Sydney Philharmonia Choirs To Present A CHILD OF OUR TIME At Sydney Opera House
Deborah Cheetham Fraillon, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Anna Dowsley, and Nicholas Jones lead powerful program on September 13.
By: A.A. Cristi Jul. 24, 2025
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs will present one of the 20th century’s most powerful musical statements, A Child of Our Time by Sir Michael Tippett, in a landmark performance at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on Saturday, September 13, 2025, at 2 p.m. The oratorio—written during the height of World War II—is a cry for peace and reconciliation, revered for its integration of African American spirituals and its unflinching examination of human conflict.
The performance will feature a massed choir of more than 500 singers and a full orchestra, alongside an extraordinary soloist lineup: Yorta Yorta/Yuin soprano Deborah Cheetham Fraillon, ARIA Award winner Teddy Tahu Rhodes, internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano Anna Dowsley, and tenor Nicholas Jones, currently performing with the Opéra national de Paris. Conducted by Artistic & Music Director Brett Weymark OAM, the work promises to be a stirring and deeply moving experience.
“A Child of Our Time is as resonant today as it was in 1944,” said Weymark. “This quartet of soloists is a dream to work with, and I can’t wait for audiences to experience the depth and soul they bring to this masterpiece.”
The concert will open with two contemporary works conducted by Associate Music Director Elizabeth Scott. These include the Australian premiere of A Plastic Theatre by British composer Joanna Marsh, a dramatic cantata exploring humanity’s paradoxical relationship with plastic, featuring soloist Anna Dowsley and the Philharmonia’s youth choir, VOX. It will also include the world premiere of a newly commissioned work by Australian composer Alice Chance. Inspired by the Agnus Dei, Chance’s composition includes a traditional hymn from the Mer Island people, Adira Arenio, created in collaboration with Kaylynn and Noel Zaro, and an original experimental Latin setting.
Tickets and Pre-Concert Talk
Tickets start at $45 ($41 concession), with $30 tickets available for patrons under 30. Bookings can be made at sydneyphilharmonia.com.au/events/a-child-of-our-time.
All ticket holders are invited to a free pre-concert talk at 1:15 p.m. on the Northern Foyer stairs, featuring 2MBS Fine Music presenter Tom Forrester-Paton in conversation with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs’ 2025 Conducting Fellow Dr. Michael Bradfield.
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