Hamlet

One of the greatest plays ever written is now a dazzling new opera.

What a piece of work is a man! Shakespeare’s searing portrait of a prince in crisis has all the makings of a great opera, and Australian composer Brett Dean has turned it into one.

This is an intense theatrical experience, with a wall of luxurious sound underscoring Hamlet’s splintering sanity.

Neil Armfield (Opera Australia’s 2013 The Ring Cycle) created this acclaimed production for the famed Glyndebourne opera house in the UK, collaborating with his regular design team Ralph Myers and Alice Babbage to produce a slick royal court with darkness at its heart.

Allan Clayton reprises his “mesmerising” performance in the title role with Lorina Gore as his “spellbinding” Ophelia.

This performance will run for 3 hours and 25 minutes, including one interval.

Event duration is a guide only and may be subject to change.

The home of Opera Australia and the Australian Ballet, the Joan Sutherland Theatre is the second largest indoor venue in the Opera House with a seated capacity for up to 1507. It features an extensive fly system and flexible staging and is suitable for all genres. Up to 70 musicians can be accommodated in the orchestra pit.  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. Please remember to maintain physical distancing whilst consuming drinks in our foyers.

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 consistent with COVID-safe rules.