Victorian Opera will launch its 2025 season with a fresh staging of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates Of Penzance. The production will run at the Palais Theatre from 31 January to 6 February, with tickets ranging from $39 to $165. The company will open its twenty-first anniversary season with one of the most recognisable operettas in the English canon, a work that has remained a fixture of theatre programming since its 1879 premiere.
The Pirates Of Penzance has endured as a favourite for audiences across generations. Its catalogue includes the evergreen I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Major General, the lyrical Poor Wandering One and the rousing I Am The Pirate King. Victorian Opera will present the work in a new staging designed to introduce the next generation to Gilbert and Sullivan while providing a nostalgic return for long-time fans.
Ben Mingay will take the helm as the Pirate King, joined by Antoinette Halloran as Ruth. The pair reunite following their praised collaboration in Victorian Opera’s 2023 presentation of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street, a production that reinforced their standing as two of Australia’s most reliable vocal actors.
Mingay has built an expansive career across musical theatre, opera and screen. Halloran is one of the nation’s leading sopranos, noted for her work across classical repertoire and contemporary stage works. Their partnership in The Pirates Of Penzance brings a strong dramatic through-line to a comic work that demands both vocal finesse and sharp timing.
Richard Piper will appear as Major General Stanley, providing a veteran presence that aligns with his extensive career across Australian theatre. Nicholas Jones and Nina Korbe will perform as Frederic and Mabel, roles that mark a significant step in the progression of both rising artists. Christopher Hillier joins the ensemble as the Sergeant of Police, adding another strong voice to an already robust principal cast.
Victorian Opera has placed particular emphasis on developing early-career artists, and that commitment is evident in this production. The ensemble includes a notable selection of performers with connections to the company’s scholarship and prizes program.
Rachael Joyce, Bailey Montgomerie and Alessia Pintabona, winners of the 2026 Opera Prize, will perform key supporting roles. Joyce appears as Edith, Pintabona as Kate and Montgomerie joins the ensemble. Former prize recipients Douglas Kelly and Syrah Torii return to the company as Samuel and Isabel. Each is part of a broader ensemble of twenty artists, including Megan Baker, Lachlan Bartlett, Alastair Cooper-Golec, Eamon Dooley, Shakira Dugan, Declan Farr, Genevieve Gray and others.
Their presence reflects Victorian Opera’s ongoing strategy to cultivate local talent. Many of these performers have progressed through the company’s training initiatives, providing a pipeline for new interpreters of classic opera and contemporary Australian work.
Stuart Maunder AM will direct the production. Maunder has long been regarded as one of Australia’s leading interpreters of musical theatre and operetta, with a career spanning Opera Australia, Victorian Opera and New Zealand Opera. He is joined by conductor James Pratt, who will bring Sullivan’s score into the acoustic splendour of the Palais Theatre.
Maunder notes that Gilbert and Sullivan’s work holds a special place in Australian performance history, a sentiment reflected in decades of local stagings. Their operettas have often introduced younger audiences to theatre, serving as an accessible entry point that blends melody, humour and social commentary.
The creative team also includes choreographer and assistant director Elizabeth Hill-Cooper, set designer Richard Roberts, costume designer Roger Kirk and lighting designer Trudy Dalgleish. Together they will shape a revival that respects the material’s heritage while presenting it with contemporary clarity.
Dates And Venue
Victorian Opera will present The Pirates Of Penzance at the Palais Theatre from 31 January to 6 February.
The company emphasises that the production reflects a celebration of twenty-one years of Victorian Opera. The Pirates Of Penzance begins with its protagonist’s twenty-first birthday, which aligns neatly with the company’s own anniversary. The result is a symbolic launch to a season built on tradition, renewal and community engagement.
For Gilbert and Sullivan enthusiasts, theatre-goers seeking a summer highlight, or families introducing children to live performance, Victorian Opera’s new staging promises an accessible reimagining of a timeless comic opera.
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