Aphrodite

By Nico Muhly & Laura Lethlean

World Premiere
Presented by Sydney Chamber Opera & Carriageworks in association with Omega Ensemble

Is it Aphrodite’s fault that the beauty industry has never been more powerful?

Before she became the goddess of beauty as we know her today, Aphrodite was linked to fertility and the powerful miracle of life that comes from passionate pleasure. But over time, beauty and pleasure became fused with a new idea: that to be loved, one must be beautiful and to be the most beautiful means you are the most loved…

Nico Muhly’s new score is directed by Alexander Berlage (American Psycho), with a libretto by Australian playwright Laura Lethlean, and features two extraordinary voices: Jessica O’Donoghue (Gilgamesh) and Puerto Rican soprano Meechot Marrero, making her highly anticipated Australian debut. This powerful premiere production is enriched by the groundbreaking musicians of Omega Ensemble.

Image by Daniel Boud.

Creative Team

Composer
Nico Muhly

Libretto
Laura Lethlean

Conductor
Jack Symonds

Director & Lighting Designer
Alexander Berlage

Set & Costume Designer
Isabel Hudson

Video Designer
Morgan Moroney

Assistant Director
Zoë Hollyoak

Performers

Singers
Jessica O’Donoghue
Meechot Marrero

With

Omega Ensemble

Acknowledgements

Aphrodite is commissioned by John Claudianos for Sydney Chamber Opera & Omega Ensemble. Production supported by Judith Neilson AM.

Sydney Chamber Opera is a resident company at Carriageworks and supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW and Creative Australia.

Gallery

Date & TIME

June 2025

Fri 20 Jun – 7:00 pm
Sat 21 Jun – 3:00 pm
Thu 26 Jun – 6:30 pm
Fri 27 Jun – 6:30 pm
Sat 28 Jun – 3:00 pm

VENUE

Carriageworks
Bay 20
245 Wilson St Eveleigh
NSW 2016

duration

Approximately 60 minutes, no interval

TICKET prices

from $45 – $60

Click here for tickets

biographies

Meet the team

Interview with Nico Muhly

Composer Jack Symonds’s journey to composing this vast new work.

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General Information

We acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and perform. We honour their elders both past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.