CREATIVE TEAM & CAST
DARK SKY SERENADE & SINGING IN THE NIGHT
CREATIVE TEAM
Conductor Christopher van Tuinen
Musical Director Narelle French
Director Patrick Nolan
Lighting Bernie Tan-Hayes
Sound Designer Geoff McGahan
With the University of Queensland Pulse Chamber Orchestra joined by musicians of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.
DO WE NEED ANOTHER HERO?
CREATIVE TEAM
Director & Writer Laura Hansford
Musical Director & Arranger Luke Volker
Assistant Director Emma Nightingale
Costumes Karen Cochet
Sets Laura Hansford
Lighting Wesley Bluff
LONG LUNCH
CREATIVE TEAM & CAST
MC Katie Stenzel
Nick Kirkup
Shaun Brown Shikara Ringdhal
Gregory North
Piano Bev Kennedy
Piano Narelle French
SING SING SING
CREATIVE TEAM & CAST
MC Jason Barry-Smith
Shikara Ringdahl
Nina Korbe
Piano Bev Kennedy
CAST
Kate Miller-Heidke
Jason Barry-Smith*
Shaun Brown
Rachelle Durkin
Nick Kirkup
Nina Korbe
Rosario La Spina
Katie Stenzel
Piano Narelle French
* Dark Sky Serenade
CAST
Jason Barry-Smith
Ruby Clark
Marcus Corowa
Shikara Ringdahl
Luke Volker
OPERA BALL
CREATIVE TEAM & CAST
MC Ben Mingay
Ruby Clark
Katie Stenzel
Piano Luke Volker
With the University of Queensland Quartet
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CHRISTOPHER VAN TUINEN Musical Director & Conductor
Christopher van Tuinen graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Music from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) in 2001. In 2005, he completed a Masters in Conducting at the VCA.
Experienced in both vocal and instrumental music, he was awarded the John Williams Conducting Scholarship for 2004-5. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland, a Bachelor of Laws from Queensland University of Technology and an AMusA from the Australian Music Examinations Board. He has been nominated by the Musical Theatre Guild for Best Music Direction and received a Green Room Award nomination in the Best Conductor category.
During 2008 and 2009, he was a member of the Young Artists Program as a Conductor with Opera Australia. In 2007, Chris was appointed as the inaugural Conducting Fellowship at the Australian Ballet. He has worked with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO), Orchestra Victoria, The Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. His previous roles include West Australian State Manager for Musica Viva, Classical Music Program Manager for Perth Festival, Chorus Director for WASO, Conductor of the University of Western Australia Choral Society, Musical Director of Fremantle Chamber Orchestra and Artistic Director of Lost & Found Opera.
Currently, Chris is Artistic Director of West Australian Opera.
PATRICK NOLAN Director
Currently the CEO and Artistic Director of Opera Queensland, Patrick has created productions for Opera Australia, WA Opera, Sydney Chamber Opera, New Zealand Opera, Seattle Opera, Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir St, Griffin Theatre, Melbourne Theatre Company, London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and all the major Australian capital city festivals.
From 2009-2014 he was Artistic Director of Legs On The Wall, creating works that toured Australia, UK, Korea and Brazil.
In 2015, Patrick was awarded an Australia Council Fellowship to support research into large scale outdoor performance and the relationship between extreme physicality and storytelling.
Operas include: Così fan tutte Opera Queensland (OQ), La voix humaine (The Human Voice) OQ, The Marriage of Figaro OQ and WA Opera; Oscar and Lucinda OQ with Sydney Chamber Opera and Victorian Opera; Tosca OQ and WA Opera; Verdi Requiem OQ with Bleach Festival; A Flowering Tree OQ; Katya Kabanova Seattle Opera and NZ Opera; Notes from Underground Sydney Chamber Opera; A Flowering Tree Perth Festival and WA Opera; Acis and Galatea, Dido and Aeneas, Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, Eugene Onegin, Pelléas et Mélisande Opera Australia; La bohème, Eugene Onegin New Zealand Opera; the world première of Love in the Age of Therapy by Paul Grabowsky and Joanna Murray-Smith for the Sydney and Melbourne Festivals.
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BERNIE TAN-HAYES
Lighting
Bernie Tan-Hayes has had a long and distinguished career in Theatre and Architectural lighting and AV design.
His credits for Opera Queensland include: The Marriage of Figaro, The Human Voice, The Call, Festival of Outback Opera
Other credits for both theatre and Opera: Queensland Theatre, Tiny Beautiful Things, God of Carnage. New Zealand Opera: La bohème and Eugene Onegin. Pinchgut Opera: Semele, The Fairy Queen, Orfeo, Dardanus, Idomeneo, Juditha Triumphans, David and Jonathan, Lormindo and Orpheus + Eurydice. Brisbane Festival: Miracle in Brisbane. Sydney Conservatorium of Music: Die Fledermaus, Dialogues of the Carmelites, The Pirates of Penzance. Opera Australia: Opera in the Bowl, Meet in Beijing Festival and the Yarrabah Community Opera. Griffin Theatre Company: Quack, Strange Attractor, Modern International Dead, Tiger Country, October, King Tide. Sydney Theatre Company: Travesties, Macbeth. Ensemble Theatre Company: The Little Dog Laughed, Ninety, Brooklyn Boy, Are you there, Derrida in Love, The Busy World is Hushed. La Boite Theatre Company: Amigos. NORPA: Mr BBQ, The Flood, Queensland Music Festival: Bobcat Dancing, Charters Towers the Musical. Erth Visual and Physical: Gondwana, Nargen and the Stars
Bernie has also previously served as touring technical manager and lighting designer for: Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company and Belvoir; and as Associate Lighting Designer to Nick Schlieper.
He is currently Technology and Content Principal for FPOV, a large international design consultancy.
One of Australia’s most respected and versatile pianists and musicians, Narelle joined Opera Queensland in 1999 encompassing roles including Head of Music, Director of Young Artist Program and Chorus Director.
Narelle has appeared as conductor, performer, arranger, librettist and translator, has co-created and performed for numerous touring productions, special events, concerts and workshop programs, and has led the Opera Queensland Chorus for over forty main stage productions, concerts and events.
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NARELLE FRENCH Pianist
KATE MILLER-HEIDKE
Kate Miller-Heidke is an award-winning singer and songwriter who traverses the worlds of contemporary pop, folk, musical theatre and opera.
She has released 5 top ten studio albums including O Vertigo!, Nightflight, and Curiouser, which reached double platinum sales and featured the multi-platinum hits ‘The Last Day On Earth’ and ‘Caught In The Crowd’. In 2009 she and her collaborator Keir Nuttall became the first Australians to win the grand prize in the International Songwriting Competition for ‘Caught in the Crowd’. Kate’s latest album, Child In Reverse, was released in October 2020 to enormous critical acclaim, debuting in the top 10 of the ARIA Charts. In 2022, Kate released her latest single ‘You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore’ featuring Jaguar Jonze.
Her work has been nominated for ARIAs in categories as diverse as Best Pop Release, Best Adult Contemporary Album, Best Classical Album, Best Cast Recording, Best Comedy Release and Best Australian Live Act.
Trained as a classical singer at the Queensland Conservatorium, Kate has performed roles for the Metropolitan Opera in New York in John Adams’ The Death of Klinghoffer, as well as several roles for the English National Opera, and in Jerry Springer The Opera at the Sydney Opera House.
Her debut opera as a composer, The Rabbits (based on the book by Shaun Tan and John Marsden), was commissioned by Opera Australia had sold-out seasons in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. It won 4 Helpmann Awards including Best Score and Best New Australian Work.
She has collaborated many times with acclaimed Dutch composer Michel van der Aa on his innovative multimedia operatic works, including Sunken Garden (English National Opera), Eight (Holland Festival) and The Book Of Sand (Holland Festival, Sydney Festival), all combining video footage and virtual reality scenes with classical and operatic music, all sung and acted by Kate.
With her collaborator Keir Nuttall, she wrote the music and lyrics to Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, which premiered at the Sydney Theatre Company and played throughout 2019 in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. It won five Helpmann Awards, including Best Original Score. They also composed music for Twelfth Night (2018) and As You Like It (2021), both for Melbourne Theatre Company.
After competing at Eurovision – Australia Decides on the Gold Coast in February 2019, Kate was unanimously chosen by both the jury and public votes to become Australia’s representative at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. Kate’s heartfelt performance and the out-of-this world staging of her original composition ‘Zero Gravity’ won her first place in her semi-final, a top ten placing in the Grand Final, and the coveted Marcel Bezançon Award for Artistic Achievement.
Kate and Keir recently completed work on their brand new original musical comedy, Bananaland, with book by Keir and music and lyrics by Kate and Keir, which had its world premiere at the 2023 Brisbane Festival, and just finished a season at the 2024 Sydney Festival to rave reviews. It won ‘Best Musical Or Cabaret’ and ‘Best Composition And/Or Sound Design’ at the 2024 Matilda Awards.
Kate is currently touring Australia on the 50-date ‘Catching Diamonds’ Tour of regional towns and cities throughout the country, beginning in January 2024 and continuing on throughout the year, while simultaneously filming her first season as a Coach on the Channel 7 series The Voice Australia, alongside Guy Sebastian, LeAnn Rimes and Adam Lambert. Tickets to Kate’s Catching Diamonds Tour are on sale now.
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Soprano
© Glenn Hunt
RACHELLE DURKIN
Soprano
Australian/American soprano Rachelle Durkin became an established solo artist at The Metropolitan Opera New York singing principal roles there for many years - most notably Norina in Don Pasquale (recorded live for Sirius Radio), Lisa in La sonnambula, Clorinda in Cenerentola, Miss Schlesen in Phillip Glass’ Satyagraha, Frasquita in Carmen, Masha in Pique Dame, First Flower Maiden in Parsifal and Young Girl in Moses und Aron.
Most recently, she sang Violetta in La traviata for Victory Hall Opera, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni for Pittsburgh Opera and the title role in Tosca for Opera Queensland. 2021/2022 engagements included Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Governess (The Turn of the Screw) in Adelaide, Morgana (Alcina) in Canberra and Musetta (La bohème) in Perth; in 2023, she returned to Opera Australia as Mrs Schlesen, to Perth as Musetta and was soloist with the Sydney, Tasmanian and West Australian Symphony Orchestras.
Other highlights have included Romance at the Met - Opera’s Most Romantic Moments, soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Detroit Symphony Orchestra (c: Leonard Slatkin) and West Australian Symphony Orchestra (c: Asher Fisch) and Gala Concerts with Placido Domingo, Bryn Terfel and José Carreras.
Rosario La Spina made his Opera Australia debut as Cavaradossi in 2005; other roles for the national company include Radames, The Prince (Love for Three Oranges), Alfredo Pinkerton, The Duke, The Prince (Rusalka), Calaf, Macduff, Rodolfo, Don José, Turiddu, Canio and the title role in The Tales of Hoffmann. His American debut was as Rodolfo for Seattle Opera in 2007; he returned to Seattle as Radames and made his first Canadian appearances in this same role.
Major recordings include: Puccini Romance with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra (ABC Classics), The Prince in Rusalka (Chandos) and Rosario (Universal Music).
The Verdi Bicentenary in 2013 saw him sing Alfredo and The Duke in Perth, Don Alvaro in Adelaide, Verdi’s Requiem in Taiwan and New Zealand, Radames in Detroit and Gaston (Jérusalem) in Fidenza; he also performed Don José throughout Japan.
Rosario has sung The Duke for Opera Queensland and appeared in Encore – Opera Queensland Returns, Manrico for West Australian Opera, Pollione and Canio for Victorian Opera, Manrico and Calaf in Serbia, Samson in Tokyo and Cavaradossi, Turiddu, Canio and Rodolfo in Adelaide.
Recent engagements include his debut as Siegmund in Opera Australia’s new production of Die Walküre and Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) in Belgium.
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ROSARIO LA SPINA Tenor
Australian baritone Shaun Brown has performed and studied in England, Germany, France, Italy and the US, where he completed a Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of North Texas.
A former Opera Queensland (OQ) Young Artist, Shaun’s engagements with the company span more than three decades, and he has appeared in over fifty productions, in addition to numerous concerts, festival events, workshops and masterclasses. He is known to Queensland audiences for his appearances including roles in Don Giovanni, The Merry Widow, Die Fledermaus, Così fan tutte, Carmen, The Marriage of Figaro, and the Brisbane and touring productions of La bohème, The Barber of Seville and Ruddigore, or The Witch’s Curse! In 2021, he performed A Poet’s Love, a recital with Sarah Crane and Alex Raineri as part of OQ’s Studio Series in partnership with Brisbane Music Festival. Most recently, he performed in OQ’s new 2022 productions of The Sopranos and La traviata, in which he created the role of Baron Douphol, and appeared in Winton and Longreach as part of the 2022 Festival of Outback Opera.
Internationally, Shaun has sung for Opéra de Lyon, New Zealand International Arts Festival, Freiburg Opera, L’Atelier du Rhin, and in New York at the Center for Contemporary Opera in operatic works by Jake Heggie. He has performed to critical acclaim as a concert soloist in repertoire including Britten’s War Requiem, Bach’s St Matthew Passion, Handel’s Messiah and Mendelssohn’s Elijah.
Recent and upcoming performances for OQ include Don Alfonso in the production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte in August 2023 and soloist in the Eastern Lawn Galas and Drawing Room Recitals Opera at Jimbour in May 2024 (with Queensland Music Festival).
Award-winning First Nations soprano, Nina Korbe, is quickly establishing herself as one of Australia’s leading young sopranos. She has been praised for her creamy tone, brilliant top notes and sensitive performances - which continue to delight critics and audiences.
For Opera Queensland, she has appeared in their productions of La bohème, Die Fledermaus, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Peter Grimes and Verdi’s Requiem. In concert, she has been engaged as soloist by Camerata Chamber Orchestra, Queensland Ballet, Southern Cross Soloists and the Goldner String Quartet.
In 2024, Nina made her Opera Australia début as Maria in West Side Story and later this year, she sings Lisette in Puccini’s La rondine for Victorian Opera and will continue in her position as Artist in Residence with the Queensland Youth Orchestra. In this capacity, she has sung Ravel’s Shéhérazade at the Musikverein in Vienna, Stiftung Mozarteum in Salzburg and Laieszhalle in Hamburg.
As a proud Koa, Kuku Yalanji, Wakka Wakka woman, she is actively involved in the championing of Indigenous Voices; Nina sits on Queensland Youth Orchestra’s Reconciliation Action Plan Board and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra’s First Nations Advisory Board. She is also an advisor to the Australian Music Foundation.
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SHAUN BROWN
Baritone
NINA KORBE Soprano
LAURA HANSFORD Director & Writer
Laura has worked on Opera Queensland (OQ) productions for the last decade as both an artistic and technical collaborator. She directed OQ’s most successful touring production Are You Lonesome Tonight (2021), co-directed The Sopranos (OQ) and Home Grown Opera (for OQ and BLEACH*), and wrote and directed the regional touring production, Lady Sings the Maroons.
In 2021/2022 Laura was a resident Director with Circa and was the Project Lead on their inclusive Circus program Circability. She was the Associate Director on Circa’s Italian Baroque presented with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra at Sydney Festival 2022.
Laura previously worked as the Artistic Associate for OQ and has acted as Associate Director on a variety of productions – for OQ: Così fan tutte (2023) The Marriage of Figaro (2021), Tosca (2019), Songs to Die For (2019); for West Australian Opera La bohème (2023) and for Victorian Opera: The Barber of Seville (2019), Pelléas and Mélisande (2018). She currently holds the position of Director of Learning, Regional and Community with OQ.
Laura has worked extensively with companies including Opera Australia, Victorian Opera, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand Opera and State Opera South Australia. In 2020 she was nominated as an Emerging Female Artist at the Matilda awards.
Forthcoming engagements include being Associate Director on the Opera Conference Production of Rusalka opening with West Australian Opera in 2024.
LUKE VOLKER Musical Director & Arranger
Luke is a Brisbane-based music director, dramaturg, composer, arranger and accompanist. With a particular love of developing new work, he has contributed to cabarets, concerts, musical theatre and opera, across Australia and internationally.
Credits as music director include the Hogwarts™ Frog Choir and Universal Monsters Live Rock & Roll Show® for Universal Studios Japan; Lady Sings The Maroons for Opera Queensland; Tick, Tick… Boom! for THAT Production Company; and national tours of The Owl & The Pussycat, Lesbian Love Stories, #FirstWorldWhiteGirls, and Babushka’s Happily Ever After (for which he won a Matilda Award); as well as developmental productions for QPAC, Metro Arts, Dead Puppets Society, and many others.
Luke’s arrangements have been performed at Brisbane Festival, Adelaide Fringe Festival, Melbourne Cabaret Festival, Sydney WorldPride, State Opera South Australia, New York’s Green Room 42, and on P&O, Princess, and Carnival cruise lines. He is the composer of There Once Was A Puffin (an online mini-opera for children commissioned during 2020’s lockdown period), and regularly writes and arranges for Opera Queensland’s Learning, Regional & Community program.
Luke has played keyboards on various touring musicals, performs regularly with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, was resident accompanist for both SingEasy’s and Underground Broadway’s musical theatre industry nights, and has worked with such celebrated artists as Caroline O’Connor, Lea Salonga, Faith Prince, Rhonda Burchmore, and Philip Quast.
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Jason Barry-Smith’s study in Brisbane, Munich, London and Rome led him to a career on the Australian operatic stage, and he is equally in demand as a performer, teacher, conductor, arranger, director and compère.
Over the past three decades Jason has performed in or directed many of Opera Queensland’s most successful productions and programs. He also performed the title role in Billy Budd for the Brisbane Biennial, Papageno in The Magic Flute for Opera Australia (Opera on the Beach), Guglielmo in Così fan tutte for the Tokyo Arts Foundation, Mathieu in Andrea Chénier and Belcore in The Elixir of Love for State Opera South Australia, Mamoud in The Death of Klinghoffer and the title role in The Barber of Seville for New Zealand Opera, Tony in West Side Story for Brisbane Festival, and Major-General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance for Essgee Entertainment; and he created the roles of Aldo Marini in Mimma – A Musical of War & Friendship, Samuel in Electric Lenin for NORPA and Julian in Quartet for the New Zealand Arts Festival.
Since 2019, Jason has been the regular host of OQ’s popular Sing Sing Sing events. In 2021 he travelled to Winton and Longreach for the inaugural Festival of Outback Opera as singer and compère, and in 2022 toured with The Sopranos as well as creating the role of Marchese d’Obigny in the new production of La traviata at QPAC’s Lyric Theatre. He’s also directed the collaborative program Composed in Queensland, which saw him working together with singersongwriters Megan Washington, Sara Storer, Marcus Corowa and school students across Queensland in the creation of original songs celebrating their regional communities. In 2023 he returned to Cunnamulla to lead workshops, compère and perform in the inaugural Outback River Lights Festival, and lead the community team for OQ’s Festival of Outback Opera.
A musical theatre graduate from Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, Ruby Clark is a Sydney-based actor, singer, dancer, musician & stuntwoman.
In recent years, she has performed the roles of Reza in Once: The Musical for Darlinghurst Theatre Company (2022), Rizzo in Grease: The Music for Royal Caribbean Cruises Australia and Maureen Johnson in RENT: The Musical (QPAC & MW Entertainment), amongst others.
In addition to theatre, she is also an accomplished violinist and has worked professionally in bands, cabarets and shows including Lesbian Love Stories for The Local Lesbians, Bright Star for Pursued by Bear and Spring Awakening for Metro Arts. In 2023, Ruby performed in the stage show Gentleman Prefer Blondes for Darlinghurst Theatre Company, in addition to their production of Once.
Ruby is excited and thrilled to be joining the cast for Opera Queensland’s Do We Need Another Hero? on its regional 2024 tour.
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JASON BARRY-SMITH
Baritone
RUBY CLARK Soprano
MARCUS COROWA
Tenor
Marcus Corowa has established himself as one of the country’s most in-demand talents, carving out a vibrant decade-long career that spans performance, mentoring and advocacy.
As a performer, Marcus has captured the hearts of Australia with his soulful voice and charming stage presence.
Career highlights include the Australian premiere of Broadway blockbuster Beautiful: The Carole King Musical; Opera Queensland’s Festival of Outback Opera; Opera Australia’s Bran Nue Dae; Belvoir Theatre’s Barbara and the Camp Dogs; Sydney Theatre Company’s The Secret River; QPAC and Queensland Theatre’s The Sunshine Club, and Victorian Opera’s The Visitors.
As a devoted mentor and leader, Marcus draws on his Aboriginal and South Sea Islander heritage to advocate for greater diversity and inclusion within the creative industries.
For Opera Queensland, Marcus performed his first solo recital for the Opera Queensland Studio Series (2022), featured in the regional touring productions Are You Lonesome Tonight (2021) and Lady Sings the Maroons (2023), performed at Festival of Outback Opera 2022, and wrote three new songs with and for students in Charleville, Quilpie and Cunnamulla as part of Opera Queensland’s project Composed in Queensland.
Australian mezzo-soprano Shikara Ringdahl is a graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University (QCGU) and holds a Bachelor of Music. She made her professional debut with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) singing Elgar’s Sea Pictures Op. 37 under the baton of Benjamin Northey, and became the first vocalist invited by SSO to tour in their 80 years of regional touring.
Shikara’s opera credits include Der Komponist in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos conducted by Simone Young AM, Larina in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin conducted by Richard Hetherington, and Mrs Herring in Britten’s Albert Herring, directed by Bruce Beresford for QCGU and Brisbane Festival. Shikara has also been a resident Young Artist with the Israeli Opera’s Meitar Opera Studio.
Shikara has been a finalist in the IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition, New Zealand Aria Competition, Sydney Eisteddfod Opera Scholarship, and winner of the BlueScope WIN Wollongong Eisteddfod Opera Scholarship.
In 2023 Shikara joined Opera Queensland’s (OQ) Young Artist Program and made her company debut as Second Apparition in Macbeth. She also performed with the OQ Chorus in Macbeth, Così fan tutte and Aida. Shikara returns as a Young Artist this year and is thrilled to join the cast of Do We Need Another Hero?
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SHIKARA RINGDAHL Soprano
Katie Stenzel is a dynamic, coloratura soprano. Described by Limelight Magazine as possessing “a powerful and perfectly controlled upper range”, she has established herself as an engaging and multifaceted performer.
Since completing her Master of Music Studies at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, Katie has performed across Australia and internationally with companies including State Opera South Australia, Opera Queensland, Opera Australia, Brisbane Festival, The Adelaide Fringe Festival, and the Taipei Drama Festival in Taiwan.
Operatic roles have included Queen of the Night in The Sopranos, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Valencienne in The Merry Widow, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Niece 1 in Peter Grimes, Zorah in Ruddigore and the creation of the role of Loretta in The Crushing: A Gothic Opera. She has also understudied roles including Despina in Così fan tutte, Euridice and Amore in Orfeo ed Euridice, Kumudha in A Flowering Tree, Rose Maybud in Ruddigore, Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Cunegonde in Candide, and Yum Yum in The Mikado. She has appeared in concert works including Symphony No. 4 (Mahler), Messiah (Handel), Carmina Burana (Orff), African Sanctus (Fanshawe), The Mysteties of the Macabre (Ligeti), and Oratorio de Noêl (Saint-Saëns).
2024 will see Katie appear in the roles of Bellezza in Handel’s The Triumph of Time and Truth for Voxalis Opera and Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas for Opera Queensland.
KIRKUP Tenor
Tenor Nick Kirkup has a diverse performance history in choral and operatic repertoire, including roles for Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University and University of Southern Queensland Opera Studios. In 2010 he was awarded the prestigious Joyce Campbell Lloyd Scholarship, which allowed him to undertake further study at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.
On the concert stage, engagements include the Evangelist role Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (2020) for Canticum, tenor soloist for the Canticum and Brisbane Chorale performance of Handel’s Israel in Egypt (2019), and tenor soloist for the state tour of Handel’s Messiah with Queensland Symphony Orchestra (2016).
For Opera Queensland (OQ), Nick has appeared in numerous productions with the company’s Chorus since 2016 and is a regular facilitator and singer for OQ’s far-reaching Learning Regional and Community programs.
Nick’s recent solo roles for OQ include understudying Malcolm in Macbeth (2023), Giuseppe in La traviata (2022) and tenor soloist in Songs of Love and War (2021), as well as understudying Don Basilio/Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro (2021), Spoletta in Tosca (2019), and Reverend Horace Adams in Peter Grimes (2018).
As an OQ 2024 Young Artist, Nick has understudied the roles of Arturo and Normanno for OQ’s Lucia di Lammermoor for Brisbane Bel Canto, Spoletta and Angelotti in Tosca for Opera at Jimbour and will appear as Rodolfo in La bohème on a national tour for Opera Australia.
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KATIE STENZEL
Soprano
NICK
An actor, musician and international musical theatre performer, Ben was originally a construction worker from Newcastle who fell into classical music when he was dared to audition for the Conservatorium of Music by his mates. He subsequently won a scholarship and went on to train in Opera Voice for several years – a twist of fate that changed the trajectory of his life forever.
Recently delighting screen viewers around the world in the acclaimed ABC/Sky UK/HBO Max series Frayed with Sarah Kendall, Ben’s screen credits include Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge playing the role of Grease Nolan and on the small screen playing Alan Bond in Nine Network’s House of Bond, Flip Menelaus in The Twelve for Foxtel, Jim Delaney in Amazing Grace, Trystan Powell in Home and Away, Buzz in Packed to the Rafters for the Seven Network and prior to that Ben starred for three seasons as Rob Duffy in the Network 10 series Wonderland.
Ben’s stage credits include Shrek in Shrek The Musical (Gordon Frost Organisation), Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd (West Australian Opera/State Opera South Australia/Victorian Opera/Sydney Opera House), Papageno in The Magic Flute (Opera Australia), the Pirate King in Pirates of Penzance (SOSA) Evan in Vivid White (Melbourne Theatre Company), Jud Fry in Oklahoma (The Production Company), Achilles in Paris - A Rock Odyssey (Music Theatre Melbourne) and numerous concerts around Australia with the hit singing group Swing on This. Other stage credits include Thomas in Rolling Thunder Vietnam, The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera, Zack Mayo in the World Premiere production of An Officer and a Gentleman. In 2011 Ben received rave reviews for his portrayal of Tommy DeVito in the award-winning musical Jersey Boys, which was his first Australian performance since he originated the role of Billy Kostecki in the World Premiere of Dirty Dancing in 2004. In Dirty Dancing, Ben’s unique vocal ability won him the same role in every English-speaking production worldwide for almost 6 years, including the West End, Canada, Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles.
Bev Kennedy is generally regarded as one of Australia’s leading Musical Directors & accompanists, having worked on over 30 professional music theatre productions.
Previous shows include Billy Elliot, Mamma Mia!, The Producers, We Will Rock You, The Lion King, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Chicago and the concert version of Sunset Boulevard with Judi Connelli. She was assistant Musical Director for Simon Gallaher’s The Pirates of Penzance, the highest selling recording of a musical in Australian history and which also won an Aria Award for best soundtrack.
Most recently, Bev has been working on Muriel’s Wedding, Heathers, Jersey Boys and Wicked, and was Musical Director for Avenue Q. She was also nominated for a Green Room Award for her work as Musical Director on the Australian premiere of Gutenberg! The Musical!
In 2008, Bev was the official pianist at the World Youth Day Papal welcome which was televised worldwide, and the previous year played at Kerry Packer’s memorial which was also broadcast live around the world. In 2011 Bev was Musical Director for the Luminale Festival at the Sydney Opera House.
Bev has accompanied international artists such as Joan Rivers and Grammy Award winners Thelma Houston and Liz Callaway, and continues to play for local artists such as Trevor Ashley, Marina Prior & Anthony Warlow. She is currently a consultant & adjudicator for the City of Sydney Eisteddfod as well as a consultant for the Talent Development Project.
Bev also works as a regular performer on the Bravo Cruise of Performing Arts, and in 2017 performed with Jose Carreras.
In 2019 Bev had the honour of working with Tina Arena on the sellout show Evita at the Sydney Opera House and also toured Australia with Grammy award winning English dance duo Basement Jaxx.
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BEN MINGAY Baritone
BEV KENNEDY Musician
