Becoming Lady Macbeth with Livia Brash

Interview - November 18, 2025

QUICK QUESTIONS

• Highlight of your 2025 performance season

  Upcoming Macbeth- my dream role in a very exciting production!

  
  

• Is there an aria you could sing endlessly without ever tiring of it?

  I love a good Verdi cabaletta, but ensembles are really what I never tire of! The confrontation scene in Nabucco would be one of my favorites.

  
  

• What’s a dream role you haven’t had the chance to perform yet?

  I think I’d make a pretty cool Salome.

  
  

• Can you share a fun fact about yourself that most people wouldn’t know?

  I’m a curious person and love to learn, so always have a non-fiction book on the go.

  
  

• If you were the Artistic Director of an opera company, which opera would you choose to program first?

  La Clemenza di Tito when directed well is a riveting political drama, and easily the most underrated Mozart opera.

Reflecting on 2025 and Looking Ahead

It’s been a big year, and one where I feel I have reestablished myself as an artist in Australia after a few years abroad. It’s been a year of growth, exploration… and a lot of singing! Macbeth marks my eighth opera of 2025 and my fifth debut. Along the way I’ve covered Eva in Die Meistersinger, sang Rusalka, taken on six roles in an animated Ring cycle, Musetta (in two different Bohèmes at the same time!), Abigaille in Nabucco, and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte.

I also had the joy of premiering a new song cycle by Kevin March and performing another by Chloé Charody at Melbourne Recital Centre; two projects that confront the state of the world, and consequently, very rewarding to perform. I’ve also been honored to have my work recognized in some of the major singing competitions this year.

Looking ahead, 2026 is already shaping up to be a thrilling next chapter. I’ll be working with Opera Australia for the first time, covering Turandot, and singing Fricka in Das Rheingold at City Recital Hall in Sydney. I’ll also be heading out on a couple of opera outreach tours.

On Macbeth by BK Opera

Macbeth is about the decaying feudal aristocracy. One of the striking design features is the 12m long catwalk stage set as a banquet table, which has the audience seated behind each length. It gives the impression you are a dinner guest watching at intimate quarters as this world of excess unravels in front of your eyes.

The Macbeths are a couple who are desperately in love and will stop at nothing to realize each other’s full potential, but are so wrapped up in each other and their ambitions that they don’t perceive the rumblings of civil unrest from below. We see not only their relationship implode, but the whole social order disintegrate.

With fast-paced drama, high stakes, some incredible sword choreography, a lot of blood, and of course, some of the world’s most exciting music, it’ll be a thrilling production and I can’t wait for people to see it!

On Lady Macbeth

Preparing Lady Macbeth is a luxury; the opera is so well-written that all the work is practically done for you. Verdi was immensely detailed with what he wrote, and if you follow his exact directions you have all the information you need for a dramatically compelling Lady Macbeth. She’s infinitely fascinating, and I think many people, myself included, are magnetized into a morbid fascination with her.

While of course I find her actions egregious, there are elements of her demeanor that I think play to my natural strengths as an actor, and vocally it showcases what I do best. It’s my dream role for a reason! Because I feel comfortable in her skin, and you only get to debut your dream role once, I’m taking dramatic risks that are new to me, which I feel are going to be quite impactful for the audience.

Beyond Opera

It’s hard to imagine opera not being at the centre of my life, but I think there could be a parallel universe out there where I became a microbiologist. Outside of opera I’m committed to activism and volunteer work.

Image provided by artist