Mad Scenes with Jessica Pratt
3 August 2023
In the Concert Hall
Opera
Journey to the edge of danger and delirium, as leading Australian soprano Jessica Pratt delivers a mind-blowing evening of opera’s cliffhangers in Mad Scenes.
|
Date |
Time |
|
Thursday 3 August |
7.30pm |
|
Standard |
Price |
|---|---|
|
Premium |
$299 |
|
A Reserve |
$245 |
|
B Reserve |
$189 |
|
C Reserve |
$140 |
|
D Reserve |
$69 |
|
E Reserve |
$49 |
|
Concession |
Price |
|
Premium |
$269 |
|
A Reserve |
$220 |
|
B Reserve |
$170 |
|
C Reserve |
$126 |
|
D Reserve |
$62 |
|
E Reserve |
$49 |
|
Children |
Price |
|
Premium |
$299 |
|
A Reserve |
$122 |
|
B Reserve |
$94 |
|
C Reserve |
$49 |
|
D Reserve |
$49 |
|
E Reserve |
$49 |
|
Groups 8+ |
Price |
|
Premium |
$251 |
|
A Reserve |
$208 |
|
B Reserve |
$160 |
|
C Reserve |
$119 |
|
D Reserve |
$58 |
|
E Reserve |
$49 |
$8.95 booking fee applies per transaction
Prices correct at the time of publication and subject to change without notice. Exact prices will be displayed with seat selection. Children aged 15 years and under must be accompanied at all times
The authorised agencies for this event are Sydney Opera House, Opera Australia, Today Tix and Ticketmaster. For more information about Authorised Agencies, see the frequently asked questions below.
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9am, Thursday 6 October, 2022
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10am, Thursday 6 October, 2022
General Public tickets on-sale
9am, Wednesday 12 October, 2022
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Wheelchair accessible
Audio loop available
Find out more about accessibility at Sydney Opera House
Run time
This performance will run for 1 hour and 55 minutes, including one interval.
Event duration is a guide only and may be subject to change.
Feel the wind on the wing of madness
A soprano – solo in the spotlight – vocally and emotionally crumbles into madness before your eyes. Favoured by the likes of Bellini, Verdi and Donizetti, ‘mad scenes’ evoke some of the most dramatic, heartbreaking and impressive moments in opera. Euphoric highs and spiralling descents show off a virtuosa’s prowess.
Hailed by the New York Times as a soprano of “gleaming sound, free and easy high notes, agile coloratura runs and lyrical grace,” Australia’s own Jessica Pratt is considered one of the world’s foremost bel canto interpreters. She is best known for making Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor her own, taking his dangerously unhinged bride around the world in over 100 performances.
Now, discover the method in her madness. This one-night-only showcase of ‘mad scenes’ gives Jessica an unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate her dramatic range and vocal acrobatics as part of the Sydney Opera House's 50th birthday celebrations.
In a performance laced with passion and poignancy, Jessica takes on the most challenging arias of the bel canto repertoire with incomparable precision and conviction. Whether singing in the languages of unrequited love, jealous rage, or haunted delusion, Jessica teases out the moments that propel each heroine to the mind’s edge.
Presented by Opera Australia
Artist Information
Creative team
Conductor
Johannes Fritzsch
Cast
Jessica Pratt
Opera Australia Orchestra
The song list includes:
Orchestra Nabucco overture
La Sonnambula - Vincenzo Bellini
La nello mio... Ah non credea mirarti... Ah non giunge
Emilia di Liverpool - Gaetano Donizetti
Quest’aure mattutina... Madre deh placati... Ah di contento ripiena ho l’alma
Orchestra Leoncavallo Cavalleria Rusticana Intermezzo
Lucia di Lammermoor - Gaetano Donizetti
Il dolce suono... Ardon gli incensi... Spargi d’amaro pianto
Interval
Orchestra Verdi Macbeth ballet music
I Puritani - Vincenzo Bellini
O rendetemi la speme... Qui la voce sua soave... Vien diletto è in ciel la luna.
Orchestra Verdi I Lombardi preludio act 3
Linda di Chamounix - Gaetano Donizetti
Carlo Carlo... Nel silenzio della sera... No non è ver mentirono
(nel silenzio della sera si trova nel appendice del’edizione critica di Ricordi)
The song list is subject to change without notice.
Celebrate the extraordinary
In our 50th year, we’re throwing a party and everyone’s invited.
Join us for a year-long festival celebrating the past, present and future of Australia’s favourite building.
Season 2025
Opera Australia
Some of Australia’s brightest stars are taking the stage in Opera Australia’s 2025 season. Dreams, desire and destiny collide in this season of fantasy and fairy tales, heart and humour, music and magic.
Other information
Venue information
Our foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars.
All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres in the Western Foyer.
Getting here
The Sydney Opera House Car Park, operated by Wilson Parking, is open and available to use. Wilson Parking offer discounted parking if you book ahead. Please see the Wilson Parking website for details.
Please check the Transport NSW website for the latest advice and information on travel. You can catch public transport (bus, train, ferry) to Circular Quay and enjoy a six minute walk to the Opera House.
Covid-safe information
The health and wellbeing of everyone attending the Opera House is our top priority. We’re committed to making your experience safe, comfortable and enjoyable, with a number of measures in place including regular cleaning of high-touch areas, air conditioning systems that maximise ventilation, and hand sanitiser stations positioned in all paths of travel. We remind our audiences and visitors to please stay home if you feel unwell. If you need to discuss your ticketing or booking options, contact our Box Office team on 02 9250 7777.
The health and wellbeing of everyone attending the Opera House is our top priority. We have a number of safety measures in place including regular cleaning of high-touch areas, air conditioning systems that maximise ventilation, and hand sanitiser stations positioned in all paths of travel. While face masks are no longer required, we ask all our patrons and visitors to practise good hygiene.
The Sydney Opera House no longer requires patrons to show that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Frequently asked questions
Ticket purchases and collection at our Box Office is discouraged and eTicket or postal delivery methods should be used, wherever possible. However, if you are collecting your tickets from the Box Office, we recommend doing this at least 60 minutes before the event starts. If you have already received your tickets, the venue doors will be open 45 minutes pre-show for Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 30 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Please take your seats as soon as you arrive.
If you are late, we will seat you as soon as we can and, where possible, in your allocated seat. However, to reduce movement in the venue as well as minimise disruption to the performance and other patrons, ticketholders may be seated in an allocated latecomer’s seat. Please be aware that some events have lock-out periods. In these cases, latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance. On occasions, this may not be until the interval, or at all where there is no interval.
Details of our right to refuse admission can be found in our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Events.
In accordance with our venue security procedures, Opera House security will be scanning and checking bags under the Monumental Stairs, prior to entering the building. Bags will be scanned by an x-ray machine, and staff will wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling your belongings, such as gloves. Cloaking facilities will be open 60 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 60 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. However it is strongly encouraged that you travel lightly to minimise contact and queuing. Any bags larger than an A4 piece of paper will need to be checked into the Cloak Room.
The authorised agency for this event is the Sydney Opera House.
Only tickets purchased by authorised agencies should be considered reliable. If you purchase tickets from a non-authorised agency such as Ticketmaster Resale, Viagogo, Ticketbis, eBay, Gumtree, Tickets Australia or any other unauthorised seller, you risk that these tickets are fake, void or have previously been cancelled. Resale restriction applies. For more details, please refer to our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Attendance at Events.
Please contact Box Office on +61 2 9250 7777 as soon as possible to advise if you can no longer attend.
Foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars.
The venue doors will be open 45 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 30 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances.
Please bring a credit or debit card for any on site purchases to enable contactless payment. You’re welcome to bring your own water bottle but no other food and drinks are permitted inside our venues.
The health, safety and wellbeing of everyone at the Sydney Opera House is our top priority. In line with this commitment, the Opera House became a smoke-free site in January 2022. Read our Smoke-free Environment Policy.
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