Liza Lim — THE ORESTEIA (1993)
“Visceral, confrontational, and totally compelling” – The Guardian — Electra, Cassandra, Orestes, Clytemnestra and Agamemnon are hereby summoned to relive their murderous tragedies in Liza Lim‘s first opera, The Oresteia.
Sydney Chamber Opera, the acclaimed company that created Aphrodite (2025) and Gilgamesh (2024), returns with a searing distillation of the foundational Greek tragedy in an explosive, hour-long masterpiece of Australian music. Performed for the first time since its world premiere in 1993, The Oresteia is directed by Imara Savage and performed by six of Australia’s most adventurous singers, alongside the world-leading specialists in Lim’s music, ELISION Ensemble.
Thirty-three years ago, The Oresteia distinguished Lim (winner of the prestigious 2026 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition) as the leading Australian composer of her generation. Now, with a libretto adapted by Barrie Kosky, the opera returns in a rare revival, resonating with renewed power.
Conductor — Jack Symonds
Director — Imara Savage
Set & Costume Designer — Charles Davis
Lighting Designer — Alexander Berlage
Cast:
Jane Sheldon
Jessica Aszodi
Jessica O’Donoghue
Mitchell Riley
Daniel Szesiong Todd
Simon Lobelson
Ensemble:
Paula Rae — flute
Peter Veale — oboes
Richard Elliot Haynes — clarinets
Tristram Williams — trumpets
Benjamin Marks — trombone
Peter Neville — percussion
Paddy Montgomery — baglama saz
Heathcliffe Auchinachie — electric guitar
James Wannan — viola & viola d’amore
Freya Schack-Arnott — violoncello
Kathryn Schulmeister — double bass