Stephanie Dillon’s desperate Cornelia and Helen Sherman’s determined Sesto elicited gasps and sighs from the audience at the end of their duet Son nata a lagrimar (I was born to weep), just before the interval. Dillon’s rich and creamy tone, combined with Sherman’s bright mezzo voice, interwove in harmonies, melodious abandon and unreserved emotional expression.

As Pompeo’s grieving wife Cornelia, local mezzo-soprano Stephanie Dillon is superbly cast. Cornelia has a ton of weight bearing down on her and Dillon channels it convincingly with great emotion and deliciously dappled finesse.

Alongside the wildly dramatic gusto to which Australian mezzo-soprano Helen Sherman brings to Cornelia’s ardent son Sesto, a knockout avenging mother-son duo is carved into the work that looks to unseat the primary focus. Together they share that sentiment powerfully in the Act 1 closing mournful duet, Son nata a lagrimar.

Stephanie Dillon’s portrayal of the grieving widow Cornelia is grounded and well-paced. So connected to the orchestra, her sombre legato lines feel almost instrumental.

Sherman and Dillon are sublime together, their mother-son chemistry is palpably believable and they vocally complement each other completely.

Stephanie Dillon’s voice fit right into this instrumental conversation; so much so that it gave the effect of really being a trio between three equal voices. One could viscerally feel the torment and anguish so strikingly evoked by the text.

Stephanie Dillon graced us with a clear, penetrating exploration of the story with superb diction and subtle drama. Her voice was a sublime and magnetic addition to this exciting stage