SERENDIPITY
Serendipity is a new opera libretto in development by Tash Atkins, with Nicole Murphy as composer. The musical follows a rag-tag group of characters in a community theatre putting on a show called ‘The Prince of Violets’. Through fights, falling in love, finding community and a navigating a magical theatre, the rag-tag crew seeks to put on one last show.
Serendipity offers a rare lens on queerness in opera, found family, fluid gender presentation, and openly queer joy. This work seeks to celebrate that joy while expanding queer representation on stage, creating roles specifically for queer performers, and exploring accessibility in both music-making and performance.
As our main protagonist, Julie, rises in the theatre world, she navigates a tangled web of relationships: placating her influential male lover, confiding in his sibling (her closest friend), and confronting her growing infatuation with the show’s leading lady. Surrounding the central love story is a diverse chorus whose own narratives unfold, ultimately converging when a plot to steal from the theatre forces the characters to unite. The tone blends humour, queer joy, and moments of dramatic tension (complete with fencing duels), and centres on Julie’s journey toward self-acceptance and chosen family.
The work features four principal characters (Julie, Lou, Francis, and Marie) and a chorus of four (Bernard, Dion, Maude, and Prue). The music will be developed collaboratively and will aim to genre-cross, drawing early inspiration from Virginia Gay's Cyrano, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm's Emilia, Hadestown and operatic works such as Der Rosenkavalier. Rather than a traditional orchestra, the show will feature a musical-style band scored for a small ensemble to create a contemporary sound. Vocal writing will prioritise voice type over gender, allowing full casting fluidity and eliminating restrictive expectations around physical appearance.
This show was originally inspired by the life of Mademoiselle Julie Maupin, a cross-dressing, sword-wielding opera singer and queer icon of 17th-century France, but has evolved into a timeless story of found family, love and community.
The project first underwent a short creative development in 2022, supported by the City of Melbourne, which focused on initial story shaping and character exploration. This was followed by a dramaturgical mentorship and a libretto reading across 2023–2024, allowing for deeper refinement of structure, tone, and thematic clarity. The work has been on hold throughout 2025 due to a lack of funding; however, this pause has clarified the next stage of development and helped reframe the true story of the show, moving away from the historical story of Mademoiselle Julie Maupin. The project now has the endorsement of FLUXUS and is moving toward a development period in 2026/2027 with Nicole Murphy.
QUOTE FROM READ-THROUGH
“It's queer and beautiful and I can see your heart written across those pages, friendship is so beautiful and being queer and able to be your full self with others is what we all dreamed of as kids”
QUOTE FROM READ-THROUGH
“It’s a show with a lot of heart, a poignant reminder that queerness and the strength of community have always existed and was always needed. It's abreast with humour and a triumphant celebration of theatre and the eccentrics you find working there”