Phantom Opens Harbour Season in Spectacular Style
A full house, a glittering red carpet, and one of the world’s most recognisable scores carried across Sydney Harbour. Opera Australia has opened The Phantom of the Opera at Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour with unmistakable scale and confidence, launching the work’s global 40th anniversary celebrations against one of the city’s most iconic backdrops.
The production has arrived with momentum. More than 70,000 tickets have already been sold, making it the most successful season in the event’s history before the run has even concluded. Set at Mrs Macquaries Point through to 3 May, the season is both a celebration and a statement of intent for large-scale outdoor performance in Australia.
Opening night leaned fully into the theatricality of the work. A ‘Masquerade’-themed red carpet brought a sense of occasion, with audiences encountering the vast harbour-side set for the first time as dusk settled over the water. Anticipation was immediate, and justified.
In the title role, Jake Lyle steps into formidable territory with composure. At just 22, and newly graduated from the Queensland Conservatorium, his casting signals a notable investment in emerging Australian talent. Opposite him, Amy Manford returns to Christine Daaé with the assurance of a performer who knows the role intimately, while Jarrod Draper brings clarity and presence to Raoul in his role debut.
Under the musical direction of Guy Simpson, the score retains its sweep and familiarity, from the opening phrases to the enduring pull of Music of the Night and the layered spectacle of Masquerade. On the harbour stage, these moments expand rather than dissipate, carried outward into the open air.
Much of that impact rests with the returning creative team. Director Simon Phillips, alongside designer Gabriela Tylesova, choreographer Simone Sault, lighting designer Nick Schlieper and sound designer Shelly Lee, revisit the work with a clear understanding of both its theatrical language and the demands of the outdoor form. The result is a production that feels expansive without losing its internal detail.
Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour has always traded in scale, but this season carries a particular sense of occasion. Forty years on, Phantom continues to draw audiences in, and here, set against the harbour skyline, it finds a renewed sense of spectacle.