A production of Billy Elliot The Musical (BETM) will be presented at Teatro Ópera in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from May 27 to June 15, 2026.
Teatro Ópera is one of Buenos Aires’ most iconic and historic theaters, located on Avenida Corrientes, the city’s renowned cultural and entertainment avenue. Opened in 1872 and later rebuilt in 1936 in an elegant Art Deco style, the theater has long been a central venue for the performing arts in Argentina. The theatre seats an audience of 1,852.
Originally conceived as an opera house, Teatro Ópera gradually evolved into a multi-purpose performing arts venue, welcoming a wide range of productions including opera, ballet, symphonic concerts, musical theater, dance spectacles, and major international touring shows. Over the decades, it has hosted celebrated artists, prestigious companies, and large-scale productions from around the world.
The interior of the theater reflects its Art Deco heritage, combining architectural elegance with modern functionality. The auditorium offers excellent sightlines and acoustics, with seating distributed across the stalls (platea), boxes and pullman levels, and upper balconies, allowing the space to adapt to different performance formats. Its flexible stage and technical infrastructure make it particularly well suited for contemporary productions and touring companies.
Billy Elliot The Musical
The Argentine production of BETM is being produced by Omar & Diego Romay. The Romay family was also responsible for the production of BETM at Teatro Alcalá in Madrid, which ran from 2017 to 2021. Like the Madrid production, this production will replicate the West End version of BETM, according to Diego Romay. He also added that, due to their experience with the musical in the past, they knew this project would require an “exceptionally trained children’s cast in ballet, tap, singing, acting and acrobatics”. This caused the producers to form a partnership with the Julio Bocca Foundation to create a training program called the “Billy House” inspired by those of the West End, Broadway and Madrid.
Audtions for the lead role of Billy were announced to the entire country in March of 2025. Auditions were open to children between the ages of 10 and 13 “who have a talent for dance and dream of performing on stage”. Those selected would receive a full scholarship to the Billy House at the Julio Bocca Foundation. They would train there in 2025.
The criteria that the creative team was looking for in the boys who auditioned for Billy were:
- Mastery of ballet as an essential foundation;
- Tap dance at a solid level or, at the very least, the ability to learn it quickly’
- Natural and expressive singing ability;
- Acting skills — specifically the capacity to convey both vulnerability and strength;
- Acrobatics and physical skills — without which the role is impossible to perform;
- Physical and emotional stamina, as the production is extremely demanding for a child;
- Stage prsesence — that indefinable quality that cannot be taught, yet defines the true artist.
Diego Romay said more than 1,500 children from all over Argentina participated in the initial phase of auditions. Some of those were asked to submit a 30 second video of the applicant performing a dance variation and then about 200 boys were selected to be invited to an in-person audition in May of 2025. The in-person auditions produced 15 candidates to possibly play Billy. Those 15 boys received a full scholarship to the Billy House at the Julio Bocca Foundation in Buenos Aires where they would train throughout 2025.
After several months of training, five boys were chosen to play Billy and four would play Michael, Billy’s best friend. The boys chosen to play Billy are: Joaquin Mondino Formichelli, Franco Leone Malozaj, Mateo Tognolotti, Lucio Scavino, and Berni Banchero.
Regarding the the announced Billys, producer Romay says “The five selected children constitute the official cast and are all slated to perform; none are “on probation.” Each of them brings something unique to the table, and all have completed the intensive training program we designed in collaboration with the Julio Bocca Foundation. Nevertheless—as is standard practice in all professional productions featuring child leads—we maintain a rotating system: this ensures their physical well-being, prevents overexertion, and ensures that every performance features a fresh and fully prepared performer.”
To learn more about the Buenos Aires Billys, click on the Billy Profiles button (below) to be taken to their detailed profiles.
To see a complete listing of the rest of the Buenos Aires cast, just click on the Cast Information button.
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