Festival of Outback Opera – Program

Opera Queensland presents

FESTIVAL OF OUTBACK OPERA

Opera Queensland acknowledges and respects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners of the land and seas where we live and perform.

We acknowledge and respect the knowledge, cultures, languages, songs and dance they have created and shared for at least 65,000 years.

Opera Queensland affirms its support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and a process for Treaty Making and Truth Telling. We encourage our supporters, partners and audiences to engage in this landmark conversation.

Our commitment is to listen and walk respectfully with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals and communities, to celebrate the stories and songs of this place and its First Peoples.

© Murray Summerville

WELCOME

Welcome to the third annual Festival of Outback Opera, a festival where the majesty of the Outback meets the wonder of opera. Be it sharing a song at Sing, Sing, Sing, a meal at the Long Lunch or great music making at one of the gala concerts, the festival connects locals, visitors and artists, joyfully celebrating song and storytelling in a myriad of ways.

Opera Queensland is passionate about providing audiences, wherever they live, with the opportunity to experience the virtuosity and skill that is at the heart of all our performances. The ensemble of artists gathered for this year’s festival is a testament to our commitment to this goal. Musical Director Vanessa Scammell has curated Dark Sky Serenade and Singing in the Night, to highlight the many colours in the voices of Emma Matthews, Milijana Nikolic, Katie Stenzel, José Carbó, Jud Arthur and Carlos Bárcenas accompanied by the University of Queensland Pulse Chamber orchestra, working for the first time this year with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.

With the support of Queensland Government, we are expanding the program to include an opening night screening of a classic Queensland production, a Long Lunch with a menu drawn from local produce in Winton, and the Outback Opera Ball, ‘Boots and Ballgowns', in Longreach, featuring Paul Tabone. Complementing these are pop-up and community performances, curated by Jason Barry-Smith and Laura Hansford, including the much loved Sing, Sing, Sing.

Our regional production, Lady Sings the Maroons, visits the festival as part of a tour to over twenty cities and towns across the state. Starring Jess Hitchcock, Irena Lysiuk and Marcus Corowa, with musical director Luke Volker on keys. Inspired by the artists and songs that have emerged from Queensland over the past century, Lady Sings the Maroons asks what “Queensland” is in a gentle, funny and incisive way.

Putting together the Festival of Outback Opera requires a great deal of work and investment from many stakeholders. We are grateful to the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation, whose exceptional support of our regional program permeates every facet of the festival. Thanks also to our government partners, Arts Queensland and the Councils of Winton and Longreach, without their investment the festival would not exist.

For the first time this year we have the support of major sponsor Haymans Electrical, while The University of Queensland is returning for the second year. Acknowledging the impact that cultural events like the festival can have on regional centres, both organisations and the Queensland Government have committed to the festival until 2025.

The Southport School has been a partner on our regional tour for the past couple of years, a relationship that grows stronger each year. Similarly, we have been developing a relationship with Cisco and Data#3 and are very excited to be launching a new streaming education initiative in Longreach during the festival. And for the first time we welcome QMF through Queensland Music Trails who are partners on the Long Lunch.

195 artists, arts workers and crew are involved in producing the festival. It requires an all of company effort to ensure everyone is in the right place, wearing the right outfit at the right time. Thank you to all at Opera Queensland for their commitment to bringing our values of virtuosity, collaboration and joy to every part of this festival. There is no denying the awe of the Outback, and we are thrilled to share our beautiful music in its surrounds with our ever growing audience.

Patrick Nolan CEO & Artistic Director

MESSAGE FROM THE MINISTER FOR TOURISM, SPORT AND INNOVATION AND MINISTER ASSISTING THE PREMIER ON OLYMPICS AND PARALYMPICS SPORT AND ENGAGEMENT

Welcome to the Festival of Outback Opera, a highlight on the It’s Live in Queensland events calendar and a wonderful opportunity to showcase Outback Queensland as a tourism destination.

The Outback Queensland community is grateful to welcome visitors who fill their cafes and restaurants, stay in their accommodation, use local transport and explore our unique tourism experiences.

That’s why we support events through Tourism and Events Queensland’s Destination Events Program because they bring a welcomed boost to the local community and supports local jobs.

Events like the Festival of Outback Opera allows friends and family to reconnect and creates community pride. We hope you enjoy your stay and return again in the near future.

Be sure to immerse yourself in the local culture and get the opportunity to explore some of our world-class tourism experiences in this beautiful region.

Congratulations to the event organisers and volunteers – we wish you all the best for a successful event. The Hon. Stirling Hinchliffe MP

© Jade Ferguson

© Jade Ferguson

© Jade Ferguson

© Jade Ferguson © Jade Ferguson

© Murray Summerville

Festival of Outback Opera

WHAT'S ON

WINTON

FESTIVAL OPENING~

TUE 16 MAY, 6PM | The Royal Theatre

SING SING SING*

WED 17 MAY, 6.30PM | North Gregory Hotel

LONG LUNCH

THU 18 MAY, 12PM | Waltzing Matilda Centre

LADY SINGS THE MAROONS*

THU 18 MAY, 6PM | Winton Recreation Park

PANEL DISCUSSION*

FRI 19 MAY, 12PM | North Gregory Hotel

DARK SKY SERENADE

FRI 19 MAY, 6PM | Australian Age of Dinosaurs

LONGREACH

SINGING IN THE NIGHT

SAT 20 MAY, 6PM | Camden Park Station

SING SING SING*

SUN 21 MAY, 11.30AM | The Branch Cafe

OPERA BALL

SUN 21 MAY, 5PM | Smithy’s Camp

LADY SINGS THE MAROONS*

MON 22 MAY, 6.30PM | Longreach Racecourse

* FREE EVENT

~ GOLD COIN DONATION

POP-UP PERFORMANCES

Follow us on social media for details

@operaqueensland

click here NEED TICKETS? BOOK

CREATIVE TEAM & CAST

DARK SKY SERENADE & SINGING IN THE NIGHT

CREATIVE TEAM

Musical Director & Conductor Vanessa Scammell

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.

CAST

Emma Matthews

Milijana Nikolic

Jud Arthur

Carlos Bárcenas

José Carbó

MC Katie Stenzel

Piano Narelle French

LADY SINGS THE MAROONS

CREATIVE TEAM

Concept Patrick Nolan

Director & Writer Laura Hansford

Musical Director & Arranger Luke Volker

Costumes

Karen Cochet & Bianca Bulley

Set Designer Laura Hansford

LONG LUNCH

CREATIVE TEAM & CAST

MC Jason Barry-Smith

Emma Matthews

Carlos Bárcenas

Marcus Corowa

Jess Hitchcock

Irena Lysiuk

Piano Narelle French

Piano Luke Volker

Bush Poet Gregory North

SING SING SING

Baritone Jason Barry-Smith

Pianist Bev Kennedy ~

Pianist Narelle French *

~Wednesday 17 May

*Sunday 21 May

CAST

Vocal and instrumental

Marcus Corowa

Jess Hitchcock

Irena Lysiuk

Piano, instrumental and vocals

Luke Volker

OPERA BALL

CREATIVE TEAM

Musical Director Jason Barry-Smith

CAST

Katie Stenzel

Paul Tabone

Piano Luke Volker

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Soprano Nina Korbe

Tenor Nick Kirkup

VANESSA SCAMMELL

Musical Director & Conductor

Vanessa Scammell’s most recent engagements include An American in Paris for The Australian Ballet, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 for the Melbourne Symphony and a concert version of Singin’ in the Rain. In 2021/2022, she conducted the Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland and West Australian Symphony Orchestras in programmes such as Vera Blue, The Bamboos, Birds of Tokyo, An Evening with Anthony Warlow, Love Actually, To Barbra With Love and Festival of Outback Opera (for Opera Queensland).

Vanessa’s postgraduate study included a Masters in Conducting; she has been the recipient of the Brian Stacey Award and the Robert and Elizabeth Albert Conducting Fellowship for The Australian Ballet.

Credits include:

The Australian Ballet: The Dream, Body Torque, Nutcracker

Opera Australia: The Merry Widow, My Fair Lady, South Pacific, La traviata

Musical Theatre: Funny Girl (Sydney Symphony Orchestra), Hello Dolly, The Light in the Piazza, The Producers, Damn Yankees, West Side Story, Chicago, The Phantom of the Opera, Titanic, CATS and Fiddler on the Roof

Vanessa has regularly conducted the Sydney, Queensland, Melbourne, Christchurch, West Australian and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras. Her concert credits include: From Broadway to La Scala; Peter and Jack starring Barry Humphries, Idina Menzel LIVE –Barefoot at the Symphony; Eskimo Joe and Lea Salonga in Concert. She has also conducted staged concert versions of Sweeney Todd and Jekyll & Hyde (both starring Anthony Warlow).

She was Musical Director for The Divorce (an opera commissioned for television by Opera Australia, Princess Pictures and the ABC) and has been the Helpmann Award’s Music Director for the past 12 years.

In 2018, Vanessa conducted The Merry Widow for Opera Australia, West Australian Opera and Opera Queensland. She also led a symphonic tour of Planet Earth for the BBC; in 2019, she conducted the national tour of Blue Planet 2 for the same organisation.

PATRICK NOLAN Director

Currently the CEO & Artistic Director of Opera Queensland, Patrick Nolan 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: Oscar and Lucinda Opera Queensland with Sydney Chamber Opera and Victorian Opera; The Human Voice & The Call, The Sopranos, The Marriage of Figaro, Tosca and A Flowering Tree Opera Queensland; Verdi Requiem Opera Queensland with Bleach* Festival; 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.

BERNIE TAN-HAYES

Lighting Designer

Following his acclaimed lighting design for the inaugural Festival of Outback Opera, Bernie Tan-Hayes made his main stage production debut in Opera Queensland’s The Marriage of Figaro, prior to which he has had an extensive international lighting career.

Bernie’s other opera credits include: New Zealand Opera: La bohéme and Eugene Onegin; Pinchgut Opera: Semele, The Fairy Queen, Orfeo, Dardenus, Idomeneo, Juditha Triumphans, David and Jonathan, Lormindo and Orpheus and Eurydice; Brisbane Festival: Miracle in Brisbane; Sydney Conservatorium of Music: Die Fledermaus, Dialogue of The Carmelites, Pirates of Penzance; Opera Australia: Opera in the Bowl, Meet in Beijing Festival; and the Yarrabah Community Opera.

A selection of Bernie’s theatre credits: Griffin Theatre Company: Quack, Strange Attractor, Modern

International Dead, Tiger Country, October, King Tide; Sydney Theatre Company: Travesties, Macbeth

Queensland Theatre Company: God of Carnage

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: Bobcats Dancing, Charters Towers

the Musical; Erth Visual and Physical Inc.: Gondwana, Nargun and the Stars; Blackbird Productions: Steel Magnolias

Bernie has 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 for several years. He is currently APAC CEO and head of technology for FPOV, a large international lighting and AV design consultancy.

EMMA MATTHEWS

Soprano

Emma Matthews, Australia’s most highly awarded soprano, has performed with all the Australian opera companies and symphony orchestras, and all the major Australian festivals.

Most recently she has been heard with the Sydney Symphony (Brahms’s Requiem under chief conductor Simone Young), Adelaide Symphony (Beethoven’s Ninth), in recital at the Perth Festival, and in her company and role debut as Alcina with National Opera, Canberra last year.

For Opera Australia, Emma has sung the title roles in Partenope, Lucia di Lammermoor, Lakmé, The Cunning Little Vixen (also at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden) and Lulu. Other roles for OA have included Leila (The Pearlfishers), Amina (La Sonnambula), Philomele (Mills: The Love of the Nightingale), Ilia (Idomeneo), Juliette (Roméo et Juliette), Marie (La Fille du Regiment), Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare), Konstanze (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), the four heroines (The Tales of Hoffmann), Pamina (The Magic Flute), Almirena (Rinaldo), Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier), Giulietta (I Capuleti e i Montecchi) and Cunegonde (Candide).

On the concert platform, her repertoire includes the Requiems of Mozart, Brahms and Fauré, Mahler’s Second and Fourth Symphonies, masses by Poulenc, Villa Lobos, Haydn and Mozart, and Handel’s Messiah She has also appeared as a special guest with José Carreras at the Sydney Opera House, and at New Year’s Eve Gala concerts for Opera Australia.

Emma’s recordings include Emma Matthews in Monte Carlo, with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic, released on Deutsche Grammophon/ABC Classics; Mozart Arias with the Tasmanian Symphony, and Agony and Ecstasy, bel canto arias with the Melbourne Symphony, both released on ABC Classics; Eight Poems of Emily Dickinson (Copland) for MSO.Live. Emma can also be seen on DVD with Opera Australia as Violetta (La Traviata), in the title role of Lakmé, and as Gilda (Rigoletto).

Currently Head of Classical Voice/Opera Studies at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Emma is also Patron of the Wesfarmers Young Artist Program at West Australian Opera.

MILIJANA NIKOLIC

Mezzo-soprano

After graduating from the Academy for Soloists at Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Milijana Nikolic went on to sing leading mezzo-soprano roles throughout Europe, Asia, North America, Australia and New Zealand.

Her most recent performances include Jane Seymour (Anna Bolena) for The Metropolitan Opera New York, Eboli (Don Carlo), Amneris (Aida), Verdi’s Requiem and the title role in Carmen for Opera Australia, Pantasilea (Bomarzo) for Teatro Real Madrid, Carmen for Fujiwara Opera Japan and Dalila (Samson et Dalila) with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 2018, she sang Amneris for Seattle Opera and Opera Australia, Carmen for West Australian Opera and Azucena (Il trovatore) in Trieste, Bari and Japan; 2019 brought performances of Verdi’s Requiem in Brisbane and the Gold Coast and Giulietta (Les contes d’Hoffmann) at the Teatro Colon, Argentina.

In Asia, Milijana has sung Eboli (Don Carlo) in Korea and for Opera Hong Kong; she has also appeared with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and the Kanasawa Festival in Japan. Her many roles for Opera Australia in recent seasons have included the title role in Carmen, Amneris, La Principessa (Suor Angelica), Jezibaba (Rusalka), Azucena, Venus (Tannhäuser), Ulrica (Un ballo in maschera) and Adelaide (Arabella).

Milijana has sung the title role in Carmen for the Savolinna Festival in Finland, for Opera Australia (in Sydney and Melbourne) and for State Opera of South Australia in Adelaide; Amneris (in her American debut) for Michigan Opera Theatre and in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and New Zealand; Dalila in Samson et Dalila in Finland; the title role in Vivaldi’s Juditha Triumphans at the Macerata Festival; she also appeared in the World Premiere of Bliss for Opera Australia in Sydney, Melbourne and at the Edinburgh Festival.

JUD ARTHUR Bass

New Zealand-born Jud Arthur has been Australianbased since 2003.

He has sung over 40 operatic roles for Opera Australia, West Australian Opera, Victorian Opera, State Opera South Australia and Opera Queensland as well as frequently returning to New Zealand Opera.

A particular highlight for Jud was creating the roles of Hunding and Fafner in Opera Australia's 2013 Der Ring des Nibelungen - for which he received critical acclaim.

In 2023, he sings Fafner in Das Rheingold for Sydney Symphony, The Bonze in Madama Butterfly for Opera Australia, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 for Sydney Philharmonia and appears in the Festival of Outback Opera for Opera Queensland.

Concert performances have included the Requiems of Verdi, Mozart and Fauré, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Handel's Messiah and Haydn's Creation with all the major Australasian Symphonies Orchestras.

Jud’s singing of the New Zealand National Anthem is featured regularly at international sporting events –especially Rugby Union test matches involving the All Blacks. He had the honour of singing at the launch of the New Zealand America's Cup defence.

Prior to his operatic career, Jud was a state rugby player for Otago in New Zealand’s national competition. His success there saw him poached by the Mirano Rugby Club in Italy where he played for 3 years.

Jud is also a farrier and a former New Zealand Under-21 Show Jumping Champion.

CARLOS BÁRCENAS

Tenor

Born in Cali, Colombia, Carlos Bárcenas studied marine biology before taking up singing and relocating to Australia. He holds a Bachelor of Music Performance and a Master of Music (Opera Performance) from the University of Melbourne.

In Australia, Carlos has worked with organisations including Victorian Opera, Melbourne Lyric Opera, Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Short Black Opera, University of Queensland, and Opera Queensland (OQ). He has also performed in Italy, Germany, and Colombia. His roles include the tenor solo in Verdi’s Requiem, Marco in The Gondoliers, Michael in Pecan Summer by Deborah Cheetham, Steuermann in The Flying Dutchman, Edgardo and Normanno in Lucia di Lammermoor, Prince Charming in Cendrillon, Nadir in The Pearl Fishers, Elvino in La Sonnambula, Tebaldo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Arnold Melchtal in William Tell, and Gastone in La traviata. Carlos received a Green Room Award for his performance of Steuermann.

Most recently for OQ, Carlos performed the role of Malcolm in Verdi’s Macbeth in March 2023 at QPAC’s Concert Hall. In 2022 he sang in Home Grown Opera (in collaboration with Bleach* Festival) on the Gold Coast and Voices of Vic Park concert (with Brisbane Festival). He also featured in The Classics: Opera on the Silver Screen in Melbourne’s Victoria Gardens for the City of Stonnington.

In addition to travelling to Winton and Longreach for Festival of Outback Opera concerts, in May Carlos appeared for OQ at QMF’s Opera at Jimbour, as well as forthcoming engagements with Victorian Opera in Capriccio conducted by Simone Young, and a Bel Canto concert with Jessica Pratt.

JOSÉ CARBÓ

Baritone

Argentine-Australian baritone José Carbó is one of the most exciting operatic artists of his generation; he has performed in the leading opera houses of the world including Teatro alla Scala, Teatro Real Madrid, Los Angeles Opera, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Seattle Opera, Opera de Tenerife and Opera Australia. His triumphant Verdi debut in 2013 as Renato in Un ballo in Maschera for Opera Australia led to further important Verdi role debuts including the title role in Rigoletto, Rodrigo in Don Carlo and his now-signature role of Germont in La traviata

2023 sees two more Verdi role debuts - the title role in Macbeth for both Opera Queensland and State Opera South Australia and Iago in Otello for West Australian Opera; he also sings Escamillo (Carmen) in Perth and as soloist for Opera Queensland’s Festival of Outback Opera and the 4MBS Festival of Classics. Most recently, José toured Australia with superstar Sumi Jo, sang Scarpia (Tosca) and The Count (Le nozze di Figaro) for Opera Queensland and performed Germont, Sharpless, Zurga (The Pearlfishers) and Alfio/Tonio (Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci) for Opera Australia – receiving Helpmann Award and Green Room Award nominations for his work. Other appearances include Riolobo (Florencia en el Amazonas) for Los Angeles Opera and Germont, Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor) and Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia) for Victorian Opera. In 2015, José joined the roster of principal artists at The Metropolitan Opera, New York. He made his US debut as Rossini’s Barber at Seattle Opera – also singing this role at Teatro Real Madrid, Opera Australia, Opera Queensland and State Opera of South Australia; his La Scala debut saw performances of Il viaggio a Reims

José’s debut album My Latin Heart (released by ABC Classics) was nominated for the ARIA Classical Record of the year and debuted at No. 1 on the Limelight Magazine Classical Music charts.

KATIE STENZEL Soprano

Katie Stenzel is a dynamic coloratura soprano. Described by Limelight as possessing “a powerful and perfectly controlled upper range”, she has established herself as an engaging and multi-faceted performer across Australia and internationally with companies including State Opera South Australia (SOSA), Opera Queensland (OQ), Opera Australia, Brisbane Festival, Brisbane Music Festival, Adelaide Fringe, and the Taipei Drama Festival in Taiwan.

Katie’s operatic roles have included 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, or the Witch’s Curse! and the creation of the role of Loretta in The Crushing: A Gothic Opera. She has also understudied roles including 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 Handel’s Messiah, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Fanshawe’s African Sanctus and Oratorio de Noël by Saint-Saëns.

In 2021, Katie made her SOSA debut in the role of Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia to great acclaim. Most recently, Katie performed in OQ’s 2022 new production, The Sopranos

DARK SKY SERENADE

PROGRAM

Prelude (La Traviata)

Giuseppe Verdi and Francesco Maria Piave

Di Provenza (La Traviata)

Giuseppe Verdi and Francesco Maria Piave

You’ll never walk alone (Carousel)

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II

Una furtiva lagrima (L’elisir d’amore)

Gaetano Donizetti and Felice Romani

Si tu m’aimes, Carmen (Carmen)

Georges Bizet, Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy

Figlia… Mio padre! (Rigoletto)

Giuseppe Verdi and Francesco Maria Piave

Opening & Trio (The Magic Flute)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Emanuel Schikaneder

Ombra mai fu (Xerxes)

George Frideric Handel

A Bush Christening

Robert Davidson and A. B. “Banjo” Paterson

Un dì, felice, eterea (La Traviata)

Giuseppe Verdi and Francesco Maria Piave

Sempre libera (La Traviata)

Giuseppe Verdi and Francesco Maria Piave

INTERVAL

Largo al factotum (The Barber of Seville)

Gioachino Rossini and Cesare Sterbini

Maria (West Side Story)

Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents

One hand, one heart (West Side Story)

Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents

Nel giardin del bello (Don Carlo)

Giuseppe Verdi, Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle

Vecchia zimarra, senti (La Bohème)

Giacomo Puccini, Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa

Là ci darem (Don Giovanni)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte

Vilia (The Merry Widow)

Franz Lehár, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein

SINGING IN THE NIGHT

PROGRAM

Una furtiva lagrima (L’elisir d’amore)

Gaetano Donizetti and Felice Romani

Deh! rallentate, o barbari (Il Trovatore)

Giuseppe Verdi and Salvatore Cammarano

V’adoro, pupille (Julius Caesar)

George Frideric Handel and Nicola Francesco Haym

Clancy of the Overflow

Robert Davidson and A. B. “Banjo” Paterson

Hai già vinta la causa (The Marriage of Figaro)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte

La vendetta (The Marriage of Figaro)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte

Sull’aria (The Marriage of Figaro)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte

Something wonderful (The King and I)

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II

Granada

Agustín Lara

Sunday (Sunday in the Park with George)

Stephen Sondheim

INTERVAL

Country Gardens

Trad/Holst, arr. Narelle French

Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix (Samson et Dalila)

Camille Saint-Saëns and Ferdinand Lemaire

Barcarolle (The Tales of Hoffmann)

Jacques Offenbach and Jules Barbier

Danny Boy

Trad/Irish

Bella figlia dell’amore (Rigoletto)

Giuseppe Verdi and Francesco Maria Piave

Vissi d’arte (Tosca)

Giacomo Puccini, Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa

Au fond du temple saint (Pearlfishers)

Georges Bizet, Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré

JASON BARRY-SMITH

Baritone

Jason Barry-Smith’s study in Brisbane, Munich, London and Rome led him to a singing 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 (OQ’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. He travelled to Winton and Longreach in 2021 for the inaugural Festival of Outback Opera as singer and compère, and in 2022 toured with The Sopranos as well as performing again at events in Winton and Longreach.

Also in 2022 for OQ, Jason created the role of Marchese d’Obigny in the new production of La traviata at QPAC’s Lyric Theatre and directed the collaborative program Composed in Queensland, which saw him working together with singer-songwriters Sara Storer, Marcus Corowa and school students across north-west and south-west Queensland in the creation of original songs celebrating their regional communities. Most recently, in April 2023 he returned to Cunnamulla to lead workshops, compère and perform in the inaugural Outback River Lights Festival.

NARELLE FRENCH

Pianist

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.

BEV KENNEDY

Pianist

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.

NINA KORBE

Soprano

Soprano and proud Koa, Kuku Yalanji, Wakka Wakka woman, Nina Korbe received her Bachelor of Music Performance with Distinction from Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University (QCGU) and was awarded the Griffith University Academic Excellence Award. In 2020, Nina was awarded the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music International Postgraduate Scholarship to undertake her Master of Arts studies at Royal Academy of Music in London, graduating with Distinction in 2022.

Highlight roles and scenes as a student in Australia and the UK include Arminda from Mozart’s La finta giardiniera, Héro from Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict, Ilia from Mozart’s Idomeneo and Lucia from Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor Nina was invited by Royal Academy Opera to debut the role of Little Ms Manifest in the critically acclaimed world premiere of Freya Waley-Cohen’s Witch, which was later nominated for the Ivor Academy Composer Awards for Stage Works, and was also invited to be assistant director for the vocal faculty’s opera scenes in 2022.

Since returning to Australia, Nina has been appointed Artist in Residence for Queensland Youth Orchestras and will be touring to Singapore, Austria and Germany with Queensland Youth Symphony as guest soloist to perform Ravel’s Sheherazade. She sits on the board for Queensland Youth Orchestra’s Reconciliation Action Plan as a First Nations Representative and is this year’s proud recipient of the Harold Blair Opera Scholarship and the Ruskin Opera Scholarship through Melba Opera Trust. She is the recipient of the 2023 Margaret Schindler Vocal Scholarship for Southern Cross Soloists and will perform with them at Bangalow Chamber Music Festival in August.

For Opera Queensland, Nina joined the Toowoomba Community Chorus in the touring productions of La bohème (2014), The Barber of Seville (2016) and concert production of Die Fledermaus (Opera at Jimbour, Queensland Music Festival, 2015), and as part of her QCGU studies joined Opera Queensland Chorus for Peter Grimes (in association with Brisbane Festival, 2018) and Verdi's Requiem (with BLEACH*, 2019).

As an Opera Queensland 2023 Young Artist, Nina recently travelled to Cunnamulla with Opera Queensland to take part in the inaugural Outback River Lights Festival, and in May will feature in community program events in Winton and Longreach for this year’s Festival of Outback Opera.

NICK KIRKUP

Tenor

Tenor Nick Kirkup has a diverse performance history in choral and operatic repertoire, including roles for Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University Opera Studio and University of Southern Queensland Opera Studio. 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, Nick has performed as a tenor soloist with many of southeast Queensland’s major choral societies. As part of the 2023 Palm Sunday celebrations at All Saints’ Anglican Church in Brisbane, Nick appeared as the tenor soloist in their performance of Handel’s Messiah. Other concert engagements include the role of Evangelist in Canticum’s performance of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (2020), 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, Nick has appeared in numerous productions with Opera Queensland’s Chorus since 2016. A regular facilitator and singer for Opera Queensland's Learning Regional and Community programs, he has performed in concerts and participated in workshops in far-ranging Queensland locations and events including the Muttaburra Stock Show and in Cairns as part of the Home Grown Opera project (both in 2022), and in Cunnamulla (2018) and Childers (2016 and 2019).

Nick’s recent solo roles for Opera Queensland include 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 (in association with Brisbane Festival, 2018).

As an Opera Queensland 2023 Young Artist, Nick understudied the role of Malcolm and performed in the Opera Queensland Chorus, both for Macbeth at QPAC’s Concert Hall in March. He recently travelled to Cunnamulla in April to take part in the inaugural Outback River Lights Festival, and in May will feature in community concerts, workshops and activities at regional centres including Tambo, Winton and Longreach during this year’s Festival of Outback Opera.

PAUL TABONE Tenor

Paul Ettore Tabone began performing aged nine, attaining extraordinary grades in piano, voice and music theory throughout his education. He was given the prestigious Most Promising Voice for Music Theatre Award in 2007 & 2009 at the Central Queensland University’s Conservatorium of Music, graduating with a Bachelor of Music Theatre in 2009.

That year, Paul made his solo opera debut in the world premiere production of Dirty Apple for Opera Queensland. With a rising reputation as one of Australia’s most promising lyric tenors, he was also engaged to perform with Dmand Entertainment’s Tenorissimo. In 2011, he was engaged in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies and performed in Vision Australia’s nationally broadcast Carols by Candlelight in Melbourne.

Paul moved to Italy in 2012 where he was engaged as a soloist in Puccini’s Turandot in Florence, also performing at the New York City Centre, Teatro Menotti (Spoletto) and Teatro Duse in Bologna with the Luciano Pavarotti Heritage Concert. In 2014, he made his debut as the Duke in Rigoletto at the Opera Națională București under the baton of Cristian Sand with direction by Stephen Barlow, performed as Tony in West Side Story for the Teatro Carlo Felice (Genova), and made his debut as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at the Teatro dei Gigli (Lucca) in collaboration with the Puccini Foundation of Italy under the direction of Massimo Morelli.

Paul was a second prize winner at the 2013 International Vocal Competition Rinaldo Pellizoni and won the Public Choice Award at the 2014 Canto Festival at Teatro La Fenice (FM). He returned in 2015 to the Opera Națională București for further performances as the Duke in Stephen Barlow’s Rigoletto, and was invited to reprise his role in Love Never Dies at Hamburg’s Stage Operettenhaus in Hamburg in Liebe Stirbt Nie –Phantom II

Paul has recently concluded a four-year contract at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End in the role of Ubaldo Piangi in The Phantom of The Opera He continued his success in that role in the Lawrence Connor production performing at the Sydney Opera House & The Arts Centre Melbourne in 2022 & 2023.

LAURA HANSFORD Director and Writer

Laura Hansford 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* Festival), and re-directed The Sopranos for OQ’s regional tour in 2022. Most recently, she directed Verdi’s Macbeth, presented in QPAC’s Concert Hall in March 2023. 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 is currently Artistic Associate for OQ and has acted as Assistant Director on a variety of productions for OQ: The Marriage of Figaro (2021), Tosca (2019), Songs to Die For (2019); and for Victorian Opera: The Barber of Seville (2019), Pelléas and Mélisande (2018).

Laura has worked extensively with companies such as 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 Assistant Director for Così fan tutte (OQ) and La bohème (West Australian Opera).

LUKE VOLKER

Musical Director & Arranger

Luke Volker is a Brisbane-based music director, dramaturg, composer, arranger and accompanist. His credits as music director or musical supervisor include the Universal Monsters Live Rock & Roll Show® and Hogwarts™ Frog Choir for Universal Studios Japan®, The Sunshine Club for Queensland Theatre, and national tours of The Owl & The Pussycat, #FirstWorldWhiteGirls, Ruby Slipper Chronicles, and Babushka’s Happily Ever After (for which he won a Matilda Award). He has also worked on developmental productions for QPAC, Metro Arts, Opera Queensland, Queensland Theatre and Dead Puppets Society, among many others.

Luke’s arrangements have been performed across Australia and internationally, including at Adelaide Fringe, Melbourne Cabaret Festival, Sydney WorldPride and New York’s The Green Room 42. 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 and Community projects.

As a pianist Luke has played for various touring musicals, performs with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, is the resident accompanist for SingEasy’s Musical Theatre Industry Night, and has worked with such celebrated artists as Caroline O’Connor, Lea Salonga, Faith Prince, Rhonda Burchmore and Philip Quast.

Luke acknowledges the original custodians of the lands on which he lives, works, and creates. Sovereignty was never ceded.

MARCUS COROWA

Vocal and instrumental

Marcus Corowa has captured the hearts of Australians with his silky, soulful voice and charming stage presence. An award-winning First Nations entertainer, Marcus is an accomplished singer/songwriter, composer, actor and mentor who has been turning heads for more than a decade.

Drawing on his Aboriginal and South Sea Islander heritage, Marcus creates captivating music with elements of blues, jazz and funk; a combination that won him the Most Promising New Talent in Music Award at the 2012 Deadly Awards and that can be heard on his EPs Water & Air and The Greater You. Since then, Marcus has found success as an independent recording artist, composer and actor.

Marcus is an exceptional live entertainer which has resulted in amazing partnerships. He was part of the 30-year anniversary celebrations for Australian Catholic University’s Indigenous program, Yalbinga, performed with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra at The National Centre for Indigenous Excellence Reconciliation Action Week, and has secured residencies with both Voyages Sails in the Desert and on the Indian Pacific. He is a positive role model and advocate for diversity and inclusion, committed to using his voice to mentor and inspire young Australians. Other career highlights include the Australian premiere of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (2017/18), playing Willie in Opera Australia’s Bran Nue Dae (2020), Opera Australia’s The Rabbits (2015), Belvoir St Theatre’s Barbara and the Camp Dogs (2020), Sydney Theatre Company’s The Secret River (2017) and most recently playing Frank Doyle in Queensland Theatre’s The Sunshine Club at QPAC (2022).

For Opera Queensland, Marcus performed his first solo recital for the Opera Queensland Studio Series (2022), featured in the 2021 touring production Are You Lonesome Tonight, 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.

JESS HITCHCOCK

Vocal and instrumental

Jess Hitchcock is an Indigenous singer-songwriter stirring the Australian music and performing arts scene as a genre-defying force. Her powerful voice and knack for storytelling has her shining across pop, country, folk and opera, sharing the stage and studio with some of Australia's favourites.

Jess’ most notable release is the duet with Paul Kelly, ‘Everyday My Mother’s Voice’, earning standing ovations across the nation. Jess has also collaborated with Archie Roach, Tina Arena & Kate Miller-Heidke.

Jess’ songs are intentionally dramatic and playful. The first single, ‘I Don't Have The Heart’, was described by The Music as "an arena sized pop ballad".

When Jess is not on stage with her own band, or joining forces with Australian music legends, Jess lends her impressive mezzo-soprano vocals to select productions by leading performing arts companies, including Bangarra Dance Theatre and Opera Queensland.

Jess’ anticipated album, ‘Unbreakable’, is out June 30th

Lady Sings The Maroons

IRENA LYSIUK

Vocal and instrumental

Since graduating from Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University in 2016 with a Graduate Diploma in Music Studies and in 2014 with a Bachelor of Music, Irena Lysiuk has worked extensively for Opera Queensland.

Irena played the role of Barbarina in Opera Queensland’s Le nozze di Figaro (2021), Gretel in Opera Queensland and shake & stir theatre co’s school touring production of Hansel and Gretel (2017-18) and Adina in FIZZ! (2016), as well as ensemble roles in Opera Queensland productions including Gilbert & Sullivan’s Ruddigore (2017), Don Giovanni (2018), A Flowering Tree (2019), Tosca (2019) and Orpheus and Eurydice (2019).

Most recently, Irena performed her first solo recital for the Opera Queensland Studio Series and was part of the cast of the acclaimed regional tour, Are You Lonesome Tonight, the most extensive regional tour in Opera Queensland’s 40 year history.

Turning to musical theatre, Irena played Rose Morris in Queensland Theatre’s The Sunshine Club at QPAC (2022), Carmen in Sweet Charity at the Brisbane Powerhouse (2019) and Anne Egerman in the Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra’s production of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music (2018). In 2018, Irena debuted the role of the Pussycat in Little Match Productions’ new opera The Owl & the Pussycat, and performed at CommGames Festival and Brisbane Festival 2018 at QPAC.

While studying at Queensland Conservatorium, Irena’s roles included Damigella in L’incoronazione di Poppea (2015), Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro (2013), Papagena in Die Zauberflöte – scenes (2012), and Una Novizia in Suor Angelica (2011).

In 2023, Irena will perform in The Little Red Company’s Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves, and joins the cast for Lady Sings the Maroons, returning to many Queensland towns following her success in Are You Lonesome Tonight

© Stephanie Do Rozario © Stephanie Do Rozario © Stephanie Do Rozario

PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH

UQ PULSE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA & QUEENSLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

UQ MUSICIANS

Violin

Courtenay Cleary

Cameron Howe

Hanah Lee

Jeanne Lombard

Viola

Daniel Casey

Bridget Wegne

Cello

Ella O'Neill

Oboe

Clint Fox

Flute

Belinda Wong

French Horn

Thomas Ferreira-Montague

UQ SINGERS

Soprano

Jacalyn Adcock

Annie Rose Paroz

Eline van Bruggen

Mezzo

Beth Allen

Annabelle Julien

Lara Miller

Tenor

Jenson White

Connor Willmore

Bass

Timothy Nielson

Nic Wallace

QSO MUSICIANS

Violin

Rebecca Seymour

Helen Travers

Viola

Nicole Greentree

Cello

Deborah Davis

Double Bass

Anne Buchanan

Oboe

Sarah Meagher

Clarinet

Irit Silver

Flute/s

Alison Mitchell

Bassoon

David Mitchell

Horn

Timothy Allen-Ankins

Orchestra Manager

Benjamin Shaw

OPERA QUEENSLAND

PATRONS

Her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeannette

Young AC PSM, Governor of Queensland and Professor Graeme Nimmo RFD

OPERA QUEENSLAND BOARD

Chair Linda Apelt

Deputy Chair Anne Cross AM

Treasurer David Gow

Director Will Fellowes

Director Judy Mather

Director Katie McNamara

Director Jody Currie

HONORARY LIFE MEMBERS

Lady Jane Edwards AM

Sir Leo Hielscher AC

Martin Kriewaldt

David Macfarlane OAM

Marilyn Richardson

Emeritus Professor David Siddle

Dr Nancy Underhill

EXECUTIVE TEAM

CEO & Artistic Director Patrick Nolan

Executive Producer Adam Tucker

Chief Financial Officer Christine McEwan

TEAM

Head of Music & Chorus Director Narelle French

Director of Development Megan Kair

Director of Technical Production Alex Loh

Director of Learning, Regional & Community Kylie McOmish

Director of Marketing & Sales Lucy Childs

Executive Assistant Karen Griffin

Artistic Associate Laura Hansford

Producer – Learning, Regional & Community Simone Doczkal

Graphic Designer Carlos Angelo

Marketing & Campaign Coordinator Jesse Sobey

Ticketing & CRM Coordinator Hayley Rankin

Partnerships Manager Phoebe Rouse

Events & Administration Officer Rachel Bryce

Development Officer Meagan Gamble

Head of Wardrobe Karen Cochet

Production Coordinator Carlo Maur

Production Administrator Annette Kerwitz

Principal Cutter & Costume Designer Bianca Bulley

HR, Young Artist Program & Music Coordinator Alicia Cush

Management Accountant Nina White

Assistant Accountant Sara George

PRODUCTION CREDITS

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Director of Learning, Regional and Community

Kylie McOmish

Managing Producer Simone Doczkal

Associate Producers

Justine Hansberry, Maddison Ryan

Director of Technical Production Alex Loh

Production Administrator Annette Kerwitz

Production Coordinator Carlo Maur

Production Assistant Carli Griffin

Head of Wardrobe Karen Cochet

Principal Cutter & Costume Designer Bianca Bulley

OPERA QUEENSLAND LTD

ABN 83 010 258 750

Registered Office Queensland Conservatorium

140 Grey Street, South Bank, QLD 4101

Postal Address PO Box 5792, West End, QLD 4101

Telephone 07 3735 3030

Email info@oq.com.au

DARK SKY SERENADE & SINGING IN THE NIGHT

Production Manager Scott McOmish

Lighting Design Bernie Tan-Hayes

Sound Engineer Geoff McGahan

Production Stage Manager Carli Griffin

Assistant Stage Manager Ben Mills

Special thanks

Sound and Lighting Supplier Norwest Productions

Stage Supplier C&M Productions

Production Transport Logistics Roadpro Event Services

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Production Technician Carlo Maur

Production Stage Manager Annette Kerwitz

Special thanks

Sound and Lighting production support

Krank’d Audio & Visual Productions

Technical Services, Media Launch Buck Outdoor

Tambo Community Event technical support

Outback Sound

Extra special thank you to staff and councillors at Longreach and Winton Councils, everyone at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs and the Walker family for their exceptional support in presenting the festival.

Photo credits cover Glenn Hunt. This program is typeset in Setimo and Objektiv designed by Dalton Maag.

2023 ANNUAL APPEAL

BRINGING SONG TO QUEENSLANDERS

At Opera Queensland, we believe everyone should have the opportunity to experience the transformative power of opera, no matter where they live.

Our 2023 Annual Appeal supports the important work we do in regional and remote Queensland.

This year, we are proud to share the beauty and drama of this art form far and wide across our breathtaking state, with initiatives like Outback River Lights Festival in Cunnamulla, Festival of Outback Opera in Winton and Longreach and Composed in Queensland.

These programs and performances define us as the state’s opera company, enable us to deepen our regional relations and have profound impact on the lives of countless people.

The Mather Foundation has once again joined our Appeal to provide matched funding up to $30,000. This means your donation is doubled, and your $100 becomes $200, or your $500 becomes $1,000. This is a genuinely powerful way to increase the impact of your gift.

Whether you're a long-time supporter or new to the world of opera, we invite you to join us in this important mission. Your generous donation to our Annual Appeal will help support these vital programs and continue to bring song to Queenslanders.

For more information visit: oq.com.au/appeal

GIVE THE GIFT OF MUSIC

KEYS ARE LIMITED, SECURE YOURS NOW

The Piano Key Campaign supports our CEO & Artistic Director’s vision to work with instruments as virtuosic as the singers they accompany. This campaign is for the acquisition of a renowned Shigeru Kawai SK-EX Concert Grand Piano, to take centre stage in our 2023 Studio Series recital performances.

A key can be gifted to Opera Queensland for $1,800. In return you receive a bespoke illustration inscribed with a name of your choosing. This could be your name or be shared as a gift to friends and family in their name.

As a collection, the 88 keys are symbolic of the generosity of our supporters who enable Opera Queensland to present opera of the highest quality.

Patrons who gift Opera Queensland with a key will receive exclusive invitations to attend a suite of performances and money-can’t-buy experiences in the Opera Queensland Studio, the new home of our Shigeru Kawai SK-EX Concert Grand Piano.

For more information visit: oq.com.au/piano-key-campaign/

OUR DONORS, OUR FUTURE

LEGACY DONORS

The Estate of Lois Schultz & June Wheeler

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE

Mr Philip Bacon AO, Dr Damien Foong & Mrs Xiaohong Foong, Prof Ian Frazer AC & Mrs Caroline Frazer, Dr Colin Furnival† & Dr Isobel Furnival†, Mrs Mary Gannon & Prof Frank Gannon, Mr Hien Le, Emeritus Prof Andrew Lister & Ms Kate Lister, Ms Judy Mather, Mr Iain Saul, Emeritus Prof David Siddle & Emeritus Prof Christa Critchley, Dr Susan Urquhart† & Dr Philip Aitken†

FOUNDATION DONORS $15,000 AND ABOVE

Mr Philip Bacon AO, Mr Tim Fairfax AC & Mrs Gina Fairfax AC, Metal Manufacturers Pty Ltd, Tim Fairfax Family Foundation, The Frazer Family Foundation, Hall-Brown Family Foundation, Mather Foundation, Emeritus Prof David Siddle & Emeritus Prof Christa Critchley, Mr Iain Saul

PLATINUM DONORS $10,000 – $14,999

Emeritus Prof Peter Coaldrake AO, Geoff Ross Endowment – Australian Philanthropic Service Foundation

GOLD DONORS $5,000 – $9,999

Miss Adele Dickman, Dr Damien Foong & Mrs Xiaohong Foong, Dr John Gough & Ms Ann Page, Ms Sarah Holland-Batt, Ms Di Jameson, Mr Douglas Murphy KC & Mrs Gerry Murphy, Ms Katie McNamara, Mr Lee Nevison§ & Mrs Mary Louise North, Dr Mark Walker

SILVER DONORS $1,000 – $4,999

Dr Philip Aitken† & Dr Susan Urquhart†, Emeritus Prof Catherin Bull AM & Emeritus Prof Dennis Gibson AO, Ms Marilyn Christiansen, Ms Anne Cross AM, Mr Robert Cumming§, Mr Will Fellowes & Dr Michael McLaughlin, Mr David Gow & Dr Kirsten Gow, Ms Julia Gray, Ms Valmay Hill & Mr Russell Mitchell, Jameson Charitable Foundation, Ms Megan Kair, Mrs Andrea Kriewaldt & Mr Martin Kriewaldt, Mr Ross Lamont & Ms Sophie Lamont, Prof Andrew Lister & Ms Kate Lister, The Hon Justice Margaret McMurdo AC§, Mr Patrick Nolan & Ms Mathilde de Hauteclocque, Ms Lyn Parsons, Mr Ray Poon, Dr John Quinn† & Mrs Deborah Quinn, Dr Jonathan Ramsay, Mrs Larissa Shumilo, Mr Allen Smith & Mrs Mitzi Smith, Mr Adam Tucker, Mrs Cornelia Van Zyl, Wagner Corporation, The Hon Margaret White AO, Anonymous 1

BRONZE DONORS $500 – $999

Mr Damian Bartholomew, Mr Geoffrey Beames, Ms Georgina Blomfield, Mr Neale Cumming-Harris, Mr Terence Daubney, Dr C. Davison†, Dr Malcolm Davison & Dr Margaret Davison, Ms Mary Dickinson, Ms Marian Gibney, Mrs Marie Isackson, Dr Annette Kortlucke† & Dr Peter Kortlucke†, Mr David Looke†, Dr Ranjeny Loneragan, Dr Desmond Brian Misso Esq†, Ms Nancy Mules, Dr David Pitman, Mr Douglas Ritchie & Mrs Janine Ritchie, Mr William Rivers, Mr Henry Smerdon AM, Mr Robert Wilson & Mrs Patricia Wilson, Anonymous 1

PIANO KEY CAMPAIGN

Dr Philip Aitken, Ms Linda Apelt, Cisco Systems Australia, Emeritus Prof Peter Coaldrake AO, Ms Anne Cross AM, Mr Robert Cumming, Data#3, Ms Patricia Dempsey, Diamond Experiences, Mr David Gow & Dr Kirsten Gow, Dr Damien Foong, Prof Ian Frazer AC & Mrs Caroline Frazer, Dr Colin Furnival & Dr Isobel Furnival, Prof Frank Gannon & Mrs Mary Gannon, Hanworth House, Mr Hien Le, Ms Judy Mather, Ms Katie McNamara, Mr Douglas Murphy KC & Mrs Gerry Murphy, Mr Iain Saul, Emeritus Prof David Siddle & Emeritus Prof Christa Critchley, Dr Susan Urquhart, Mr Phillip Vecchio, Wagner Corporation, Ms Janine Walker AM, Dr Mark Walker, Ms Natasha Woodward

† The Medical Chapter § The Legal Chapter The information in this document is current as of 27/04/23.

COSÌ FAN TUTTE

10 – 26 AUGUST | PLAYHOUSE, QPAC

What is love?

PRESENTED BY OPERA QUEENSLAND & OPERA AUSTRALIA

AIDA

6 – 20 DECEMBER | LYRIC THEATRE, QPAC

“As magnificent, jaw-dropping, gasp-inducing and lavish a staging as you can imagine.“ the au review

THE STUDIO SERIES

Working to the brief, “Sing us an hour of your favourite songs”, internationally renowned artists share secrets and insights into the music that has defined their careers.

In the intimate setting of the Opera Queensland Studio, performances of around an hour are a wonderful way to deepen your understanding of song and the performers whose lives have been shaped by them.

Save 20% when you purchase tickets to two or more events oq.com.au/event-category/recital/

FORTY YEARS ON FORTY STAGES

Conal Coad & Sarka Budinska

FRI 2 JUN | SAT 3 JUN

REACHING FOR THE MOON

Lorina Gore & Alex Raineri

FRI 23 JUN | SAT 24 JUN

A QUEER ROMANCE

Michael Honeyman & Sally Whitwell

FRI 6 OCT | SAT 7 OCT

WORLD-CLASS EVENTS IN EXTRAORDINARY PLACES

Be captivated in Outback Queensland

PARTNERING TO INSPIRE

Opera Queensland is proud to partner with leading organisations who are committed to enriching lives through this wonderful artform. Each of our partnerships is unique and meaningful. We deliver a tailored suite of exclusive benefits with the intention to exceed expectations. To our Corporate Partners, we thank you for your continued support. If you would like to join us, please phone 07 3735 3030 or email development@oq.com.au

GOVERNMENT PARTNERS

PHILANTHROPY PARTNERS

MAJOR PARTNERS

SUPPORTING PARTNERS