THE TRIAL
“A tour de force from Lost and Found Opera.”
— The West Australian
Philip Glass’ masterwork arrived in its Australian premiere as a contemporary thriller steeped in an operatic fever dream. Under a blaze of fluorescent lights and the relentless shuffle of paperwork, the action unfolded in a forgotten office space in Forrest Chase, where order masked chaos and every corner was hiding a secret.
Australian Premiere Season 17 - 21 February, 2026
“Philip Glass’ The Trial marks an impressive return for Perth’s Lost and Found Opera.”
Bachtrack
Franz Kafka’s nightmarish world of accusation and authority found a thrilling new voice with Lost and Found Opera.
Philip Glass’ hypnotic score coiled around Josef K, arrested on his 30th birthday for an unnamed crime and swept through a carnival of clerks, courts and witnesses. Oscar‑winning dramatist Christopher Hampton’s razor‑sharp libretto allowed a stellar cast to slip seamlessly between roles, while the West Australian Symphony Orchestra drove the drama with propulsive clarity.
Directed by Melissa Cantwell, this stark bureaucratic dystopia crackled with Kafka’s black comedy, while conductor Mark Coughlan shaped the music’s luminous repetitions into waves of suspense, tenderness and bitter irony.
Audiences were taken deep into the maze of a forgotten office space, mirroring the disorientation of Josef K’s passage through the corridors of power. The Trial resonated uncannily with our times – a world where bureaucracy blurred into fate and the question ‘What have I done?’ echoed long after the final chord.
Director Mel Cantwell
Conductor Mark Coughlan
Starring Lachlan Higgins as Josef K.
Cast Caitlin Cassidy, Rachelle Durkin, Robert Hofmann, Noah Humich, Lachlann Lawton, Euan MacMillan & Brett Peart
Orchestra West Australian Symphony Orchestra
Pianist Tommaso Pollio
Designer Bruce McKinven
Lighting Designer Matthew Erren
Sound Designer & Operator Declan Barber
Video Designer Emma Fishwick
Choreographer Laura Boynes
Executive Producer Tim Carter
Production Manager Jack Wilson
Stage Manager Bel Hughes
Presented by Lost and Found Opera and Perth Festival in association with West Australian Opera and West Australian Symphony Orchestra.
Proudly supported by the Western Australian Government & Forrest Chase | ISPT.
© 2014 Dunvagen Music Publishers Inc. Used by Permission