The Sleeping Beauty
The transformative power of love takes centre stage as a cursed Princess awakens from an eternal sleep in a retelling of Perrault’s classic with fairies, fantasy and a cast of puppets. Italian composer Ottorino Respighi’s 1922 reimagining of The Sleeping Beauty is given new life in an unforgettable production.
This opera was created specifically for one of Italy’s leading puppetry theatres in the early 20th century. Respighi’s production was a smash-hit and toured the world. The ageless appeal of this charming chamber opera will be awakened by the bold imagination of director Nancy Black (Master Peter’s Puppet Show, Four Saints in Three Acts) and a production team headed by puppet designer Joe Blanck (Walking with Dinosaurs, King Kong), who co-set designs with Ben Cobham (Ghost Wife, Bluebottle Designs). The Sleeping Beauty will feature an ensemble of exciting operatic talent lending voice to spectacularly realised puppets, great and small.
Sung in Italian with English surtitles.
Running time is approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes with no interval.
*** NOTE: Full Price ticket is for 4 tickets. Members may take up fewer tickets.
Feedback/Comments
Very creative. Clever use of puppets. Contemporary take on a classic. Well delivered.
It was an interesting production, enjoyed it very much
thought the production was totally misguided
Great seats and enjoyable performance. Novices to opera and still would prefer English.
Puppets great.
We really loved the puppets.
This was a beautiful performance. The combination of puppets and the beautiful voices of the opera singers was amazing. Though l was hoping to see beautiful outfits to complement the beautiful voices. A great performance overall.
Wonderful show combining puppetry, opera and some humour. Kids in the audience loved it.
Absolutely loved this performance. An amazing combo of voices, puppetry and orchestral music. Memorable!
The performance was wonderful, however quite taken aback when I first saw the actors on stage in casual clothings, I thought I was watching a rehearsal. Would've been better if they either wear the same or put a little more effort in their wardrobes. Otherwise the puppetry and voices were excellent.
Voices and orchestra were fantastic. However, the puppeteers in all different casual clothing distracted the performance and dilute the entire experience. They could be simply dressed in all black so the focus of the audience remains on the actual puppets entirely.
Innovative and professional
Really enjoyed this production, voices were excellent, puppetry was very creative, very entertaining
We loved this performance. Whilst we have watched Victoria Opera's children's performances for the past few years, this was our first full opera and I was concerned about the length of the show. I shouldn't have worried as Miss 8 sat mesmerised throughout the show. I loved the simplicity of the set and the way the singers were dressed in muted street clothes while mirroring the puppets.
Kudos to Victoria Opera! This show was like being immersed in a 4D story tale. Fabulous music, sensational voices and magical puppetry.
Very creative puppets were amazing the sub titles explaining what was happening was a bonus great show
A magical performance that was thoroughly enjoyed by all members of the family. Thankyou!
Loved every minute of it. Well worth seeing. The puppets were an absolute stand out.
Thank you for a lovely time.
Absolutely fabulous in all aspects of theatre: dance, singing, acting and puppetry just loved it !!!
Loved it! So creatively done. Voices were superb. Thank you for the opportunity Irina.
Great puppets and beautiful music.
An excellent show! The singers and orchestra were fantastic, and the whole staging with the large puppets took you into another world. I'd highly recommend it!
Great show, different approach and fun
Good voices that projected well, some absurd humour and even the odd unexpected modern reference made this quite an enjoyable outing. I was a little skeptical about the puppetry beforehand, but was pleasantly surprised by the otherworldly contribution of this element. Wonderful contributions from lighting and props. Thanks Victorian Opera!
Excellent performance. Puppetry inspired and absolutely thrilling. Breathtakingly lvoely show.
Brilliant production. Engrossed for the one hour 20 duration. 5 stars to the prop production department.
It was such a splendid show. Both adults and the kids enjoyed it very much. Outstanding singing, brilliant puppetry and great humour. Thank you on the house.
For non opera buffs this show was surprisingly entertaining.
Wonderful music, singing and charming production. Everyone had a smile on their faces and enjoyable for all ages. Memorable evening.
Magical world class show. These talented local performers deserve our accolades and full houses. I bought my friend a ticket so he wouldn't miss out. Thank you for mine OTH.
Truly spectacular!
Fabulous show that had it all! Incredible voices, beautiful music, wondrous puppets, fun and laughter too!
Voices were fine, as was the dancing. The orchestra did a mighty job following the action and the score at the same time; almost...The staging was ugly but improved towards the end. Lots of clutter with puppets, puppeteers, dancers and singers on a fairly small stage. It is a beautiful story, so why do the puppets have to be so ugly? The symbolism of Sleeping Beauty, which reduced her to a dress laid out on a podium was weird, as was the deconstruction of the Prince and his love, each who were split into a dancing human body and a singing human body, all on stage at the same time. A strong finish left me with a better impression than I expected.
Wonderful evening's entertainment. Not to be missed.
Beautiful and spectacular. The score, singing, puppetry, acting and costumes, all amazing. We took 2 eleven year olds who had wonder and smiles on their faces throughou and talked about it all the way home. Will be recommending to friends. Thanks for the opportunity OTH!
Wonderful performance. The puppets were amazing and the singers were exceptional. A truly unforgettable evening.
I must agree with many of the comments here, a truly unforgettable evening. The puppets, the dancing and powerful, beautiful voices in this show - all exceeded my expectations. Certainly will be telling friends about this one.
thanks.
BRAVO Victoria Opera. A superb performance. Outstanding voices. Creative. The puppets in this performance made us feel like we were in a fairy tale. Everything about this show screams - BRILLIANT.
Thank you for this outstanding opportunity that will linger in our hearts and minds for many days to come.
It was a lovely performance, puppets were amazing. Great entertainment and highly recommended
A truly magical performance with a little bit of everything. The vocals were wonderful, puppetry captivating, orchestra perfect, and with some dance and humour thrown it was a wonderful evening of entertainment. Highly recommended.
Truly Unforgettable! It was just Such a wonderful performance. The puppets were amazing as were the voices that accompanied them AND it was funny in parts! Lovely evening thoroughly enjoyed it!
This was absolutely mesmerizing!! We loved each and every moment of this performance. My daughter and I were captivated by the beautiful voices, costumes and stage presence of the performers. I would highly recommend this show to my family and friends!!!!!