“I dreamed last night I got on the boat to heaven.”

So goes the encore to Encores! Songs from the Musicals, a lyric that proves entirely apt for the thrilling experience of the enraptured audience of this lavish concert. 

Continuing their 70th anniversary celebrations, Opera Australia takes the chance to give an “encore” performance of hit songs from the parade of successful musicals they have staged over recent years. 

Director Mark Sutcliffe works with a starry cast of six performers to present a slick, highly entertaining concert. Sutcliffe wisely keeps chat to a minimum, simply having each performer take a turn to speak, strengthening their bond with the audience by sharing the backstory of their involvement with Opera Australia. International leading lady Caroline O’Connor begins proceedings, instantly warming and engaging the audience with her trademark exuberant flair. 

Under the highly exacting baton of maestro Vanessa Scammell, musical quality is at an absolute premium. Scammell nimbly accommodates a range of styles across composers and decades, all the while drawing sumptuous performances from the mighty Orchestra Victoria. With more than double the number of players on stage compared to a regular pit orchestra, these musical selections have never sounded better.

The evening begins with a custom-arranged “Overture,” with orchestrator Anthony Barnhill deftly weaving motifs from the broad range of composers on show. Barnhill also contributes a terrific West Side Story medley. Further special arrangements include a lovely South Pacific medley orchestrated by Jack Earle, and a charming My Fair Lady medley by Earle, Robert Russel Bennett, and Phillip J Lang. 

Glossy lighting design by Alexander Lynn creates ongoing visual appeal. Tight sound design by Shelly Lee ensures that the musicians and singers are heard in perfectly balanced harmony. Mention must also be made of the fact that each of the performers sports a stunning new outfit basically every time they step on stage. 

Each of the six singers takes the chance to revisit their Opera Australia hits whilst also extending their canon with dream roles. 

Caroline O’Connor, in particular, seizes the opportunity to put her own inimitable mark on the songs that got away, giving extraordinary, fully realised renditions of “Send in the Clowns,” “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina,” and “As If We Never Said Goodbye.” What other musical artiste in the world could successfully pair these power ballads with the delightful comedy of “Miss Adelaide’s Lament”? All this, plus a reprise of the Anything Goes title song, complete with nimble soft shoe dance break. 

Abigail Adriano and Nigel Huckle have the audience swooning again wit their return to “Last Night of the World ” from Miss Saigon. Adriano also gives a beautifully delicate performance of her song “Flowers” from the recent hit tour of Hadestown. 

First rate tenor Huckle revisits his gorgeous “Maria,” sweetly croons “On The Street Where You Live,” and charms the pants of the audience joining O’Connor in “You’re The Top.”

Having performed but not sung together in Sunset Boulevard, Ashleigh Rubenach and Jarrod Draper join forces for romantic classic “All I Ask of You.” Rubenach exhibits a wonderful golden age soprano tone in numbers such “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair” And “I Could Have Danced All Night.” Draper’s baritone has a rich, romantic timbre. His powerhouse rendition of the title song of Sunset Boulevard is a thrilling highlight of the evening. 

Having covered the title role in the recent seasons of The Phantom the Opera, Raphael Wong steps into the spotlight to grace “Music of the Night” with his darkly burnished baritone, drawing the full height of drama with his highly polished musicality. Wong also delights taking a lighter romantic tone for “I Have Dreamed” with Rubenach.

With two further performances of Encore! Songs from the Musicals to come, any Melbourne musical fans who have not already secured their tickets are strongly advised to act quickly.

Encore! Songs from the Musicals plays at Regent Theatre, Melbourne until 30 May 2026. For tickets, click here.

The Encore! Songs from the Musicals program can be read online.

Photo: Jeff Busby