Opera Australia Announces Cast for 'The Trumpet of the Swan'

Opera Australia will premiere "The Trumpet of the Swan," a family-friendly live storytelling concert adapted from E. B. White's children's classic, at Melbourne's Regent Theatre from November 20 to 22, 2026. The company has now announced the cast that will bring the production to the stage.

Actor Bert Labonté will lead the performances as Sam the Storyteller, guiding audiences through what the company describes as an enchanting musical journey. The stage adaptation carries a notable pedigree: Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Marsha Norman wrote it, and Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown wrote the music.

Who joins Bert Labonté onstage?

Labonté will share the stage with:

• Ben Mingay, actor and performer, as Father Swan
• Marney McQueen, vocalist, as Mother Swan
• Grant Piro
• Scout Hook
• Arjun Tiwari

The casting pairs Labonté's storytelling role with performers known across Australian theatre, musical theatre and comedy circuits. Opera Australia has positioned the piece as an accessible entry point for family audiences, consistent with its broader programming of concert-format works.

Who is directing and conducting?

Tyran Parke will direct the production. Parke currently serves as Head of Musical Theatre at the Victorian College of the Arts, one of the country's leading training institutions for musical theatre artists. Chad Kelly will conduct.

The pairing gives the premiere both a stage-directorial hand rooted in musical theatre training and a conductor to lead the live musical performance, matching the production's hybrid format of storytelling and concert.

What is the source material?

E. B. White published "The Trumpet of the Swan" in 1970, and it remains a staple of American children's literature. The novel follows Louis, a trumpeter swan born without a voice, who learns to communicate through a trumpet. Opera Australia's adaptation turns that story into a live concert experience designed for family audiences, with Norman's script and Brown's score anchoring the piece.

The November 2026 premiere at the Regent Theatre gives Melbourne audiences a three-day window to catch the work, and the announcement signals Opera Australia's continued investment in family programming alongside its mainstage repertoire — the same season planning that includes a new production of "La Bohème" and "Aida" at Sydney Harbour in 2027.