Williamstown opera singer Brenton Spiteri will depart for France this week to work with Opera de Lyon, the nation’s second-largest opera company.
The 28-year-old tenor will be touring with the company, including two performances at the Royal Opera of Versailles, built in 1770.
Born and raised in Altona Meadows, Spiteri joined a drama program at Altona City Theatre at age six and went on to star in six productions there.
He also performed as a teenager at Williamstown Little Theatre.
“It was probably the best playground I could have had as a child,” he said.
“It’s where my passion for what I do really took shape and I started to think maybe it was something I wanted to do.
“Living in this community has been a big part of what helped me develop as an artist because of the fact that I spent so much time at the theatre as a child, and performing local and community theatre gave me a lot of confidence. It helped develop the skills that I have to use every day now as part of my job.
“I was born here, my family have lived here since they arrived in the ’50s … they’re always at every performance.”
In France, Spiteri will play a number of roles including the god Mercury in the early Italian opera, Coronation of Poppea.
Spitera said opera was unique as an artform because the music could unearth so much about the characters.
“The stories that we tell are often very simple or very heightened, and that’s because the main focus of this artform is exploring the emotions of the characters and their relationships through the music.”
