Stuart Maunder

For one ordinary Australian with an extraordinary voice this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to live the dream and be transported from obscurity to stardom. Over four drama-filled episodes amateur singers from all over Australia come out of their closets, showers and sheds to compete for the chance to perform with professional opera singers at the Sydney Opera House.

As a young child, Frederic had been apprenticed to a pirate by mistake when he should have been apprenticed to a pilot. Now, having reached his 21st year, Frederic's indentures are at last over and he happily leaves the service of the pirates. When Frederic meets the beautiful Mabel, one of the many daughters (or wards in Chancery) of Major-General Stanley, they fall in love and decide to marry. However, complications arise when the pirates decide to marry the rest of the Major-General's daughters, themselves - and Frederic's birthdate turns out to be not all it seems. Opera Australia's 2006 rendition of the Gilbert and Sullivan opera.

Captain's daughter Josephine and common sailor Ralph Rackstraw are in love. However, their relationship is complicated by her arranged marriage to the high-ranking Sir Joseph Porter. A secret about the characters' true identities revealed by Little Buttercup, which leads to a farcical resolution. Set around a classic case of broken vows – the defendant having literally left the claimant at the altar – the trial bubbles over with emotion, humour, and downright chaos, leaving the jury divided.

In a small Japanese town, Ko-Ko is appointed to the unenviable position of executioner. Knowing he must successfully perform before the appearance of the Mikado in a month's time, Ko-Ko finds a suitable victim in Nanki-Poo, who is distraught over his unrequited love for the maiden Yum-Yum. Nanki-Poo agrees to sacrifice his life if he is allowed to spend his remaining days with Yum-Yum, who is betrothed to Ko-Ko. Opera Australia production filmed at The Arts Centre Melbourne.

A couple of happy-go-lucky Venetian gondoliers discover that one of them is heir to the throne of a distant kingdom.

Love, lust and political intrigue fill the world of a passionate singer. When her lover is imprisoned by a police chief, Tosca takes matters into her own hands with dramatic consequences. Puccini’s timeless opera never ceases to provoke great emotions. Starring Orla Boylan as Tosca and Simon O’Neill as Cavaradossi, New Zealand Opera’s acclaimed production filmed for cinema release transposes the famous plot to Italy in the 1950s, shadowed by the mafia and post WWII politics.