The Magic Pudding: The Opera at Victorian Opera (The Round, Darebin Arts Centre, Bunjil Place)

Victorian Opera presents The Magic Pudding: The Opera, a return season of its adaptation of Norman Lindsay's classic Australian children's book. Composed by Calvin Bowman and written by Anna Goldsworthy, the opera brings to life beloved characters including Albert the Pudding, Bunyip Bluegum, Bill Barnacle, Sam Sawnoff, and pudding thieves Patrick the Possum and Watkin Wombat. Directed by Elizabeth Hill-Cooper, the production features operatic talent alongside students from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, with Victorian Opera's Head of Music Phoebe Briggs conducting a live chamber orchestra of 11 players. The 60-minute production runs across three Melbourne venues — The Round in Nunawading, Darebin Arts Centre, and Bunjil Place in Narre Warren — with performances from 15 to 30 May 2026.