The singing doctor

Medical alumnus Benjamin Namdarian, who is a Urology Registrar at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and is completing doctoral research into the role of biomarkers in prostate cancer, is using his annual leave to perform the role of Rory in Victorian Opera’s upcoming production of How to Kill Your Husband (and other handy household hints).

Dr Namdarian, who also has a Postgraduate Diploma in Surgical Anatomy and an Associate Degree of Music in violin, will perform in the opera, which is based on Kathy Lette’s best-selling novel, during May.

The opera tells the story of two couples and a sex therapist as they examine the inadequacies of their marriages.

The show is billed as a “witty and funny rendition of the day-to-day dramas in life after the passion has faded”, and will “take audiences on a hilarious romp through a series of misdemeanours leading to a dramatic climax.”

Dr Namdarian’s singing career began when he joined the National Boys Choir at the age of eight. His experience as a chorister led to roles with the Victorian State Opera and Opera Australia including Baz Luhrman’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, performed in Melbourne and at the Edinburgh Festival.

In 1999 he joined the Trinity College Choir while studying medicine at the University of Melbourne, and with that choir he toured internationally five times, travelling to the UK, USA and South-east Asia. He made his Victorian Opera debut in the role of the Italian in Angélique.

How to Kill Your Husband (and other handy household hints) runs in the Merlyn Theatre, CUB Malthouse, 16-23 May. Tickets: m-tix.com.au, 9685 5111. $30-$49.