Eucalyptus

Presented in association with Victorian Opera, Brisbane Festival and Opera Australia with West Australian Opera

There are more than 800 species of eucalyptus in Australia. There is only one Ellen Holland, whose beauty is famous for miles around. Her overprotective father has created a safe place to protect her from the world; a forest of eucalypts. But is the forest a sanctuary or is Ellen imprisoned, like Rapunzel?

Murray Bail’s Miles Franklin Award-winning novel Eucalyptus comes to life in music in this world premiere concert of a new opera from acclaimed Australian composer Jonathan Mills. Part Australian fairytale and part word painting of the Australian bush, this musical celebration of the botanical wonder of this country features an exceptional cast including Samuel Dundas (Galileo, Perth Festival 2023) and Simon Meadows (La Traviata, WA Opera 2022) alongside our West Australian Symphony Orchestra and West Australian Opera Chorus. Directed by renowned Australian playwright and director Michael Gow and featuring a Mills score that is complex and colourful, with moments of dramatic intensity and hushed beauty, and a libretto by Meredith Oakes that is poetic and spare, this is a concert event full of beauty and wonder.