PALACE OPERA AND BALLET
Experience the best of what's on stage in Europe in Bowral, with new performances screening direct from London’s Royal Ballet and Opera, Opéra National de Paris and Milan’s Teatro alla Scala!
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Royal Ballet: Ballet to Broadway
Four of The Royal Ballet's Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon’s most distinctive short works are brought to the Covent Garden stage, bringing together sensuous contemporary ballet with the energy of musical theatre. ‘Fool’s Paradise’ (2007), ‘The Two of Us’ (2020), ‘Us’ (2017), ‘An American in Paris’ (2005): four stories of tender devotion and blossoming romance, showcasing Wheeldon’s remarkable choreographic range.
Language: English
Production Company: Royal Opera House, Trafalgar Releasing
Director – Christopher Wheeldon
Cast – The Royal Ballet
Screening Saturday 28 & Sunday 29 June at 1:00pm
Plus Wednesday 2 July at 11:00am
Adults: $27.00, Concessions: $20.00
Opéra de Paris: Madama Butterfly
Poor Cio-Cio-San! The 15-year-old geisha (here superb soprano Eleonora Buratto) who, having renounced her family and Japanese traditions for the love of an American naval officer (Stefan Pop), finds herself abandoned in favour of a Western wife. Puccini used this classic theme of a woman seduced and abandoned to create an opera with lush orchestration and burning lyricism.
For singular American director Robert Wilson, this Japanese tragedy of a woman as fragile as a butterfly’s wings proves the ideal environment in which to display his signature refined formalism. Far from the traditional fans and cherry branches, he uses stylised acting and a stripped-down space to allow the melodic lines to blossom in all their purity.
Language: Italian with English subtitles
Production Company: Opéra national de Paris, Pathé
Director – Robert Wilson
Cast – Eleonora Buratto, Stefan Pop, Christopher Maltman, Aude Extrémo, Carlo Bosi, Vartan Gabrielian
Screening Saturday 19 & Sunday 20 July at 1:00pm
Plus Wednesday 23 July at 11:00am
Adults: $27.00, Concessions: $20.00
Teatro di San Carlo: Rusalka
Captured live from Naples’ splendid San Carlo Theatre – the world’s oldest continuously running public opera venue - where it opened the company’s theatrical season, acclaimed director Dmitri Tcherniakov stages a new production of Dvořák’s beautiful, supremely romantic opera about a water sprite Rusalka (here the stunning soprano Asmik Grigorian) who longs to find love.
Maestro Dan Ettinger conducts a terrific cast that also includes exciting young British tenor Adam Smith, Ekaterina Gubanova, Anita Rachvelishvili and Gábor Bretz.
Language: Czech with English subtitles
Production Company: Teatro di San Carlo, RAI
Director – Dmitri Tcherniakov
Cast – Asmik Grigorian, Adam Smith, Gabor Bretz, Anita Rachvelishvili, Ekaterina Gubanova, Peter Hoare
Screening Saturday 9 & Sunday 10 August at 1pm
Plus Wednesday 13 August at 11am
Adults: $27.00, Concessions: $20.00
Royal Opera: Puccini's Tosca
Conductor: Jakub Hrůša
Orchestra: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Cast: Anna Netrebko (Floria Tosca), Freddie De Tommaso (Mario Cavaradossi), Gerald Finley (Baron Scarpia), Carlo Bosi (Spoletta), Ossian Huskinson (Cesare Angelotti), Alessandro Corbelli (Sacristan), Siphe Kwani (Sciarrone)
Composer: Giacomo Puccini
Director: Oliver Mears
Set Design: Simon Lima Holdsworth
Duration: approx. 3h including an interval
Sung in Italian, with English subtitles.
Opera in three acts (1900)
New production! The splendour of Rome. The devastation of war. Puccini’s operatic thriller returns in an unmissable, gripping new production by Oliver Mears, the first to be conducted by Music Director of The Royal Opera Jakub Hrůša in his new role. Floria Tosca (star soprano Anna Netrebko) and Mario Cavaradossi (rising tenor Freddie De Tommaso) live for each other and for their art. But when Cavaradossi helps an escaped prisoner, the lovers make a deadly enemy in the form of Baron Scarpia (bassbaritone Gerald Finley), Chief of Police. At the mercy of Scarpia’s twisted desires, Tosca is forced to make a horrific bargain: sleeping with the man she hates in order to save the man she loves. Can she find a way out?
Screening Saturday 25 & Sunday 26 October 2025 at 1pm
Plus Wednesday 29 October 2025 at 11am
Adults: $27.00, Concessions: $20.00
Royal Ballet: Ashton's La Fille Mal Gardée
Conductor: Jonathan Lo
Orchestra: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Cast: Francesca Hayward (Lise), Marcelino Sambé (Colas)
Music: Ferdinand Hérold
Choreography: Frederick Ashton
Designs: Osbert Lancaster
Duration: approx. 2h15 incl. an interval
Ballet in two acts (1960)
65 years after its premiere, The Royal Ballet invites you to (re)discover Frederick Ashton’s ballet of pure sunshine. Lise (Francesca Hayward), the only daughter of Widow Simone, is in love with the young farmer Colas (Marcelino Sambé), but her mother has far more ambitious plans for her. Simone hopes to marry her off to Alain, the son of the wealthy proprietor Thomas. Desperate to marry Colas rather than Alain, Lise contrives to outwit her mother’s plans. Whisking us away into pastoral bliss with Hérold’s cheerful score and Osbert Lancaster’s colourful designs, this affectionate portrayal of village life combines exuberant good humour and brilliantly inventive choreography in what is undoubtedly Ashton’s love letter to the English countryside.
Screening Saturday 29 & Sunday 30 November 2025 at 1pm
Plus Wednesday 3 December 2025 at 11am
Adults: $27.00, Concessions: $20.00
Royal Ballet: Ashton's Cinderella
Conductor: Jonathan Lo
Orchestra: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Cast: Fumi Kaneko (Cinderella), William Bracewell (The Prince), Mayara Magri (The Fairy Godmother)
Music: Sergey Prokofiev
Choreography: Frederick Ashton
Designs: Tom Pye
Duration: approx. 2h45 incl. 2 intervals
Ballet in three acts (1948)
Encore screenings! This enchanting ballet by The Royal Ballet’s Founding Choreographer Frederick Ashton is a theatrical experience for all the family that transports audiences into an ethereal world where a sprinkling of fairy dust makes dreams come true. Stuck at home and put to work by her spoiled Step-Sisters, life for Cinderella (Fumi Kaneko) is dreary and dull is dreary and dull. Everything changes when she helps a mysterious woman out...With a little bit of magic, she is transported into an ethereal new world – one where fairies bring the gifts of the seasons, where pumpkins turn into carriages, and where true love with the prince (William Bracewell) awaits.
Screening Saturday 6 & Sunday 7 December 2025 at 1pm
Plus Wednesday 10 December 2025 at 11am
Adults: $27.00, Concessions: $20.00
Royal Ballet: Wright's The Nutcracker
Conductor: Koen Kessels
Orchestra: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Cast: Mayara Magri, Reece Clarke
Music: Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Choreography: Peter Wright after Lev Ivanov
Designs: Julia Trevelyan Oman
Duration: approx. 2h25 incl. an interval
Ballet in two acts (1892)
The magician Herr Drosselmeyer needs to save his nephew. Hans-Peter has been transformed into a Nutcracker; the only way to save him is for the Nutcracker to defeat the Mouse King and find a girl to love and care for him. A flicker of hope comes in the form of the young Clara, whom Drosselmeyer meets at a Christmas party. With some magic, a cosy Christmas gathering turns into a marvellous adventure. Peter Wright’s ‘The Nutcracker’ has enchanted audiences since its 1984 premiere by the Company. Featuring Tchaikovsky’s most familiar melodies and brought to life by Julia Trevelyan Oman’s exquisite designs, ‘The Nutcracker’ is sure to be a festive firecracker for all ages.
Screening Saturday 20 & Sunday 21 December 2025 at 1pm
Plus Wednesday 24 December 2025 at 11am
Adults: $27.00, Concessions: $20.00
Royal Opera: Verdi's La Traviata
Conductor: Antonello Manacorda
Orchestra: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Cast: Ermonela Jaho (Violetta Valéry), Giovanni Sala (Alfredo Germont), Aleksei Isaev (Giorgio Germont), Veena Akama-Makia (Annina), Barnaby Rea (Doctor Grenvil), Ellen Pearson (Flora Bervoix), Sam Hird (Baron Douphol)
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
Directors: Richard Eyre
Set Design: Bob Crowley
Duration: approx. 3h incl. 2 intervals
Sung in Italian, with English subtitles.
Opera in three acts (1853)
Live and love, to the last breath. At one of her lavish parties, celebrated Parisan courtesan Violetta (Ermonela Jaho) is introduced to Alfredo Germont (Giovanni Sala). The two fall madly in love, and though hesitant to leave behind her life of luxury and freedom, Violetta follows her heart. But the young couple’s happiness is short-lived, as the harsh realities of life soon come knocking. As intimate as it is sumptuous, ‘La traviata’ features some of opera’s most famous melodies. In director Richard Eyre’s world of seductive grandeur, the tender and devastating beauty at the centre of Verdi’s opera shines bright.
Screening Saturday 14 & Sunday 15 February 2026 at 1pm
Plus Wednesday 18 February 2026 at 11am
Adults: $27.00, Concessions: $20.00
Royal Ballet: McGregor's Woolf Works
Conductor: Koen Kessels
Orchestra: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Cast: The Royal Ballet
Music: Max Richter
Choreography: Wayne McGregor
Designs: Ciguë, We Not I & Wayne McGregor
Duration: approx. 2h45 incl. 2 intervals
Ballet in three acts (2015)
Virginia Woolf defied literary conventions to depict rich inner worlds – her heightened, startling and poignant reality. Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor leads a luminous artistic team to evoke Woolf’s signature stream of consciousness writing style in this immense work that rejects traditional narrative structures, set to an original score by Max Richter. A collage of themes from ‘Mrs Dalloway’, ‘Orlando’, ‘The Waves’ and Woolf’s other writings, this Olivier-award winning ballet triptych captures the heart of Woolf’s uniquely artistic spirit.
Screening Saturday 14 & Sunday 15 March 2026 at 1pm
Plus Wednesday 18 March 2026 at 11am
Adults: $27.00, Concessions: $20.00
Royal Ballet: Wright's Giselle
Conductor: Vello Pahn
Orchestra: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Cast: The Royal Ballet
Music: Adolphe Adam
Choreography: Marius Petipa, after Jean Coralli & Jules Perrot, with additional choreography by Peter Wright
Production: Peter Wright
Designs: John Macfarlane
Duration: approx. 2h20 incl. an interval
Ballet in two acts (1841)
The peasant girl Giselle has fallen in love with Albrecht. When she discovers that he is actually a nobleman promised to another, she kills herself in despair. Her spirit joins the Wilis: the vengeful ghosts of women hell-bent on killing any man who crosses their path in a dance to the death. Wracked with guilt, Albrecht visits Giselle’s grave, where he must face the Wilis – and Giselle’s ghost. Peter Wright’s atmospheric and bewitching 1985 production of this quintessential Romantic ballet is a classic of The Royal Ballet repertory. Set to Adolphe Adam’s evocative score and with atmospheric designs by John Macfarlane, ‘Giselle’ conjures up the earthly and otherworldly realms in a tale of love, betrayal and redemption.
Screening Saturday 11 & Sunday 12 April 2026 at 1pm
Plus Wednesday 15 April 2026 at 11am
Adults: $27.00, Concessions: $20.00
Royal Opera: Wagner's Siegfried
Conductor: Antonio Pappano
Orchestra: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Cast: Andreas Schager (Siegfried), Peter Hoare (Mime), Christopher Maltman (Der Wanderer), Elisabet Strid (Brünnhilde), Christopher Purves (Alberich), Soloman Howard (Fafner), Wiebke Lehmkuhl (Erda), Sarah Dufresne (Woodbird)
Composer: Richard Wagner
Directors: Barrie Kosky
Set Design: Rufis Didwiszus
Duration: approx. 5h30 tbc
Sung in German, with English subtitles.
Opera in three acts (1857)
New Production! Raised by a scheming dwarf and unaware of his true family origins, a young man embarks on an epic journey. Soon, destiny brings him face-to-face with a shattered sword, a fearsome dragon and the cursed ring it guards, and a Valkyrie forced into enchanted slumber... Moments of transcendent beauty and heroic triumph sparkle in the third chapter of Wagner’s Ring cycle, brought to life under Barrie Kosky’s inspired eye following his spectacular ‘Das Rheingold’ (2023) and ‘Die Walküre’ (2025). Andreas Schager, in his much-anticipated debut with The Royal Opera, stars as Siegfried, alongside Christopher Maltman’s towering Wanderer, Peter Hoare’s treacherous Mime and Elisabet Strid’s radiant Brünnhilde. Antonio Pappano conducts, drawing out the unspoken tensions and ethereal mysticism of Wagner’s dynamic score.
Screening Saturday 2 & Sunday 3 May 2026 at 1pm
Plus Wednesday 6 May 2026 at 11am
Adults: $27.00, Concessions: $20.00
Royal Opera: Mozart's The Magic Flute
Conductor: Marie Jacquot
Orchestra: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Cast: Julia Bullock (Pamina), Amitai Pati (Tamino), Huw Montagne Rendall (Papageno), Kathryn Lewek (Queen of the Night), Soloman Howard (Sarastro)
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Director: David McVicar
Set Design: John McFarlane
Duration: approx. 3h5 incl. an interval
Sung in German, with English subtitles
Opera in two acts (1791)
Princess Pamina (Grammy-winning American soprano Julia Bullock) has been captured. Her mother (Kathryn Lewek), the Queen of the Night, tasks the young Prince Tamino (Samoan-Kiwi tenor Amitai Pati) with her daughter’s rescue. But when Tamino and his friendly sidekick, Papageno (Huw Montague Rendall), embark on their adventure, they soon learn that when it comes to the quest for love, nothing is as it really seems. Guided by a magic flute, they encounter monsters, villains, and a mysterious brotherhood of men – but help, it turns out, comes when you least expect it… Mozart’s fantastical opera glitters in David McVicar’s enchanting production, with the star cast assembled led by French conductor Marie Jacquot in her Covent Garden debut.
Screening Saturday 6 & Sunday 7 June 2026 at 1pm
Plus Wednesday 10 June 2026 at 11am
Adults: $27.00, Concessions: $20.00
