Morning Melodies program back in its entirety for 2023
For more than 38 years, Arts Centre Melbourne’s Morning Melodies program has entertained and delighted audiences one Monday every month across our venues, and in recent years, in the iconic Hamer Hall.
Although the global pandemic saw the closure of our stages for significant periods of time, Morning Melodies returned with a bang in 2022 – and the momentum has only grown stronger.
Not only does it continue to deliver stellar line-ups – celebrating performers from music theatre, big band, dance and opera – it also spring-boards young performers into their professional careers.
Arts Centre Melbourne CEO Karen Quinlan AM:
This will be my first year witnessing the Morning Melodies program as CEO of Arts Centre Melbourne and I am very excited to join our audiences and absorb the magic of live performance; something I know we will never take for granted again. Morning Melodies has solidified its valuable place on our Hamer Hall stage, and I couldn’t be happier to share the remarkable productions and experiences we have lined up.
Kicking the year off on Monday 13 February is Dear Doris, with acclaimed Melbourne performer and jazz vocalist Tamara Kuldin. Kuldin has bewitched audiences from Melbourne to Europe and is delighted to take audiences on a sentimental journey through Doris Day’s most iconic and treasured songs including ‘Secret Love’, ‘Que Sera’, ‘Love Me or Leave Me’ as well as other vintage gems and favourites.
On Monday 6 March, the all-singing, all-dancing, one man show, The Dancin Man, sees Luke Alleva up close and personal in a high energy, high entertainment show celebrating the quintessential song and dance men that graced the stages and screens of years gone by. Accompanied by a 3-piece band, audiences will hear songs like ‘Make Em Laugh’, ‘Mr Bojangles’, ‘It Don’t Mean A Thing’ and ‘Singin In The Rain’, among many others.
Bernadette Robinson is one of Australia’s most stunning music theatre performers and is set to wow audiences on Monday 24 April in her brand new show, Songs of Judy Garland. Robinson will sing songs made famous by Judy Garland, with some surprise guests joining her on stage as well.
The Australian Ballet School’s En Pointe annual performance has been a highlight of Morning Melodies for over 25 years and continues to captivate audiences with a breathtaking new program each year. On Tuesday 23 May, see the talented students perform a showcase of works from the sophisticated to the sublime, the traditional and the contemporary.
On Monday 19 June, all that glitters is gold in the glistening musical mixtape, Golden. Superstar vocalists Luke Kennedy (Swing On This, The Voice Australia) and Irena Lysiuk (Your Song, Are You Lonesome Tonight) will take to the stage with piano virtuoso Damian Sim for a musical celebration of Hollywood and Broadway’s most-loved soundtracks. Promising sparkling original arrangements, powerhouse vocals and a setlist that’s pure gold including songs from My Fair Lady, West Side Story, The Sound of Music, An Officer and a Gentleman, A Star Is Born and many more.
International music theatre stars Simon Gleeson and Natalie O’Donnell share not just the stage but a life and two children. On Monday 17 July, join them as they come together to perform the classic songs from Rodgers and Hammerstein, The Greatest Showman and some Billy Joel. Heart and Music is an intimate performance of song and storytelling celebrating the music that has shaped both their careers and lives together.
Once again, audiences will be blown away by the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) Music Theatre Showcase where the next generation of Australian stars celebrate the best of Broadway’s songbook. From the magic of ‘The Golden Age’ to the excitement of Broadway’s most recent blockbusters, students of the VCA will explore the great love songs, exciting choruses and powerful ballads that have defined this genre for over a hundred years on Monday 14 August.
Normie Rowe – one of Australia’s most successful pop idols during the explosion of pop music and fashion in the mid-60s – will grace the Hamer Hall stage to perform a string of his hits that are an important contribution to the soundtrack of the Baby Boomer generation. On Monday 18 September hear ‘Que Sera Sera’, ‘Shakin’ All Over’, ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So’, ‘It’s Not Easy’ and ‘Ooh La La’, among other songs that form part of his extraordinary performing career.
The glamorous and distinctive Mia Sorella Trio combine forces to sing songs that inspire with soaring vocal lines and thrilling harmonies on Monday 16 October. Audiences will be captivated by Italian-Australian soprano Michelle Francis Cook, Wiradjuri soprano Shauntai Sherree and Australian soprano Helen Ling as they perform some of the best-loved songs and arias, made famous by Josh Groban, The Three Tenors and Andrea Bocelli, but with a twist. Shauntai Sherree will also perform her Wiradjuri song ‘Babirra Nyiwarri Gariya Garin’, an uplifting Aboriginal song.
Returning for the new season are Australian opera, music theatre and cabaret superstars Antoinette Halloranand David Rogers-Smith with their new show It Might As Well Be Spring. On Monday 20 November they will take audiences on a journey of the lush and unforgettable music of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein with songs from The Sound of Music, Carousel, The King & I, Oklahoma and so many more.
Then as tradition has it, Christmas Melodies will close out the year on Monday 11 December to celebrate the magic of the season with everyone’s favourite carols and songs. The show will always welcome the magnificent sounds of a big band, choir and some very special guests, which will be announced in Spring 2023.
Arts Centre Melbourne’s acclaimed Morning Melodies started in 1985 when performer Betty Pounder and producer Sandy Graham decided it was time to make good use of an otherwise empty theatre on a Monday morning. More than 38 years on, Morning Melodies has presented more than 450 concerts and welcomed more than half a million audience members, making it a quintessential Melbourne experience.
Season Detail
Venue: Hamer Hall
Date: Feb – Dec 2023
For more information click HERE
