Constantine Costi is an award-winning director and writer working across opera and film.

He was co-Artistic Director of Red Line Productions at the Old Fitz Theatre 2020 – 2023 and was Artistic Director Advisor for The Lysicrates Foundation.

Engagements in 2024 have included Pierrot Lunaire for the Berlin Philharmonic, Il Tabarro for Sydney Festival set aboard the historic lightship The Carpentaria, a national tour of Long Lost Loves (and Grey Suede Gloves) for Musica Viva, and the documentary feature film The Golden Spurtle for Hopscotch Films UK and Hytra Films.

2025 sees Constantine directing a re-imagined version of Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serai titled Abduction (Victorian Opera), and he is the co-librettist and director for a new operatic centrepiece for Sydney Festival / LPD Productions, Siegfried & Roy: The Unauthorised Opera.

Sydney-born Stephen Mould studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, London.

During the 1990’s he worked extensively in opera houses and festivals in Europe and Germany, including Opera Frankfurt (1993-6). In 1996 he joined the staff of Opera Australia, where he regularly appeared as a conductor and was appointed Head of Music in 2004.

Dr Mould has conducted throughout Australia, as well as in New Zealand and Asia. He is currently Associate Professor in Operatic Studies, Repetiteurship and Conducting at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, The University of Sydney. Curating Opera, based upon his Doctoral thesis, was published by Routledge, UK (2021). 

His most recent publication is Carlo Felice Cillario, Italian maestro of the Australian Opera (Connor Court, 2024). Dr Mould is currently the recipient of an ARC DECRA award, researching the vibrancy of the Australian opera ecosystem. 

Orphée aux enfers

Jacques Offenbach was one of the great musical satirists, a prolific composer who wrote in a catchy, witty manner – rivalling that of Rossini – from which sprang infectious melodies that became the leading ‘hits’ of the day. German born-Offenbach’s career developed in Paris during Napoleon III’s Second Empire, an epoch that viewed itself much too seriously. The composer took great delight in lampooning the pervading preoccupation with classical antiquity, in particular the revival of Gluck’s Orphée, which was championed by Berlioz. Offenbach’s recasting of the myth presents the title role as a self-absorbed violin teacher, whose unfaithful wife, Eurydice, prefers to remain in hell with Pluto, rather than be reunited with her husband. The wry quoting of Gluck’s most famous aria ‘Che faro’ is a noted feature of the score, and the iconoclastic nature of the reference was not lost on contemporary audiences.

Offenbach was inspired by his two librettists, Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy, whose barbed sense of irony perfectly matched that of the composer, and they went on to collaborate on a number of other works together. Orphée aux enfers was Offenbach’s first full scale opéra-bouffe and created a big success in his small Parisienne theatre. Following the premiere (1858) the work steadily gained in popularity, eventually migrating to the international stage, which led the composer to rework the 2-act original into a sumptuous 4-act opéra-féerie.

For this production we have chosen to present the first, more direct version of 1858. We are delighted to welcome the acclaimed director Constantine Costi to create this collaboration between the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and NIDA. The satirical elements of the work are just as cutting and relevant as they were nearly two centuries ago, and the score boasts many of Offenbach’s most famous and enduring musical numbers.

Shannon Burns is an Australian creative, specialising in choreography and movement direction across theatre, opera, film, and major events. In opera, Shannon has choreographed major outdoor productions for Opera Australia, including La Traviata on Sydney Harbour (2021) and Carmen on Cockatoo Island (2022). She also choreographed the company’s new winter season production of Carmen (2025).

Internationally, she choreographed Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire (2024) for the Berlin Philharmonic. Her collaborations with Victorian Opera include Abduction (2025), Il Tabarro (2024) and Melbourne Cheremushki (2023). Shannon has worked extensively with Pinchgut Opera in various capacities including choreography, movement direction, direction, and assistant direction. Additional credits include work for the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Musica Viva and LPD productions.

Theatre credits include Dear Evan Hansen (2024/2025), a co-production between Sydney Theatre Company and The Michael Cassel Group, The Producers (2025) for Joshua Robson Productions and Orlando (2025) for Belvoir. A frequent collaborator with Hayes Theatre Co, Shannon has contributed to acclaimed productions such as A Little Night Music (2023), Ride the Cyclone (2024), and Murder for Two (2023/2024). She has also collaborated with Redline Productions, Sydney Festival, CDP Theatre Producers and Sport for Jove.

A former professional dancer, Shannon trained at the Queensland Dance School of Excellence and ED5INTERNATIONAL.

To be confirmed.