Voxalis sidesteps to operas for ‘troubling times’
While major opera companies program safe operas, budding company Voxalis marches to the tune of a different drum.
Mainstream opera companies are struggling to finance productions and are relying on tried and tested box-office favourites to boost budgets.
With that in mind, Camilo Lopez and Matthew Schwarz – founders of the innovative boutique opera company Voxalis – made a bold decision.
In response to recent global events, and particularly the volatile political uncertainty in Venezuela, where Lopez was born, he decided to present a deeply personal selection of works that resonate with society and today’s turbulent world. Artistic relevance is paramount in season 2026 for Voxalis.
‘I went on a mission to find beautiful music which reflects hardcore themes impacting people’s lives’
On the phone from Maleny, where Voxalis had just performed in the popular touring show Shakespeare (that blends Shakespearean texts with opera), he says “last year was distressing”.
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“I struggled to plan the season with so many harsh things happening,” he says. “As much as I love opera it can feel disconnected from the world. I went on a mission to find beautiful music which reflects some of the hardcore themes currently impacting people’s lives.”
He points out that many much-loved hits such as Carmen (Bizet) and La Traviata (Verdi) did the same in their day and were a reaction to works of frothy spectacle in favour of social realism and nationalism.
This year’s deeply personal and confronting program explores emotional connection and vulnerability through the categories of society, relationships and belonging.
In May, The Savages showcases Benjamin Britten’s Les Illuminations, a surrealistic 10-movement song cycle set to Arthur Rimbaud’s poetry written for Peter Pears in 1939. In its dreamlike exposition of violence, division and passion, the lament, “I alone hold the key to this savage parade” is integral to the message. Britten’s imaginative sound world is matched by thrilling songs from Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes.
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Opera plots can be overly predictable, not to mention demeaning to female characters, with melodramatic romantic tropes of tragic love, between a soprano and tenor, in which the heroine is either murdered by a rejected suitor or succumbs to a deadly disease.
In contrast, Triple Bill in August deals with hard-hitting tales of human connection through three brief works. Poulenc’s The Human Voice is an intriguing monodrama about a heart-breaking conversation with a former lover. Iain Bell’s Comfort Starving, an Australian premiere, is about a teenager suffering from body dysmorphia.
Lopez explains that Liam Jackson, who is performing the lead, is thankful for this unusual and challenging role. The music’s dissonant and tuneful, vocally demanding and the build towards the ending is lyrical and beautiful.
A mother and daughter’s complex relationship plays out in Jake Heggie’s intense five-song cycle Facing Forward, Looking Back. Apparently, younger people are finding edgy contemporary productions like this one relatable. As a result, the company is forging a youthful following, which is on the wish list of most classical music organisations.
Described as a whispering “anti-opera”, Debussy’s haunting Pelléas and Mélisande completes the program in October. The score’s gorgeous impressionism is a shimmering backdrop to the love triangle between Pelléas and Mélisande and the jealous villainous Golaud. The production, which was cancelled last year due to illness, is directed by Lois Redman with artistic director Camilo Lopez as Pelléas and Mark Connors as pianist. An ideal choice to wind up this year’s themes.
It’s the fifth anniversary of the company and Lopez and Schwarz have much to be proud of. Voxalis is a viable employer providing welcome opportunities for Brisbane’s rich pool of gifted singers. Casting seasoned professionals alongside emerging artists is encouraging for newcomers and the pioneering directions are evolving the art form.
It’s telling that despite these significant attributes, Lopez considers the company’s crowning achievement to be its survival. Deservedly, Voxalis has been selected for Creative Australia’s Boost Program 2026, with the Australian Cultural Fund matching all donations, signalling a bright future.
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