Review
★★★★★
Sydney live reviews
Eloquent and beguiling: Operatic Hamlet is a triumph
Our critics deliver verdicts on the latest shows around town.
- by Millie Muroi, Cassie Tongue, Shamim Razavi, Harriet Cunningham and John Shand
Latest
★★★★
Entertainment
Sublime, erotic, dangerous: Dido and Aeneas is 80 minutes of baroque astonishment
Physical feats match vocal brilliance in this powerful staging of Purcell’s tragedy by Opera Queensland with the help of the acrobats of Circa.
- by Nick Dent
Backstage with Opera Australia’s Il Trittico
Backstage with Opera Australia’s brand new production of Puccini’s Il Trittico, ahead of its world premiere at the Sydney Opera House.
Stellar performances (almost) make up for soulless venue: Tosca
Opera Australia staging of Puccini’s opera at Margaret Court Arena mostly paid off, plus New Zealand jazz pianist Jonathan Crayford hits Melbourne.
- by Bridget Davies and Jessica Nicholas
Perspective
Perspective
Watching opera among the dinosaurs could be the most Australian thing I’ve ever done
High on a prehistoric plateau in Queensland, this festival provokes questions about culture, community and being Australian in 2024.
- by Nick Dent
★★★★½
For subscribers
Opera Australia has found for itself a triumphant ‘new’ La Traviata
This much-loved Verdi classic becomes a deeper psychological journey in the hands of director Sarah Giles.
- by Peter McCallum
★★★★★
For subscribers
Sixteen hours in this operatic ‘multiverse’ is a five-star experience
Wagner’s Ring Cycle is often described as the Olympics of opera. This stunning, high-tech version takes it to another level.
- by Peter McCallum
Latest reviews
Sydney live reviews
Local act shows Aussie women are doing punk better than the blokes
Reviews of all the best shows in Sydney this week, including Cable Ties, Murder for Two at Hayes Theatre, The Weekend at Belvoir and La Gioconda in Concert.
- by Joyce Morgan, Peter McCallum, Vaanie Krishnan and Shamim Razavi
Latest Reviews
Sydney live reviews
Get across this singer before her star power has her playing ever-bigger rooms
A wrap of the week’s live reviews, including Mr Bailey’s Minder, Constellations, Mad Scenes with Jessica Pratt, ACO’s Dvorak’s Serenade and Thandi Phoenix.
- by John Shand, Peter McCallum and James Jennings
Latest reviews
Theatre
Follow-up to Tony-winning Australian play is deeply distressing viewing
A wrap of the best live shows in Sydney this week, including Jailbaby, Musica Viva, Forgetting Tim Minchin, Miss Peony, Ray Chen and The Tales of Hoffmann.
- by Peter McCallum, Vaanie Krishnan, John Shand and Cassie Tongue
Arnhem Land’s King Stingray win hearts and minds in Sydney, including the PM’s
A wrap of the week’s live reviews, including Opera Australia’s Aida, Benefactors, the Beauty and the Beast musical, Ensemble Offspring and King Stingray.
- by Peter McCallum, John Shand, Harriet Cunningham and Millie Muroi