About Us

Lyster Opera

Victoria’s Regional Touring Opera Company

Lyster Opera derives its name from William Saurin Lyster (1828-1880), an Irish born entrepreneur who made it his mission to provide opera to the growing population of Australia.

Under Lyster’s auspices, Australians were given their first taste of operatic composers as diverse as Mozart, Donizetti, Auber, Meyerbeer and Wagner. Local stars such as Marie Carandini and Fanny Simonsen brought these works to a new public. Lyster’s extraordinary life and career were documented by Harold Love in his book The Golden Age of Australian Opera (Currency Press, 1981) and today the Melbourne suburb of Lysterfield is named in his honour.

Today, Lyster Opera perpetuates this vision by bringing opera to new audiences, often in remote areas. Since 2018, Lyster Opera has toured productions of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore and Don Pasquale to areas such as Tarnagulla, Avoca, Daylesford, Warrnambool, Albury-Wodonga and Oxley. These country performances have been augmented by performances at various Melbourne venues. Some of Melbourne’s finest singers, musical directors and designers have been engaged.

Lyster Opera is an ACNC approved registered charity.

Support Us
Lyster Opera Ltd is a registered charity, which aims to celebrate and perform the art of opera in regional areas, as well as to Melbourne audiences, at an affordable price.As an approved Deductible Gift Recipient, donations of $2 or more to Lyster Opera are tax deductible in Australia.Ticket sales cover only a fraction of our running costs.  Your donation could assist us with any of the following:
  • Production costs, such as sets and costumes
  • Theatre hire
  • Sponsorship of artists
  • Touring costs, such as travel and accommodation
  •  Administration and office costs
Your donation would be used to assist Lyster Opera continue its success in bringing opera to new audiences.  Donors are acknowledged on our website and in our programmes.If you would like to make a donation to Lyster Opera, please email us at info@lysteropera.com.au or via our contact page.
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