A story of a love so strong it defies enemy lines. A story of a kingdom in triumph and a nation in chains. A story of betrayal.

Verdi’s majestic music makes this epic and enduring favourite. Davide Livermore’s radiant production is a thrilling theatrical experience. Ten towering digital screens create ever-changing floor-to-ceiling set pieces. Immersive digital video design ranges from rich symbolism to vivid landscapes.

Opulent costumes and props reflect the splendour of Egypt at the height of its power. Together with dramatic video, the massed grandeur of the famous Triumphal March is a visual and musical feast.

Sensational Australian soprano Natalie Aroyan performs as the enslaved princess, Aida, while Elena Gabouri reprises her critically acclaimed turn as Aida’s rival, Amneris. Diego Torre is a powerful Radamès, the man they both love.

Aida
QPAC, Brisbane
6 – 20 December 2023
www.qpac.com.au

Greek Maestra Zoe Zeniodi returns to Brisbane to lead the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, the cast of six and a chorus of eight in the production directed by Opera Queensland CEO & Artistic Director Patrick Nolan.

Opera Queensland’s Così fan tutte features a cast of leading Australian singers, comprised of Samantha Clarke as Fiorgiligi, Anna Dowsley as Dorabella, Jeremy Kleeman as Guglielmo and Brenton Spiteri as Ferrando, three of whom are returning from seasons in London to be a part of the quartet of young lovers.

Opera Queensland favourites, Leanne Kenneally and Shaun Brown round out the sextet, bringing their experience to the roles of Despina and Don Alfonso.

Mr Nolan said Così fan tutte presented an opportunity to experience opera at its best through the unique relationship between the music of Mozart and libretti of Lorenzo Da Ponte.

“For our audiences, it completes the Mozart – Da Ponte trilogy with Marriage of Figaro presented in 2021 and Don Giovanni in 2018. In Così fan tutte, the final work of the trilogy, we can see the genius in Mozart and Da Ponte’s plotting as it becomes apparent that there are character types that resonate throughout the trilogy. The Count in Figaro, becomes Don Giovanni in Don G and Don Alfonso in Così.”

Così fan tutte questions the idea of romantic love in all its many guises. Is it an illusion or the source of all our happiness?

We meet four young lovers on holiday, the two men being soldiers on leave. Enter the older Don Alfonso who has a cold and dispassionate view of what love is. He suggests to the men that the women would be sure to take other lovers if they had to return to war. The men are offended by such an idea but agree to test his theory, returning in disguise to attempt to seduce the other’s partner.

“The history of literature and art is full of questions about fidelity and the way in which we choose to live our lives with a single partner, or not, and the impact this has on our destiny,” Mr Nolan said.

“The gift of an opera like this is that we can dive deep into the psychology and complexity of what it means to commit long-term to another person.

“The title, which translates to ‘they (women) are all like that”, is a launchpad to a far more nuanced exploration of the nature of desire and commitment.

“We are at a point in history where gender and male – female relationships are under the microscope in a very particular way.

“Così fan tutte is a story that allows us to explore those dynamics and politics in a way that is both joyous and also vulnerable and tender.

“The combination of Mozart’s music and Da Ponte’s words, move us from the ridiculous to the sublime, from the farcical to a reflective, fragile space.

“It’s the tension between those two states of play that makes it such a fascinating story to tell.”

Maestra Zoe Zeniodi said she looks forward to returning to Brisbane to work on Così fan tutte after first collaborating with Opera Queensland in 2022.

Ms Zeniodi has performed in venues including Carnegie Hall, is a member of the prestigious Hart Institute of Women Conductors with The Dallas Opera and, after competing at the La Maestra competition in Paris, was chosen as one of six members of the Maestra Academy for 2022-2024.

“Mozart’s works talk about the most brilliant things – the things we still talk about – relationships, fidelity and what drives us, all set within what is happening within different layers of society, socially and politically,” Ms Zeniodi said.

“I see Mozart’s operas as perfect. Not a wrong-placed note. In Così fan tutte, he has created these incredible harmonies using only six voices to create a piece which is so unique and interesting.

“There are so many emotions and internal thoughts, invisible layers, that can be heard and experienced through the music.

“Every person in the audience can take away what they most respond to on that specific day, depending on what is going on in their own lives.

“I am here to create a space where these emotions can appear so that people can be changed through the performance.”

Set and Costume Designer Elizabeth Gadsby said the production will emulate a 21st Century resort in Italy where the young lovers are holidaying.

“The women have packed for a romantic seaside holiday. There is colour, texture and pattern in their costumes. For the men, we are fashioning the flamboyantly dressed heartthrob,” Ms Gadsby said.

“The trompe l’oeil and architecture reference neoclassical Italian villas from the 1500s. These buildings still exist in the 21st century and can be booked for a stay.

“The playful and romantic space will speak to the rose-tinted glasses of early love, but we then progressively strip away the fairy tale façade as the relationships play out between the characters.

“In the first Act we lean heavily into the scenic technique of hidden symbols and meaning found in trompe l’oeil, creating a full visual world that plays on tropes of the traditional opera set. In the second act, the world splinters and deconstructs with video projection heightening the sense of observing and being observed as we explore the inner psychology of the characters.”

Subscribers to Opera Queensland’s Season 2023 receive a 20 per cent discount when purchasing tickets to two or more performances and priority access to the best seats in the house.

View Opera Queensland’s full Season 2023 program and purchase subscription packages and tickets at oq.com.au

Opera Queensland acknowledges the First Peoples of the Lands across Queensland, upon which we perform. We pay our respects to all of Queensland’s First Peoples, their ancestors and Elders, and to our shared future.

Cosi Fan Tutte
10 – 26 August, 2023
Playhouse, QPAC, South Brisbane
www.oq.com.au/

Fueled by treachery, superstition and a lust for power that knows no bounds, Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a tale for our times.

Incoming Chief Conductor Umberto Clerici leads the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and the mighty Opera Queensland Chorus, in a thrilling concert performance of Verdi’s murderous tale.

With José Carbó as Macbeth, Anna Louise-Cole as Lady Macbeth, and Rosario La Spina as Macduff, the passion and fury of Verdi’s renowned score will be brought to life in vivid detail.

Macbeth in Concert
Concert Hall, QPAC, Brisbane
9-11 March 2023
www.oq.com.au

And so begins one of the greatest love stories ever told. This is the opera that changed the direction of the art form. When it premiered in 1786 audiences were intrigued as they watched real people wrestling with feelings of desire, betrayal, remorse, unbridled lust… Feelings they knew well themselves.

The original title of the opera translates as, “Figaro’s Wedding or the Mad Day”, and from the first downbeat of the music, utter chaos unfolds with lusty boys dressed as girls, drunken gardeners, solicitous lawyers, mothers discovering long lost sons, forlorn wives, cheeky bridesmaids and…

At the centre is Susanna, coolly and brilliantly navigating the mayhem, ably supported by her husband to be. This production sets the story in a time where what was understood as power is crumbling as a new world emerges. It could be 1786 or is it 2021?

The Marriage of Figaro
15 – 31 July 2021
Playhouse, QPAC, Brisbane
www.oq.com.au

Poet Wilhem Müller and Franz Schubert never met, but in Müller’s words Schubert found the perfect material to set to song. Music that celebrates a life well lived.

Accompanying the performance, a presentation of majestic winter landscapes by the German landscape painter, Caspar David Friedrich, provide a perfect visual compliment to Schubert’s musicality.

In the event a performance is cancelled due to Covid-19, patrons will be offered a full refund.

Winterreise – Gregory Massingham & Stephen Emmerson
7 & 8 May 2021
Opera Queensland Studio – 140 Grey Street, South Bank, Queensland
www.oq.com.au

Hayley’s impressive career includes contracts with the prestigious German companies Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden and the Landestheater Coburg. While in Europe, Hayley performed some 15 roles, including Rosina in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia and Suzuki in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly – a performance for which she was named a finalist in Germany’s prestigious Der Faust Awards.

Since returning to Australia, Hayley has established herself as a loved voice on the Opera Queensland stage, most recently performing as Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and with Expressions Dance Company in Mozart Airborne.

You will find yourself falling head over heels for Hayley as she presents a concert of music full of character, sassiness and verve. This is the perfect Valentine’s Day treat.

Hayley Sugars – Songs of Desire
14 and 15 February 2020
Opera Queensland Studio
www.oq.com.au

Opera Queensland has partnered with internationally renowned contemporary circus company Circa to stage Christoph Gluck’s spellbinding opera from 24 October – 9 November 2019 at Queensland Performing Arts Centre’s (QPAC’s) Playhouse.

Circa Artistic Director Yaron Lifschitz directs the genre-crossing production that combines Gluck’s haunting score and the powerhouse vocals of counter tenor Owen Willetts (Orpheus) and soprano Natalie Christie Peluso (Eurydice) with the virtuosic skills of eight acrobats.

Orpheus and Eurydice is inspired by the ancient Greek myth about Orpheus, the god of music, and his journey to the underworld to save his beloved bride, Eurydice.

On his way he encounters many challenges, including the Furies, whom Orpheus charms into releasing Eurydice on one condition: Orpheus must resist the temptation to look at her on their journey home or he will lose her forever.

Mr Lifschitz said his production skirted the obvious themes of grief and loss and instead spotlighted the concepts of desire and risk.

“I wanted to place the focus squarely on the almost unhealthy limits of desire – do you crave someone enough to risk everything and go into the underworld?” he said.

“I wanted an opera that was fused with that cellular desire, something that drives you from inside, that burns in your cells and doesn’t just sit as an idea on the surface.”

Key to his vision is the intermingling of eight acrobats with opera singers, the Opera Queensland Chorus, the richness of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Dane Lam and a video design element where textures, images and words are integrated into the production.

“It’s a really sexy production with bodies doing difficult and dangerous things on that stage and – unlike Orpheus – you are allowed to look,” Mr Lifschitz said.

“It’s sweaty, raw, authentic and beautiful and you get these moments of transcendence even though it’s quite gritty.”

Opera Queensland Artistic Director Patrick Nolan said he and Mr Lifschitz first worked together while they were studying at National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) almost three decades ago.

“Through our friendship I knew of Yaron’s deep knowledge and passion for music and I trusted him to respond deeply to the extraordinary beauty of Gluck’s score. ” Mr Nolan said.

“As a director, Yaron is able to express emotion in a very succinct, powerful way and that’s what you have to do with an opera.

“Opera must embody emotions; an opera singer does that with their voice and an acrobat does that with their physicality.”

Mr Lifschitz said the similarities between opera and circus extended beyond their emotional resonance.

“They’re both artforms of extreme virtuosity and great impact,” he said.

“It was a wonderful challenge and opportunity to bring these two mediums together and Orpheus and Eurydiceproved the perfect vehicle.

“This is an opera with a lot of instrumental music in its score, it’s not wall-to-wall singing and we play with that quite a lot.”

Orpheus and Eurydice is Opera Queensland’s final main stage production for 2019 and presented in association with Circa.

It is sung in Italian with English subtitles and runs for approximately 90 minutes without interval.

Free pre-concert talks are held one hour before each performance except 24 and 31 October and last approximately 25 minutes.

Opera Queensland’s Orpheus & Eurydice
24 October – 9 November 2019
Playhouse Theatre, QPAC
www.oq.com.au

The vibrant program is anchored by four main stage productions – Lorelei, Bran Nue Dae, Tristan und Isolde and Aida – complimented by a new Concert Series, a regional tour of 2019’s hit production of Tosca and an expanded education and community engagement.

Minister Enoch said the 2020 season was a mix of new musical experiences and memorable productions with a statewide reach.

“It’s great to see Opera Queensland stage classic works, alongside the uplifting Australian musical Bran Nue Dae, with a busy touring program throughout the state,” she said.

“The Queensland Government invests in Opera Queensland to provide high quality productions and engagement opportunities though their performances and workshops.

Artistic Director and CEO Patrick Nolan and Executive Director Sandra Willis today revealed a striking program that builds upon the success of their 2019 Season.

“Season 2020 develops and extends everything Opera Queensland has achieved in 2019,” Mr Nolan said.

“We are presenting contemporary works, written by living composers; works that tell great Australian stories; works that are among the most significant in the operatic canon; and with Aida, one of history’s grandest operas.

“Our contemporary approach to staging opera will continue throughout 2020 because we believe great productions are borne of the marriage between music-making of the highest quality and great theatre. Every element of every production is designed to enthral and engage Opera Queensland’s audiences.”

Opera Queensland’s 2020 season begins with Lorelei, a playful new Australian opera cabaret at Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University’s Conservatorium Theatre from 27 March – 4 April .

Ancient myth meets modern woman in the boundary-breaking new work created by Julian Langdon, Casey Bennetto and Gillian Cosgriff covering musical territory across tango, pop and classical.

The sumptuous production centres on the Lorelei, a trio of Sirens who sit atop the cliffs of Germany’s Rhine River singing sailors to their watery graves.

“Lorelei subverts the traditional Siren’s tale,” Mr Nolan said of the production which made its world premiere with a sold-out season in Melbourne in November 2018.

“We encounter three different versions of the Siren, each questioning the assumptions of their mythic status, changing their tune and their sense of identity in the process. The result is “part-cabaret, part-opera, all seduction”.

“We believe in investing in Australian artists and developing a body of Australian work that will survive and thrive for years to come.”

The production, sung in English and staged over a snappy 75 minutes, is presented in the Conservatorium Theatre, as part of a new partnership between Opera Queensland and Griffith University.

Following Lorelei, Opera Queensland and Queensland Performing Arts Centre present the high-spirited, Australian coming-of-age story Bran Nue Dae at Playhouse Theatre, QPAC from 24 July – 2 August.

Written by the late Jimmy Chi with the band Kuckles and first performed in 1990, Bran Nue Dae was lauded as “the great Australian musical” when it premièred.

“We are committed to telling Australian stories. Bran Nue Dae is a loving and joyous celebration of Indigenous culture” Mr Nolan said.

“This is a story about hope and the power of learning from the past. Revisiting it after 30 years allows us to reflect again on its message of ‘we are all one under the sun’.”

Richard Wagner’s sweeping saga of forbidden love, Tristan und Isolde, plays the Concert Hall, QPAC for two performances on 28 and 31 October.

The semi-staged production will be conducted by one of the world’s greatest interpreters of Wagner, Pietari Inkinen, fresh from conducting The Ring Cycle in Bayreuth, the home of Wagnerian opera.

“There are very few people on the planet who can sing Tristan und Isolde and we worked in collaboration with Pietari to cast world-acclaimed New Zealand tenor Simon O’Neil and American soprano Megan Miller,” Mr Nolan said.

“Tristan und Isolde is one of the most powerful operas you will ever hear and by including it in Season 2020, Opera Queensland highlights how glorious operatic storytelling can be.

“We chose to stage this in the Concert Hall as Wagner’s music is rich and lush and in placing the orchestra on stage, audiences can be completely immersed in his musical world.”

Opera Queensland’s main stage season ends with Verdi’s Aida, a co-production with Opera Australia that plays the Lyric Theatre, QPAC from 17 November to 4 December 2020.

Starring Australian soprano Natalie Aroyan in the title role, Aida’s set is defined by 10 automated mobile screens that transform the space through visuals and light. The production played to sold out houses in Sydney, wowing audiences with the quality of music and wonder of its visuals.

“There is an energy to this production of Aida audiences won’t have encountered before,” Mr Nolan said.

“It is a very dynamic and highly-visual experience, a beautiful expression of the music and a spectacular way to explore Verdi’s blockbuster opera.”

Puccini’s Tosca, the critically acclaimed production of Opera Queensland’s Season 2019, hits the road on a regional tour in 2020, playing to seven Queensland regional centres.

Building upon their highly regarded community chorus program, the company will draw upon the wealth of Queensland’s vocal talent to form choruses whose members appear in the performance in their regional centre.

Opera Queensland’s 2020 Concert Series spotlights a strong local flavour among six of the seven artists participating. w

“All of the Australian artists in this series have a deep connection to Queensland – whether they grew up here, were trained at the Queensland Conservatorium or live here now – and this Concert Series is a showcase of the extraordinary opera talent we have in this state.” Mr Nolan said.

Opera Queensland continues its commitment to community engagement with adult and youth vocal workshops, pre-performance talks, the continuation of its quarterly feelgood Sing Sing Sing social events and an educational program that toursThe Frog Prince and Puccini’s La bohème, the latter responding to popular demand to take opera into Queensland high schools for the first time.

Opera Queensland is also honoured to have the support of their precinct partners Emporium Hotel South Bank and Rydges Hotel. Such partnerships make it possible for Opera Queensland to create special events in opulent spaces throughout their season, bringing supporters, new and old, together.

See the complete Opera Queensland Season 2020 brochure at oq.com.au

The German composer’s ground-breaking love story and will be performed twice at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre’s (QPAC’s) Concert Hall on Wednesday 28 October 2020 and Saturday 31 October 2020.

The Queensland Symphony Orchestra will perform the landmark score under the baton of renowned Wagner conductor, Finland’s Pietari Inkinen, with New Zealand Heldentenor Simon O’Neill and US soprano Megan Miller cast in the title roles.

Opera Queensland’s Artistic Director Patrick Nolan said he began planning the magnificent three-act opera, when he was appointed to the role in April 2017.

“Opera Queensland is delighted to bring some of the world’s leading opera singers to Australia to perform what is widely regarded as one of the greatest operas in the musical canon,” Mr Nolan said.

“It will be 15 years since Brisbane audiences had the opportunity to experience Tristan und Isoldeand there’s a certain yearning that has crept in to hear it again.”

The semi-staged production will feature lavish costumes, video projections that wrap the dimensions of the stage and the vocal excellence of the Opera Queensland chorus.

“The Concert Hall is the ideal venue and its very fine acoustics will give Wagner’s music the greatest opportunity to soar,” Mr Nolan said.

“To successfully stage Tristan und Isolde, we needed an orchestra that could take on the complexity and scale of Wagner’s writing and both Pietari and I agreed the QSO could meet this challenge.”

Mr Nolan said the cast, chorus and musicians would embark on a long and sustained preparation process ahead of performing the demanding opera.

“Tristan und Isolde requires great physical and emotional prowess from the singers. They need to rest for at least two days between shows for their bodies and voices to recover,” he said.

“There are very few people on the planet who can sing Tristan and Isolde and we worked in collaboration with Pietari to cast Simon and Megan.

“Their voices needed the right quality and texture, their vocal types needed to match, and they needed to bring to the role not only a highly-skilled vocal aptitude but an emotional range that comes from a rich life experience.”

Tristan und Isolde is a dramatic love story based on a 12th-century romance, Tristan, by Gottfried von Strassburg.

Irish princess Isolde is being transported to an arranged marriage with King Marke by his nephew Tristan, a man who killed her beloved and tricked her into healing him afterwards.

Isolde asks her attendant to prepare a death potion, but she prepares a love potion instead which both Tristan and Isolde drink, immediately falling in love.

They secretly meet but are betrayed to King Marke and Tristan is fatally wounded in a fight.

Isolde joins him in death after singing her famous finale, the Liebestod or Love-Death.

Tristan und Isolde is considered one of opera’s most profoundly influential works, inspiring composers such as Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss and Benjamin Britten.

Premiering in Munich in 1865, Mr Nolan said Tristan und Isolde changed the way opera was experienced with Wagner changing the shape and size of the orchestra to create a new sonic texture removed from the common practice harmony and tonality that was then a hallmark of classical music.

“This work by Wagner changed the way we understand and perform opera and is one of the most exquisite pieces of music ever written.”

Tristan und Isolde launches an exciting time for fans of the composer with Opera Australia in association with Opera Queensland will be staging Wagner’s The Ring Cycle in Brisbane from November 2020.

“The timing couldn’t be better,” Mr Nolan said.

“Opera Queensland has been planning Tristan und Isolde as a showpiece event for almost two years and by beautiful coincidence, it will also serve as a perfect prelude to The Ring Cycle.”

Opera Queensland will release its full 2020 season program in August 2019.

Opera Queensland’s Tristan und Isolde
Lyric Theatre, QPAC
Wednesday 28 October 2020 and Saturday 31 October 2020
www.oq.com.au

First performed in 1900, Nolan said Tosca’s importance was undiminished 120 years on.

“Tosca is often described as the greatest opera of them all, owing in large part to Puccini’s exquisite score. Yet, as a story, Tosca still has so much insight and relevance for contemporary audiences.
The questions it asks and the social, political and economic scenarios it examines keep it alive to the here and now,” Nolan said.

“In a world where political tyranny and intolerance is widespread, Tosca offers a necessary plea for artistic and political freedom.

“With every scene, Puccini ups the stakes. Once you get on board, you can’t get off.”

Tosca reunites Nolan with award-winning Australian soprano Rachelle Durkin, whom he directed a decade ago in John Adams’ A Flowering Tree at the 2009 Perth International Arts Festival.

“I realised that Rachelle not only has an exquisite voice, but she’s a marvellous actor too,” Nolan said.

“This will be her debut in the role, which is very exciting. I expect that in years to come, audiences at this production will take great delight in being able to say they were there when Rachelle Durkin sang Tosca for the first time.”

Tosca transports the Queensland Performing Arts Centre’s (QPAC’s) Lyric Theatre back to 1970s Italy where political and religious tensions are at breaking point.

The production plays out against the era’s backdrop of labour strikes, political assassinations, rioting, bombings, attempted coups, and the influence of religious factions on government.

In a towering cathedral, the artist Cavaradossi (Angus Wood) is engrossed in his painting. When escaped political prisoner Angelotti (Sam Hartley) bursts in, Cavaradossi risks his own life to help him hide from police.

Scarpia (José Carbó), Rome’s tyrannical Chief of Police, suspects Cavaradossi has helped Angelotti to escape. When the famous opera singer Tosca (Durkin) arrives, Scarpia convinces her that Cavaradossi has betrayed her. What ensues is a gripping tale of lust, betrayal and coldblooded murder unfolding at breakneck pace.
Nolan said the decision to shift the action from its original 19th century setting to 1970s Italy amplified Tosca’s strength.

“The 1970s saw a second wave of feminism emerge, with women claiming their place in a world that had previously refused them,” Nolan said.

“There’s a great resonance between the energy of the ‘70s and the energy of the story.

“At the same time in Italy, there was great political unrest with left and right bitterly fighting which resonates very clearly with the original story.”

The world of Nolan’s Tosca is brought to life by Tony Award-nominated Australian designer Dale Ferguson (Exit the King), who first designed for Opera Queensland 25 years ago.

“Patrick had already established he wanted to set it in the ‘70s, so I just threw myself into looking at the Italian political climate at the time seeking cross-references with the original opera which was set around the time of the Napoleonic Wars,” Ferguson said.

“The design for this new production reflects the parallels between church and state and how they’re made of the same cells.”

Regarded as one of Puccini’s greatest soprano roles alongside Turandot, Nolan said it was more vital than ever for strong female characters to take centre stage.

“We have to address that as an artform, opera often represents women in a very problematic way,” Nolan said.

“Even though Tosca dies at the end, she dies of her own hand. She decides that her integrity as a woman and as an artist is more important to her than life itself. I think that’s particularly interesting.”

Opera Queensland’s Tosca
Lyric Theatre, QPAC
13 – 22 June 2019
www.oq.com.au