Following the resounding success of our 2025 season of Mahler’s 4th and 5th Symphonies, AWO’s co-founder, Alexander Briger, returns with Australia’s finest for an unforgettable birthday celebration and 2026 program.
The AWO celebrates its 15th Anniversary with two 20th-century masterpieces and the world premiere of Songs for the Stranger — a song cycle commission by the Australian World Orchestra, inspired by the Opera Eucalyptus composed by Jonathan Mills, featuring award winning Australian tenor Michael Petruccelli.
Stravinsky’s Petrushka bursts with colour and vitality, its tragic puppet hero glowing through dazzling orchestration. Mills’s Songs for the Stranger fuses modern textures with emotional immediacy, evoking the Australian soundscape. Finally, Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony — written in Stalin’s shadow — surges from darkness to blazing triumph.
Three forms of art told through music; ballet, opera, and symphony. A night of brilliance, beauty and breathtaking orchestral storytelling — a true celebration of the AWO performing at its peak.
Melbourne: Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall on 19 August 2026
Sydney: Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall on 20 August 2026
australianworldorchestra.com.au