Mad Scenes with Jessica Pratt

A soprano – solo in the spotlight – vocally and emotionally crumbles into madness before your eyes.

Favoured by the likes of Bellini, Verdi and Donizetti, ‘mad scenes’ evoke some of the most dramatic, heartbreaking and impressive moments in opera. Euphoric highs and spiralling descents show off a virtuosa’s prowess.

Hailed by the New York Times as a soprano of “gleaming sound, free and easy high notes, agile coloratura runs and lyrical grace”, Australia’s own Jessica Pratt is considered one of the world’s foremost bel canto interpreters. She is best known for making Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor her own, taking his dangerously unhinged bride around the world in over 100 performances.

Now, discover the method in her madness. This one-night-only showcase of ‘mad scenes’ gives Jessica an unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate dramatic range and vocal acrobatics as part of the Sydney Opera House’s 50th birthday celebrations.

In a performance laced with passion and poignancy, Jessica takes on the most challenging arias of the bel canto repertoire with incomparable precision and conviction.

Whether singing in the languages of unrequited love, jealous rage, or haunted delusion, Jessica teases out the moments that propel each heroine to the mind’s edge.