“The success of the music is an auspicious indicator of further time at the podium to come for Bruckard.”
Charlie Kinross for Victorian Opera
Conductor, composer and pianist Simon Bruckard is one of the busiest young stars of the Australian music industry. He frequently conducts for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Victorian Opera, State Opera of South Australia and Orchestra Victoria. In 2022 Simon conducted La Bohème for the State Opera of South Australia with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins for Red Line Productions, The Selfish Giant for Victorian Opera and was assistant conductor on Lohengrin for Opera Australia. He is currently Simone Young’s assistant conductor. In 2023, Simon is conducting several concert programs with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne, Cheryemushki for Victorian Opera and will work with Simone Young as her assistant conductor for Peter Grimes at La Scala in Milan.
Commissioned during the lockdown of 2020, Simon’s opera Cassandra premiered in March 2021. An original work written with acclaimed writer and director Constantine Costi, it was Simon’s second opera commissioned by Victorian Opera. Simon conducted the world premiere alongside Echo and Narcissus by Kevin March.
Simon’s arrangement of Hansel and Gretel, commissioned by Lyric Opera of Chicago, will be performed in May and June of 2021 in Chicago. The arrangement features three separate chamber orchestras across three performance spaces outdoors.
Written with librettist Emma Muir-Smith, Bruckard’s youth opera The Selfish Giant (based on the short story by Oscar Wilde) premiered to a sold-out audience as part of Victorian Opera’s 2019 season. It won a Green Room Award for Musical Achievement - New Australian Opera and was nominated for another three awards. It had a highly successful return season at the Arts Centre Melbourne in May 2022.