Meeniyan Heartland Opera
Come and join us in the special Meeniyan Town Hall for a night of the greatest hits of opera.
Soprano Olivia Cranwell and baritone Simon Meadows are both acclaimed international performers and principal artists from Opera Australia.
They are joined by soprano Breanna Stuart and tenor Joshua Morton-Galea who are award winning, emerging artists from Opera Scholars Australia.
Accompanist and MC Guy Noble needs no introduction. He is a renowned conductor, pianist and concert host of many years.
This event is proudly brought to you by Meeniyan Progress Assoc Inc.
Please note: Seating is General Admission - please ensure your group arrives together if you are wishing to sit together.
About
Olivia Cranwell - Soprano is a graduate of the Master of Music (Opera Performance) program from the University of Melbourne having earlier obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the same institution.
In 2023, she returned to Melbourne Opera in the roles of Helmwige and Third Norn (Der Ring des Nibelungen), to Victorian Opera as Elettra (Idomeneo) and to Opera Australia as Mrs. Naidoo (Satyagraha); for the national company, she also made a stunning début as Sieglinde in their Brisbane season of The Ring. In 2024, Olivia sings Giorgetta (Il tabarro) for both Opera Australia and Victorian Opera.
In 2020, she worked extensively for the Vienna State Opera – singing Ortlinde (Die Walküre) and covering major roles in Le nozze di Figaro, Madama Butterfly, Das Rheingold, Elektra and Götterdämmerung.
She is a long standing favourite at Victorian Opera and Opera Australia. She also sang Mimi (La bohème) and Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly) for the City of Stonnington and the title role in Carmen for In Good Company.
Award-winning Australian baritone Simon Meadows enjoys a busy opera and concert career throughout Europe, Asia and Australasia.
His many roles for Opera Australia have included Telramund (Lohengrin), The Count (Le nozze di Figaro), Yamadori (Madama Butterfly), The Gaoler (Tosca) and The Lieutenant in Kate Miller-Heidke’s The Rabbits. In 2023, he sang Alberich in Melbourne Opera’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, appeared as soloist for Tasmanian Symphony and Melbourne Bach Choir and took leading roles for Victorian Opera. In 2024, he sings Michele (Il tabarro) and the title role in Gianni Schicchi for Opera Australia and Michele for Victorian Opera.
A celebrated concert artist, Simon has taken the bass solos in Schubert’s Mass in G (Wexford, Ireland), Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem (Romsey Abbey, UK and Melbourne Symphony), Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Mozart’s Requiem (Sydney Philharmonia), Carmina Burana and A Sea Symphony (Royal Melbourne Philharmonic), Judas Maccabaeus (Heidelberg Choral Society), The Creation (St James’s Church, Sydney), Serenade to Music (Victorian Opera), and Kindertotenlieder, Messiah and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasia (Monash Symphony). He made his German début singing Frank Martin’s In terra pax at Berlin’s Heilige Kreuz Kirche.
Soprano Breanna Stuart has been a member of Opera Scholars Australia since 2023, and has appeared in several of their concerts. She won the 2024 Aria Prize. She was also a soloist in their performance of Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, and a finalist in their 2023 Aria Competition.
She is also a 2023/2024 Australian Contemporary Opera Company (ACOCo) Rising Artist and has performed in several projects, including ENDURE (adapted from Menotti’s The Consul) where she performed the role of Foreign Woman.
In 2023 Breanna graduated with a Masters of Opera Performance at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. Her other qualifications include a Bachelor of Music (Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, 2021), an AMusA in Classical Voice (2018), and a Diploma of Music (University of Tasmania, 2018).
Joshua Morton-Galea, Tenor is a graduate of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, where he completed his Bachelor of Music, and his Master of Music (Opera Performance). He is also a current member of Opera Scholars Australia, where he was awarded the runner up prize for their inaugural Art Song Award in 2023.
Joshua has regularly appeared with Victorian Opera, performing the roles of Demisiani/Clerico for Richard Mills’ Galileo, Zachary Briddling in The Grumpiest Boy in the World, and Snow in The Selfish Giant. Most recently he was seen in a number of roles in English Eccentrics, and performed the parts of Il Tinca and Venditore di Canzonette in Il Tabarro, which the company took to the 2024 Sydney Festival.
During his time at the MCM, Joshua’s performance credits include the roles of L’Aumonier in Dialogues of the Carmelites, Phoebus in The Fairy Queen, Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte.
He has also appeared as Lucano in ‘The Coronation of Poppea,’ as well as chorus positions in ‘Martha,’ ‘L’Elisir D’Amore,’ and ‘Don Pasquale’ with Lyster Opera.
Accompanist and MC Guy Noble needs no introduction. He is a renowned conductor, pianist and concert host of many years. He has conducted the Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, West Australian, Tasmanian, Queensland and Canberra symphony orchestras, the Auckland Philharmonic, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic and Malaysian Philharmonic orchestras.
Noble has also conducted and presented concerts with performers including The Beach Boys, Yvonne Kenny, David Hobson, Ben Folds, Dianne Reeves, Randy Newman, Teddy Tahu Rhodes[14] and Clive James.
He is the former host of the ABC Classic FM radio breakfast program.
