Hobart Baroque

Hobart Baroque Presents,

L'isola Disabitata - Royal Opera House

While numerous orchestras, ensembles and individual musicians contribute to the vibrant and burgeoning Australian classical music scene, this is the very first event dedicated solely to performances of works from the 17th and 18th centuries.

The centrepiece of this inaugural Hobart Baroque will be the first Australian performance of L’ Isola disabitata, a chamber opera by Josef Haydn, first heard at Esterhaza in 1776.

In their first presentation ever in Australia, London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, will present their acclaimed production which will feature some of its finest young singers, who have all performed with the Royal Opera in previous seasons. In a sense, the Royal is coming to the Royal.

Four performances are scheduled for Hobart’s unique Theatre Royal, the only surviving Georgian theatre in Australia and the only one in the southern hemisphere to have enjoyed continuity of performance since it was built in 1834.

In addition to an impressive roster of international artists, many Australian musicians will perform, including leading early music specialist Erin Helyard who is also curator for the program, counter tenor David Hansen, soprano Jane Edwards, and the exciting Melbourne-based trio, Latitude 37.

In addition to the events at the Theatre Royal, there is also two one-off events at MONA, Tasmania’s astonishing Museum of Old and New Art. All events on the program will be exclusive to Hobart. Join us for this exciting cultural event next April.