Less than two weeks since it opened, Opera Australia has scaled back the number of shows being performed for its Melbourne production of Sunset Boulevard.
The cast has been told Tuesday performances of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical will be cancelled from next week. Sources involved in the production, not authorised to speak publicly, confirmed the move to The Age.
The cast of Sunset Boulevard has been told that Tuesday’s performances have been cancelled.Credit: Justin McManus
Sunset Boulevard tells the story of silent film star Norma Desmond, who following the advent of “talkies” has slipped into obscurity. The much-loved 1950 film was adapted into a musical by Lloyd Webber and first staged in 1993. In 1995, Glenn Close won a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway production.
The lavish Opera Australia staging marked star soprano Sarah Brightman’s return to musical theatre after a 34-year absence, but both the show and her performance have had mixed reviews.
Critic Cameron Woodhead, in a review for this masthead, said the production looked the part but was neither funny nor dark enough to deliver the “guts of the show”.
Tim Byrne for The Guardian said Brightman was not up to the task, “Not physically, not dramatically and certainly not vocally”.
But Peter Craven, writing for Spectator Australia, said Opera Australia had taken a risk on such a big production, and “in the case of Sarah Brightman, there’s magic in that risk and there is also triumph”.
Brightman, who both inspired and originated the role of Christine Daae in The Phantom of the Opera, is sharing the role of Desmond with Australian performer Silvie Paladino, who until now has been performing in Tuesday evening and Wednesday matinee shows.
Originally, the Opera Australia production was being staged eight times a week over six days. Ticket prices for the Melbourne season range from $69 to $249.
As of Wednesday morning, all Tuesday performances from June 18 onwards in Melbourne had been marked as unavailable on the production’s ticketing website. Similarly, all Sunday shows starting from July 1, as well as the entire final week of Sunset Boulevard are unable to be booked. It is unclear at this stage whether this is due to further cancellations.
In a statement, Opera Australia confirmed shows had been cancelled. A spokesperson said: “The performance schedule for Sunset Boulevard’s Melbourne season is being adjusted to reflect the current market conditions.”
All ticket holders for the affected performances will be contacted.
Opera Australia has previously faced criticism for the lack of productions staged in Melbourne and for the number of musicals on its program as opposed to opera. Despite this, previous musicals have proven popular. Last year’s productions of Miss Saigon and The Phantom of the Opera attracted nearly half of the entire 2023 audience.
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