Celebration: An Evening of Opera Favourites marked the end of Pacific Opera Studio’s 2025 season and the final performances of their 2025 Young Artists cohort.
Collaborating with the fantastic Modést Orchestra under the baton of Panagiotis Karamanos, the performance was a fitting demonstration of the power and range of the talented Young Artists at the conclusion of their time at Pacific Opera Studio, led by Co-Artistic Directors Cheryl Barker AO and Peter Coleman-Wright AO.
The evening offered a delightful mix of favourites from a variety of composers including Mozart, Bizet, Gilbert and Sullivan, Ivor Novello, Rossini, Donizetti, and Lehár. This provided a wonderfully wide-ranging programme, featuring arias, duets, trios, quartets, quintets, and ensembles. While the drama of opera is often enhanced by elaborate sets and costumes, there was a special satisfaction in seeing opera presented more humbly. The Young Artists frequently had to make do on a crowded stage – no orchestra pit, no costumes, no sets – just the music and their craft at work, which felt refreshingly honest.
Such honesty does place a considerable onus on the performers to shine through both their voice and movement. On the whole, this was well achieved: the Young Artists possessed fantastic voices, though at times movement was constrained by the physical limits of the stage. Notable highlights include James Pinneri performing the Major-General’s aria from The Pirate of Penzance, not only demonstrating vocal talent but fully embodying the character beautifully. Another standout performance was the Trio des cartes featuring Amelia Bland (Carmen), Christina Pilgrim (Frasquita), and Brea Holland (Mercédès), with Bland’s fiery charisma and rich, expressive voice leading the playful interplay, perfectly complemented by Pilgrim’s bright, agile soprano and Holland’s warm, lyrical tone.
What I found particularly fascinating was that, despite inhabiting a variety of roles convincingly, each performer brought something distinctly themselves to their performance, shining light upon the gifts which they each contribute to their craft.
There was something here for both newcomers to opera and seasoned audiences alike, and it leaves one eagerly anticipating the 2026 season of Pacific Opera Studio, as well as the remainder of the 2025 season of the Modést Orchestra.
