian Opera, where highlights include Rosina in The Barber of Seville, Lola in Cavalleria rusticana and Mercédès in Carmen.
Other operatic roles include Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Annio, La clemenza di Tito, Idamante in Idomeneo, Flora in La traviata, Jenny Diver in Threepenny Opera, Stepmother in Into the Woods, Olga in Eugene Onegin, Martha in Iolanta and Zita in Gianni Schicchi.
Chelsea Burns Second Wood Sprite
Brigitte Heuser Third Wood Sprite
Biographies
Stuart Laing The Gamekeeper
Stuart Laing has spent the last 15 years singing and performing around the United Kingdom and Ireland.
He was a full time member of the Opera North ensemble where he was involved in over 50 productions and performed and covered over 30 roles. Roles include; Remendado Carmen, Lensky Eugene Onegin, Beppe Pagliacci, Daniel Buchanan Street Scene, Tinca Il tabarro, Mr Erlansson A Little Night Music
He sang Jacquino Fidelio and Delil Giovanna D’Arco for the Buxton Festival Opera. Tinca Il tabarro for the Wexford Festival Opera. Master of Ceremonies and Tchaplinsky Queen of Spades for Grange Park Opera. Stage Manager Our Town, Lysander A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Spärlich The merry wives of Windsor for the Guildhall Opera School. Nick La fanciulla del West, Horace Adams Peter Grimes, Basilio and Don Curzio Le nozze di Figaro for West Australian Opera.
Stuart earned his Masters of Music from the Guildhall Opera School London and was a former Young Artist at West Australian Opera. He trained at the Australian Opera Studio and holds a Bachelor of Music from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.
Brianna Louwen The Kitchenhand
Brianna Louwen is a Soprano from Western Australia, now residing in Sydney. She studied at the University of Western Australia, and the University of York (UK). Brianna was a Wesfarmers Arts Young Artist with West Australian Opera from 2019-21.
For West Australian Opera, Brianna has sung the roles of Annina (La traviata), Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro) and The Kitchen Maid (The Nightingale). For Pinchgut Opera, she has sung Amour (Medee), and featured in Women of the Pietá. For Opera Australia, Brianna has appeared in La gioconda (Ponchielli) and is an extra chorus member. She has appeared with Sydney Chamber Opera, The Song Company, Musgrove Opera and Bach Akademie Australia. Brianna tours Nationally with Musica Viva.
In Perth, Brianna has sung with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Perth Symphony Orchestra, Freeze Frame Opera, UWA Choral Society, St George’s Cathedral and many others. Awards include a Young Person and the Arts International Travelling Scholarship and the Fremantle Eisteddfod Open Aria prize.
Brett Peart is an emerging Western Australian baritone and is one of Wesfarmers Arts’ Young Artists at West Australian Opera for 2024. Seesaw magazine has described Brett as being “especially successful in getting into his vocal stride”, and having a “stentorian baritone voice”.
Peart holds a Bachelor of Music majoring in classical vocal performance from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Brett regularly performs with West Australian Opera and Freeze Frame Opera. In the last two years, Brett has performed The Mayor (Our Little Inventor), Montano (Otello), Benoit/ Parpignol (La bohème) for WAO and Ashby/ Jim Larkens (La fanciulla del west), The Prince (Adriana Lecouvreur) and The Businessman (The Little Prince) with FFO.
Last August, he made his debut as a soloist at Perth Concert Hall in the UWA Choral Society’s performance of Carmina Burana. Most recently, Brett performed in WAO’s Opera in the Regions tour alongside Paul O’Neill, Rachelle Durkin, Ashlyn Tymms and Tomasso Pollio.
Brett Peart
The Hunter / Chorus
Renée Mulder, Costume Designer
Photography by West Beach Studio
West Australian Opera Chorus
* Celebrating over 10 years
** Celebrating over 20 years
*** Celebrating over 30 years
Alexandra Bak* Soprano
Chelsea Kluga Mezzo Soprano
Keaton Staszewski-Hose Tenor
Lucy Mervik* Soprano
Robert Hofmann** Bass
Jessica Blunt Soprano
Courtney Pitman** Mezzo Soprano
Vin Trikeriotis Tenor
Xiaojia Zhang* Soprano
Theodore Murphy-Jelley Bass
Claire Condipodero Soprano
Stephanie Thyer Mezzo Soprano
Ruth Burke Mezzo Soprano
Kohsei Gilkes Tenor
David Penco* Bass
Priscilla Cornelius
Elizabeth Vale** Mezzo Soprano
Callen Dellar** Bass
Belinda Butler Mezzo Soprano
Perry Joyce* Tenor
James Pinneri Bass
Leilah Fox* Soprano
David Dockery** Bass
Caitlin Cassidy* Mezzo Soprano
Jason Kroll Tenor
Laurence Westrip Bass
Audrey Lombardi Soprano
Kyle Garces Bass
Morgan Halket Mezzo Soprano
Euan MacMillan Tenor
Ry Charleson Tenor
Jacob Correia Tenor
Elena Perroni, Rusalka
Photography by West Beach Studio
West Australian Symphony Orchestra
FIRST VIOLIN
Semra Lee
Assistant Concertmaster
Alexandra Isted
Principal 1st Violin
Stephanie Dean
Christina Katsimbardis
Kathryn Lee
Akiko Miyazawa
Louise Sandercock
Cerys Tooby
Teresa Vinci°
Samantha Wickramasinghe
SECOND VIOLIN
Zak Rowntree*
Principal 2nd Violin
Kate Sullivan
Assistant Principal 2nd Violin
Sarah Blackman
Amy Furfaro
Emma Hunt
Sunmi Jung
Melanie Pearn
Jane Serrangeli
VIOLA
Daniel Schmitt
Kierstan Arkleysmith
Benjamin Caddy
James Munro
Elliot O’Brien
Helen Tuckey
CELLO
Rod McGrath
Isaac Davis
Oliver McAslan
Fotis Skordas
Tim South
DOUBLE BASS
John Keene
Robin Brawley
Giovanni Vinci
Christine Reitzenstein
FLUTE
Andrew Nicholson
Mary-Anne Blades
PICCOLO
Sonia Croucher
OBOE
Sarah Young
Liz Chee
COR ANGLAIS
Jonathan Ryan
CLARINET
Allan Meyer
Som Howie
Alexander Millier
BASS CLARINET
Alexander Millier
BASSOON
Jane Kircher-Lindner
Adam Mikulicz
HORN
David Evans
Eve McEwen
Julia Brooke
Francesco Lo Surdo
TRUMPET
Jenna Smith
Acting Principal
Fletcher Cox°
Koominka°
TROMBONE
Liam O’Malley
Jeremy Alderson^
BASS TROMBONE
Peter Younghusband^
TUBA
Chloe Higgins
TIMPANI
Alex Timcke
PERCUSSION
Brian Maloney
Francois Combemorel
Associate Principal
Percussion & Timpani
Robyn Gray^
HARP
William Nichols^
Principal
Associate Principal
Assistant Principal
Contract Musician°
Guest Musician^
His Majesty’s Theatre
Arts and Culture Trust
Technical
Acting Director of Technical Services
Morgan Solomon (Chairperson)
Janelle Marr (Deputy Chairperson)
Zoë Atkinson
Stuart Bell
Shane Colquhoun AM
Nadia van Dommelen
Michelle Tremain
Melvin Yeo
CEO
Janis Carren
Administration Board
Acting Venue Manager
Alex Lehmann
Acting Manager Venue Operations
Jenny Lee
Acting Event Operations Coordinator
Emily Dowden
Administration and Accounts Assistant
Dean Pruden
Administration Assistant
Fiona McNiece
Stage Door Keeper
Karl Galin, Matthew Morris
Box Office Supervisor
Jenny Franklin
Archivist
Ivan King OAM
Brad Matthews
Acting Deputy of Technical Services
Kerrie Wilshusen
Production Manager
Bryce Goddard
Head of Audio and AV
Dylan Crosbie
Head of Lighting
Paul Parkes
Acting Head of Staging
Levi Caddy
Audio Supervisor
Jeremy Turner
Audio Visual Supervisor
Stacy Buegge
Staging Supervisor
Radoslaw (Radek) Rubinski
Head Flyman
Morgan Caddy
Lighting Supervisor
Dillan Kuiper
West Australian Opera
Vice Regal Patron
Governor of Western Australia
Board The Honourable Chris Dawson AC APM
Andrew Pascoe (Chairman)
Darren Lewsen (Deputy Chair)
Janet Barnes
Alison Gaines
Anthony Gianotti
Christiaan Heyning
Jan Stewart
Honorary Life Members
Dario Amara
Richard Bonynge AC CBE
Hon Julie Bishop
Terry Bowen
Frank Cooper AO
Catherine Ferrari
Erich Fraunschiel
Colin Goddard
Warwick Hemsley AO
Francis Landels
Bruce Martin AM
Margaret McManus
Dr Richard Mills AO
Annie Patrick
Marilyn Phillips OAM
Vincent A Warrener AM KHS
WAO Staff
Executive Director
Carolyn Chard AM
Artistic Director
Chris van Tuinen
Production Manager
Mandy Farmer
Accountant
Debbie Byrnes
Artistic Administrator
Kate Larkins
Partnerships Manager
Terasa Letizia
Philanthropy Manager
Jane Campbell
Marketing Manager
Scott Whinfield
Media Consultant
Daniele Foti-Cuzzola
Marketing Coordinator
Rebecca Bencivenni
Education Manager
Olivia Ferguson
CRM Coordinator
Rachel Sait
Financial Accountant
Kris Adrian
Stage Manager
Karen Farmer
Music Librarian
Allison Fyfe
Thank you, Donors
Visionary Circle
The Roberts Emerging Artist Program
Artistic Director Circle ($25,000+)
Bruce & Charmaine Cameron
Leadership Circle ($10,000+)
Jock & Kate Clough
Ulrich & Gloria Kunzmann
Dr Robert Larbalestier AO
Ken & Yuko Lucas
Margaret & Rod Marston
Dr Peter Simpson OAM
Leanne & Sam Walsh AO
Anonymous (1)
Principal Patron ($5,000+)
Stewart Candlish & Bianca Panizza
Warwick Hemsley AO
The Estate of Robert Kimpton
Francis Landels
Dr Bryant Macfie
Annie & Neil Patrick
Anne Seghezzi and Gene Tilbrook
Helen & Michael Tuite
Benefactor ($2,500+)
Gaysie Atkinson
Neil Archibald & Alan R Dodge AM
Lorraine Ellard
Catherine Ferrari
Christiaan Heyning
Eleanor John
Dr Maria Kailis
Ross & Fran Ledger
Patrick Lilburne
Mark & Fiona Newman
John S Paterson
Bill & Barbara Reid
Kerry Sanderson
Ruth Thorn
Joy Wearne
Anonymous (2)
Supporter ($1,000+)
Dr Carol Anderson
Cathy Bardon & Bob Cassie
Prof Colin Binns AO & Dr Mi Kyung Lee OAM
David & Lois Black
Christine Burson
Joan Carney
Helen Carroll
Frank Cooper AO
Peter & Christene Dalla Riva
Tim & Wendy Davis
John & Ann Dawson
Brian Lindberg & Graham Douglas
Michelle & Bill Edwards
Robyn Edwards
Thomas Gerner
Dr Rosalind Hampton
Steven Heath
Dr Penny Herbert
Luke Hoare
Kathryn Hogan & Graham Droppert
Andreas W Merk
Cathy & Cian Noonan
Karen Parfitt
Jennifer Rankin
Wayne Robinson
Glenice Shephard
Kim & Keith Spence
Gail Spiers
Jan & Alan Stewart
Ruth Stratton
Robyn Tamke
Clare Thompson SC & Brad Power
Tessa Tieleman
Agatha van Der Schaaf
Yannis Vrodos
Dr Chris & Mrs Vimala Whitaker
Anonymous (11)
Friend ($500+)
Tom & Mary-Anne Aram
Danielle & Myles Barlow
Ron & Sue Bates
Carolyn Chard AM
Douglas Clifford
Robert Clifton
Janina Ivy Cusack
Peter Eadington
Peter Edwards
Peter Flanigan & Rosemary Grigg
Dr Barry Green
V Harvey
Enid Hopps
Vivienne Jagger
Dr Susan M Joubert
Jock & Jennifer Laurie
Kay Lee & Richard Murphy
Warren & Gillian Lilleyman
Allison Low
Dr Hamish McGlashan
Liane Papaelias
Roger Paterson
Mary Petrie
Steve & Jane Sherwood
Lindsay & Suzanne Silbert
Diane Smith-Gander AO
Margaret Stockton
Warren & Katharina Surtees
Sue Thomas
Leonard Walker
Diana Warnock & the late Bill Warnock
Peter & Hilary Winterton
Alison Woodman
Anonymous (7)
Donor ($250+)
Thank you to all our donors who support us and help us create and present the highest quality of opera in Western Australia.
Trusts and Foundations
Bendat Family Foundation Feilman Foundation
The James Galvin Family Foundation
Stan Perron Charitable Foundation
Wright Burt Foundation
Andrew Forrest AO
Nicola Forrest AO
The generous gift of FMG shares supports a strong and vibrant arts sector in Western Australia.
Lifetime Recognition
Neil Archibald & Alan R Dodge AM
Warwick Hemsley AO
The Kimpton Family
The Kailis Family
Dr Robert Larbalestier AO
Annie & Neil Patrick
Helen & Michael Tuite
The Roberts Emerging Artist Program Anonymous (1)
Bel Canto Fund
Thanks to the leadership donors of the Bel Canto Fund.
Bequest Circle
Cassandra Charlick & Stepan Libricky
Anita & James Clayton
Lorraine Ellard
Shane Pavlinovich
Ailsa West
Anonymous (5)
Estates
The Estate of Wendy Scanlon
The Estate of Clive Wannell
The Estate of Joyce E Young
Listing correct at time of publication. Join our cast of supporters by donating online at waopera.asn.au. All donations over $2 are tax deductible.
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