Crossings: Spring Opera
with Dr. Shaun Brown, Director
7:00 PM | JUNE 6–7, 2025 | CONCERT HALL | MUSIC BUILDING
PROGRAM
Peter Grimes
Swallow! Shall we go and see Grimes ... From the gutter
Rusalka
Hou Hou Hou
L’incoronazione di Poppea
Signor, deh non partire
Carmen
Nous avons en tête une affaire
Guillaume Tell (Italian: Guglielmo Tell)
Resta omai! Ah ti perde il duolo
Die Fledermaus (Act III Trio)
To judge his expression
L’incoronazione di Poppea
Pur ti miro
Mansfield Park
Chapter 1
BENJAMIN BRITTEN 1913–1976
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK 1841–1904
1567–1643
GEORGES BIZET 1838–1875
GIOACHINO ROSSINI 1792–1868
JOHANN STRAUSS II 1825–1899
MONTEVERDI
JONATHAN DOVE B. 1959
Lakmé LÉO DELIBES 1836–1891
Act I: Introduction and opening duet
PROGRAM
Candide LEONARD BERNSTEIN 1918–1990
Life is Absolute Perfection / Best of All Possible Worlds
L’Italiana in Algeri
Pria di dividerci da voi
BIOGRAPHY
Shaun Brown, Director
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. He is currently Director of Performance at The University of Queensland School of Music, where he holds the position of Vocal Performance Fellow.
A former Opera Queensland (OQ) Young Artist, Shaun’s engagements with the company span more than three decades: 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 many appearances, including roles in Don Giovanni, The Merry Widow, Die Fledermaus, Carmen, The Marriage of Figaro, and the Brisbane and touring productions of La bohème, The Barber of Seville and Ruddigore.
In 2021, Shaun 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 productions of The Sopranos, La traviata singing Baron Douphol, Cosi fan Tutte singing Don Alfonso and performing in Opera at Jimbour and in Winton and Longreach as part of the 2024 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.
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
PROGRAM NOTES
Dramaturgical Reflections on Borders, Thresholds, and the Operatic Imagination
Opera is a medium of movement. It moves us emotionally of course—but it also invites us to cross boundaries: of time, place, language, genre, and identity. In this program of opera scenes, Crossings, we lean into that impulse, presenting a series of operatic scenes defined by transition and transformation. Characters step across borders—national, cultural, spiritual, and psychological—each propelled by longing, love, ambition, or necessity.
From the enchanted waters of Rusalka to the occupied lands of William Tell, from the East–West tensions of Lakmé to the social constraints of Mansfield Park, these scenes explore what it means to move between worlds—and what is gained or lost in the process. In Peter Grimes, we witness the brutal cost of being cast out, isolated, and not being allowed to cross back to the society. Candide takes us on a wild, ironic journey through optimism and disillusionment. L’incoronazione di Poppea displays the potent meditation on power, passion, and moral ambiguity, whilst Die Fledermaus and L’Italiana in Algeri offer moments of levity and clever subversion, crossing the line between seriousness.
Yet perhaps the most meaningful crossing in this project is the one happening offstage.
Crossings is the result of a truly international collaboration between students from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Together, these young artists have shared rehearsal spaces, ideas, cultures, music, and laughter. They have forged connections that go beyond geography or institution—connections rooted in artistic curiosity, generosity, and trust.
This collaboration would not have been possible without the vision and commitment of Shea Owens, Director of Opera at BYU, and Dr. Jennifer Youngs, Assistant Professor of Voice at BYU. Their unwavering belief in the power of cross-cultural performance and student exchange has been the cornerstone of this project. We thank them deeply for creating the conditions in which this experience could bloom and flourish. On a personal note, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the opportunity to work with the extraordinary students of BYU—singers and pianists—and fellow faculty alike. Your professionalism, kindness, and artistic integrity have made this experience not only musically enriching but genuinely inspiring. To the remarkable team of staff at BYU—thank you. Your warmth, hospitality, and tireless behind-the-scenes work have made our Australian cohort feel not like visitors but like part of a larger artistic family.
To the students: Thank you for crossing into this work, and into each other’s worlds. To the audience: Thank you for joining us on this voyage. In doing so, you too step into the space where music becomes dialogue—between cultures, traditions, and hearts. In a time when it is all too easy to retreat behind borders, Crossings reminds us of the beauty, the challenge, and the necessity of reaching across.
Welcome—and enjoy the journey.
Dr . Shaun Brown, Director
