Cinderella Opens 2025 For Opera Australia

Opera Australia presents the Australian premiere season of French director Laurent Pelly’s magical production of Massenet’s Cinderella (Cendrillon) in the Joan Sutherland Theatre of the Sydney Opera House this summer.

A rarity in the opera canon, Cinderella features an almost all-female principal ensemble and for its Australian debut, four powerhouse Australian women will lead the cast.

In the title role, mezzo-soprano Emily Edmonds debuts in the title role. Europe-based Margaret Plummer will return from her  international career to play the ‘pants role’ of Prince Charming, sharing the role with OA principal Sian Sharp, while popular soprano Emma Matthews will perform the Fairy Godmother. Angela Hogan and Dominica Matthews will share the outrageous role of Cinderella’s wicked stepmother and Ashlyn Tymms will debut as an OA principal, pairing up with Jennifer Black then Jane Ede to add to the fun as the stepsisters.

Rounding out this showcase of homegrown talent are Richard Anderson as Cinderella’s father and Shane Lowrencev as the King while Iain Henderson and Virgilio Marino will share the role of Dean of Faculty. The OA Chorus join to display their powerful voices and comic timing.

Sung in English but set in fairytale France, Cinderella will be a visual feast of shape and colour enveloped by Barbara de Limburg’s set of the pages of an old storybook coming to life, with costumes that reference the story’s 18th century origins, touched by comedic touches and haute couture. Duane Schuler’s lighting adds a magical glow. OA will stage Pelly’s abridged version, lasting 90 minutes which debuted at New York’s Met in 2021.

Cinderella is presented in association with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, London, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, L’Opéra de Lille and Gran Teatre del Liceu. The original production was by the Santa Fe Opera. This production was first seen at the Royal Opera House, London on 5 July 2011.

Principal Conductor of Washington National Opera Evan Rogister will make his company debut to conduct the OA Orchestra, followed by OA’s Head of Music Tahu Matheson. Cinderella will open on New Year’s Eve, with packages including options to add a pre-performance dinner and a midnight party to celebrate a most magical midnight. The season runs until the end of March in association with Sydney Festival.