Press Release:
From 27 December, 2022 – 21 January, 2023 a gripping new production of Peter Shaffer’s Tony and Academy Award®-winning masterpiece Amadeus will be staged in the Opera House’s newly transformed Concert Hall.
Sydney Opera House and Red Line Productions are thrilled to announce that joining acclaimed Welsh actor Michael Sheen (The Twilight Saga, Frost/Nixon, The Queen, Tron: Legacy, Masters of Sex, Good Omens, Amadeus) as Salieri, Sydney based talent Rahel Romahn (Here Out West, Shantaram, Lord of The Flies, THE PRINCIPAL) as Mozart, and New York-trained Lily Balatincz (Constellations, The Eggs, Stop the Virgens) as Constanze Mozart is a cast that speaks to the breadth and depth of Australian theatre.
Helpmann Award nominee Toby Schmitz (Black Sails, Hamlet) will appear as Mozart’s ally Emperor Joseph II, Sydney Theatre Award winner and Arrrente/Tiwi man Joseph ‘Wunujaka’ Althouse (Angels in America, The Comedy of Errors) as Count Johann Kilian von Strack, and Australian theatre stalwart Sean O’Shea (Tell Me I’m Here, Macbeth) will appear as Baron Gottfried van Swieten.
Distinguished stage and screen actor Belinda Giblin (Sons and Daughters, Happy Days) and Josh Quong Tart (Home and Away, Betty Blokk Buster Reimagined) will appear as the Venticelli, Salieri’s gossip mongers. Michael Denkha (Here Come the Habibs!, A Streetcar Named Desire) will appear as Director of the Imperial Opera Count Orsini-Rosenberg, Katherine Allen (Candide, Flights) as Katherina Cavalieri and Arky Michael (Janet King, It’s Fine, I’m Fine) as Guiseppe Bonno. Blazey Best (Miracle City, Miss Julie) will appear as Teresa Salieri, ‘Ana Ika (Bump, Grace) as Mozart’s cook/ Citizen of Vienna, Gabriel Fancourt (Henry V, Cosi) as Valet/Citizen of Vienna and Glenn Hazeldine (The Little Death, Last Cab to Darwin) rounds out this first class ensemble.
Minister for the Arts Ben Franklin MLC, says: “I’m delighted the NSW Government is able to support world-class exclusive presentations such as Amadeus and showcasing such spectacular Australian talent as announced today. This wondrous production staged in the renewed Concert Hall will appeal to a broad range of audiences across NSW and Australia. I look forward to experiencing this production and invite everyone to be part of the many extraordinary events and celebrations that form part of the Opera House’s 50th Anniversary program.”
Sydney Opera House Head of Contemporary Performance, Ebony Bott says: “Director Craig Ilott has assembled a stellar creative team for this Opera House exclusive season of Amadeus and this cast is the final piece in this compelling puzzle. Finding the people to bring a story to life on a stage is one of the most thrilling parts of the process, and so I hope you’re looking forward to seeing this all come together in the lavish, newly transformed Concert Hall in December.”
Red Line Productions Producers, Vanessa Wright & Andrew Henry says: “From a recent graduate who audiences are just meeting to Michael Sheen who is known the world over, this production brings together an electrifying ensemble of true artists who are hungry to bring Peter Shaffer’s masterpiece to glorious life”
The opera singers accompanying the exemplary cast will be soprano’s Michaela Leisk and Laura Scandizzo, tenors Joshua Oxley and Daniel Verschuer and bass baritone Daniel Macey. Musicians from The Metropolitan Orchestra conducted by Sarah-Grace Williams will be fused into the production by movement director Samantha Chester.
This ambitious contemporary production reimagines the lives of Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in a narrative fuelled by power, jealousy and revenge. Amadeus is directed by Craig Ilott, with costumes directed by Romance Was Born and designed by Anna Cordingley. The innovative set is designed by Michael Scott-Mitchell, lighting design by Nick Schlieper, sound design by Tony David Cray, voice & dialect coach, Danielle Roffe & musical arrangement by Ryan Youens.
Amadeus was the first event to be announced as part of the Opera House’s year-long 50th anniversary celebrations, supported by the NSW Government.
27 December, 2022 – 21 January, 2023
Concert Hall – SOH
