WELCOME TO
OUR 2020
SEASON

2020 continues the bold vision of this company as we present two of the finest baroque operas in conjunction with two concerts of magnificent choral repertoire.

Charpentier’s Médée of 1693 has often been described as one of the greatest of all French baroque operas. It was the composer’s only work to be presented at the esteemed Académie Royale de Musique in his lifetime and it is a magnificent testament to the composer’s genius. The tortured sorceress Medea, who is betrayed by the man she loves and then exacts a ferocious vengeance, has long inspired artists. The libretto by Corneille is still considered today to be one of the great masterpieces of French poetry. This is a very rare opportunity to see this work on the stage, in all its glory, and in fact, this will be its Australian premiere.

One of the most successful operas in England was Handel’s Rinaldo (1711), which we are staging in our summer season. This has the distinction of being the very first opera in the Italian language specifically written for the London stage and it was also the work that secured Handel his enduring fame in the metropolis he chose to make his home. Receiving over fifty revivals in his lifetime, more than any of his other operas, Rinaldo is a vocal and instrumental spectacular that showcases all the glittering brilliance of opera from what many consider its golden age. This will be a Pinchgut production not to be missed.