ROSSINI LA CENERENTOLA
CINDERELLA
Brisbane Bel Canto is supported by Philip Bacon AO
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 dances they have created and shared for at least 65,000 years.
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.
WELCOME
Welcome to Brisbane Bel Canto, a festival that celebrates the beauty of the human voice in all its many colours and textures. Opening with Rossini’s La Cenerentola, a joyous work about the power of kindness and the resilience of the human spirit and closing with Andrew Ford’s Red Dirt Hymns, a collection of secular hymns with lyrics by many of Australia’s leading poets, the festival provides audiences with a rich array of opportunities to experience music making of the highest quality.
Red Dirt Hymns, there at St Stephen’s Cathedral, a concert of madrigals in the City Tabernacle, and, acknowledging that a festival needs to feed all our senses, a long lunch with Stefano de Pieri, a chef whose love of food is equalled only by his passion for great music.
Rossini’s La Cenerentola strips back the Cinderella fairytale to tell a tender, funny story about love and forgiveness. At its centre is Angelina (Cinderella), the oppressed and abused outsider, who refuses to capitulate to the taunts and stupidity of her oppressors. Her unwavering strength and grace ultimately enchants all around her, in one of the great finales in the history of opera.
Composed during the Enlightenment in post Napoleonic Italy, some have interpreted La Cenerentola as a satire on the attempt by the aristocracy and church to return to what they saw as their rightful place after the revolutionary zeal of the French invader. While there is much in the opera that supports these ideas, it is Rossini’s deep regard for the potential of the goodness to bring about change (rather than warfare, inherited power or a divine right), that leaves the greatest impression.
This perhaps explains the full title of the opera – La Cenerentola or Goodness Triumphant, written in three weeks in the year following the success of The Barber of Seville when Rossini was just 25. The compressed nature of its creation no doubt contributes to a work fuelled by the energy of a young genius, overflowing with brilliant melodies and incisive satire, and full of passion for a better world.
The extraordinary range of works we are presenting throughout Brisbane Bel Canto would not be possible without the support of our many collaborating partners.
Our heartfelt thanks to QPAC, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, The University of Queensland, Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, Stefano de Pieri and One Equal Music. At the centre of each of these collaborations is an ensemble of extraordinary singers, musicians, creative teams and technicians.
For La Cenerentola we are thrilled to welcome to Brisbane for the first time Mara Gaudenzi, Petr Nekoranec and James Roser, joining Sarah Crane, Hayley Sugars, Shaun Brown and Samuel Dundas. Richard Mills returns to conduct the orchestra and singers, with Narelle French as Chorus Master. Working alongside them is Director, Laura Hansford, and her collaborators, Costume Designers Karen Cochet and Bianca Bulley, Lighting Designer Christine Felmingham, Associate Director Eugene Lynch and Assistant Director Emma Nightingale.
This second outing of Brisbane Bel Canto would not have been possible without the support of our funding partners the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, Creative Australia and Brisbane City Council. We also extend our deep thanks to Philip Bacon, whose generosity enables us to expand the program across the city.
We hope you can join us at the other wonderful events that make up Brisbane Bel Canto, all of which are one-off presentations of works that are rarely if ever performed. This is what makes a festival special, the chance to encounter exceptional singing and music making in venues across the city, perhaps discovering something that would otherwise remain unknown or reconnecting with works in a new and original way.
Patrick Nolan CEO & Artistic Director
BEL CANTO AND TRADITION: FROM THE PAST TO THE FUTURE
The essence of bel canto is Italian, but the precise meaning of the term is a little harder to define. The Oxford Dictionary of Opera says that it is: ‘The traditional Italian art of singing in which beautiful tone, fine legato phrasing and impeccable technique are emphasised, though not at the total expense of dramatic expression.’
These words convey some – but nowhere near all – of the truth about the particular term. To understand it better it is necessary to pinpoint its origins, which are to be found in the Italian madrigal of the 1520s. This genre was formed from the confluence of a variety of factors: the edition of Petrarch’s sonnets by Pietro Bembo (1501); the Italian Renaissance interest in Italian as a vernacular language; and the composers from France and the Netherlands who migrated to Italy and brought with them the contrapuntal ‘know-how’ of the Franco-Flemish tradition – as exemplified by masters such as Ockeghem, Obrecht, and Josquin des Pres.
One such Flemish-trained composer, Adrian Willaert, became the first organist of St Mark’s in Venice in 1527 and established the glorious traditions of that building which made possible the great works of the Gabrieli family, first Andrea, and then his nephew, Giovanni, some years later. The hallmarks of this late Renaissance public ecclesiastical style, rhythmic energy, polyphonic exuberance, and dramatic expression were shared by the corresponding domestication of these gestures in the madrigal, and its associated genres: the frottola, the ballata, the canzonetta, and the mascherata. This ‘house’ or chamber music was disseminated via the Italian printing presses all over Europe – beginning with the first collection of madrigals by Jacques Arcadelt, published in 1539, and proceeding via the mid-1500s with the achievements of Cipriano da Rore and later exponents such as Alessandro Striggio, Andrea Gabrieli and Luca Marenzio, who preceded the unique genius of Carlo Gesualdo whose mannered and extreme chromaticism astonishes even today.
The dynamic relation of melody and text we find in this repertoire in an atmosphere of intimacy – as vocal chamber music – in which felicities of vocal expression were shared and generated by the singers responding to each other in ensemble, introduces an element of performance energy which is so important for opera. These traditions of the polyphonic madrigal form part of the inheritance of Claudio Monteverdi – the first real opera composer.
Monteverdi wrote nine books of madrigals – which stylistically bridge the gap between the Renaissance and the Baroque. His fifth and sixth books of madrigals contain not only contrapuntal works but also pieces for solo voice and basso continuo – which exemplify the traditions of monody pioneered by the Florentine Camerata, from the 1570s onwards. This focused on the declamation of text for single voice and accompaniment and was in turn inspired by dramatic style of ancient Greece – and inspired in turn the forerunners of Monteverdi, composers such as Caccini and Peri. All of these contrapuntal and monophonic traditions were present in the elaborate scenographic extravagances which were part of the wedding celebrations of Grand Duke Ferdinando de’ Medici and Christine of Lorraine in 1589. The event symbolised the wealth, power and cultural prestige of Florentine culture and the milieu in which the musical and dramatic genius of Monteverdi could find the inspiration to produce the first real opera, L’Orfeo (1607).
Thus, the energies which animate the later evolution of bel canto are nascent in its origins. The seamless marriage of the Italian text to musical gesture, the devices of vocal rhetoric, accents, messa di voce (or ‘swells’), variety of articulation, ornamentation, portamento (‘gliding’ from
one note to the other) and the sense of declamation and dramatic purpose in the vocal text are all essential ingredients of the bel canto style – from Monteverdi in 1607 and before, to Donizetti in the nineteenth century and beyond. This vocal aesthetic, the marriage of text, harmony, melody, ornamental elaboration, and gesture, united in expressive purpose, prevailed through the seventeenth century.
These traditions persisted until the late classical era, despite some reformation by the likes of Gluck, which were provoked in turn by a certain ossification found in the traditions of the Metastasian opera seria – a mannered style of opera in which formal convention triumphed over dramatic realism, and in which the ornamental vanities of singers often trumped the intentions of the composer.
In the Mozartian canon, however, the ideals of bel canto were given a new manifestation through a new literature of genius. All the features of Baroque opera remain present, such as aria, recitative, duets, ensembles and ornamentation – but realigned by a uniquely human creative force, which laid the foundations for the bel canto school of the nineteenth century found in Bellini, Spontini, Rossini and Donizetti – and, subliminally, also in Wagner, Chopin, Liszt and Verdi.
What exactly are these ideals and how are they reflected in vocal techniques?
Well, I suppose the ideals can be easily summarised as beautiful singing at the expressive service of text, melodic gesture, and drama. These ideals are supported by a vocal technique that emphasises:
• Breathing
• Resonance
• Vowel formation and attack
• Sustained tone
• Legato
• Portamento
• Messa di voce, or spianata di voce
• Agility
There is also a great tradition of pedagogy in the bel canto tradition – and the legacy of the great teachers like Marchesi (who taught Melba) which lives on today and is recreated by each succeeding generation of grand singers. Our artists, whom you will hear performing in La Cenerentola and throughout the Brisbane Bel Canto festival, are a part of this tradition.
Richard Mills
Like any self-respecting elder millennial who grew up on Disney, fairy tales have always fascinated me. They are stories told to children and carried by adults. Once upon a time (see what I did there), they were cautionary tales, warnings wrapped in fantasy, reminding listeners to be wary of wandering alone into the dark forest like Red Riding Hood, not to trust the stranger at the door offering apples like Snow White, or to be careful of the promises you make like in Rumpelstiltskin.
But as much as I love a good rags to riches story, or the ability to blast ‘Let it Go’ in my car, I find myself questioning what these stories are really telling us. What purpose do fairy tales serve in a world like ours?
Today, the world rarely waits for a bedtime story to remind us of danger. Turn on the news, scroll through your phone, and reality itself feels like a cautionary tale. All the warning with none of the magic. In the information era the whole world has now become terribly understandable, and the possibility of magic feels further away than ever. We are in the grand resurgence of logic, however misplaced and misused that logic might sometimes be.
So what use is a fairy tale now?
And in the end, that’s the fairy tale I want to believe in, that love is thicker than forget.
.. I don’t want them believing that waiting for Prince Charming is a viable exit strategy or that true beauty is something you can magic yourself into.
If there’s anything I know from watching my niece and nephew grow up, it’s that although I want them to appreciate a good story, I don’t want them believing that waiting for Prince Charming is a viable exit strategy or that true beauty is something you can magic yourself into. But I do want them to know that kindness is not weakness, and that curiosity is not something to be tamed.
This is what draws me to Rossini’s Cinderella. Not the dresses or the romance (although they are of course a very welcome addition), but the idea that in a world full of cruelty, choosing to be kind, actively, deliberately, and against all odds, is an act of strength. That hope is not naive but necessary.
Rossini’s Cinderella is a fairy tale like no other. It throws out the magic wand and the glass slipper, replacing them with a heroine who triumphs not because of a spell, but because of who she is from the very beginning. And more than that: what this story has that no other fairy tale I’ve come across has, is absolutely zero comeuppance. No one gets what’s coming to them, or a taste of their own medicine, or their just deserts (although there is a bit of facing the music). They are just forgiven.
This journey through the unpredictable magic of kindness is made all the merrier by working with a joyful creative team. Maestro Richard Mills who knows every nook and cranny of this brilliant piece of bel canto opera and who is the Alidoro of my opera life – inspiring, wise and a little bit cheeky. Christine Felmingham who conjures real magic with her lighting, Karen Cochet and Bianca Bulley whose costuming belongs at every ball, and of course Narelle French our Head of Music and Chorus Master who is the creator of every happy ever after that occurs on our stages. This team combined with a world class cast who can tug at your heart strings as easily as they make you crack a smile have made this project a dream to work on.
I hope Opera Queensland’s production of La Cenerentola can surprise and delight you even if it is a tale as old as time.
Laura Hansford
ACT 1
We open with Angelina (Cenerentola), who is forced to work as a servant in her stepfather Don Magnifico’s dilapidated home. While she waits on her spoiled stepsisters, Clorinda and Tisbe, Angelina sings about the story of a king who chose a poor bride for her virtue. A beggar arrives on their doorstep – Alidoro, the Prince’s tutor, in disguise. While the stepsisters, disgusted, insist on sending him away, Angelina secretly brings him food. Suddenly, the Prince’s servants appear to announce that Prince Ramiro is arriving soon and will be holding a ball to find a bride. Don Magnifico sees dollar signs as he thinks about one of his daughters marrying a prince.
While Don Magnifico and his daughters prepare themselves for Prince Ramiro’s arrival, the Prince’s valet enters. Unbeknownst to the household, the valet is actually Ramiro in disguise, hoping to see the true colours of his potential brides. Alidoro had told him of a maiden living in Don Magnifico’s home who was worthy of being a princess. When Angelina enters, it is love at first sight. He asks who she is, but she panics and runs off.
Ramiro’s actual valet, Dandini, arrives dressed as the Prince. Don Magnifico, Clorinda and Tisbe make fools of themselves fawning over this prince, as he invites them to the ball. Angelina begs her stepfather to let her attend, but he refuses. Alidoro, no longer in disguise, returns with information about a third daughter in the household. Lying, Don Magnifico insists that she has died, and threatens Angelina with death if she speaks out. Once everyone departs, Alidoro assures Angelina that she will go to the ball and be rewarded for her kindness.
Dandini and Ramiro return to the palace with Magnifico and his daughters. Ahead of the ball Dandini bestows upon Don Magnifico a new title in honour of his skills as a sommelier –The Conoisseur of Royal Wines. Magnifico then heads out to try every bottle in the royal cellar. When Clorinda and Tisbe arrive, Dandini offers Ramiro (still dressed as a valet) as a consolation prize to the sister he does not marry. They are disgusted at the idea of marrying beneath them. Alidoro arrives with a mysterious woman who looks suspiciously like Angelina.
ACT 2
Magnifico laments the threat this new potential bride poses. Meanwhile, Dandini (still dressed as the Prince) tries to charm Angelina. She rejects the “prince’s” advances by declaring her love for his valet. Overhearing this, Ramiro steps forwards to claim his bride. They’ve found each other! Happily ever after, right? Not quite yet...
Angelina, scared that Ramiro won’t love her after he discovers her true identity, informs him she is going home and that if he truly loves her, he will find her. Magnifico confronts the “prince”, insisting he must decide which of the two sisters will be his bride. Dandini tries to maintain the charade, but eventually reveals the truth. A furious Magnifico returns home with his daughters. After a long search for his love, Ramiro’s carriage stops at Magnifico’s home. Ramiro and Angelina immediately recognise each other, and he declares his love. Magnifico and his daughters taunt Angelina and insult her for daring to move above her station. Angered by their cruelty towards his true love, Ramiro threatens Magnifico, Clorinda and Tisbe. Angelina, with her pure heart, urges Ramiro to forgive her family for their actions. Ramiro and Angelina marry and, of course, live happily ever after…
CREATIVE TEAM & CAST
CREATIVE TEAM
Conductor
Richard Mills
Director & Set Designer
Laura Hansford
Costume
Karen Cochet & Bianca Bulley
Lighting
Christine Felmingham
Associate Director
Eugene Lynch
Assistant Director
Emma Nightingale
Chorus Master
Narelle French
CONCERT HALL, QPAC
TUE 4 MAR 7PM
SAT 8 MAR 1.30PM
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Running time – approximately
3 hours including interval
CAST
Angelina (Cinderella)
Mara Gaudenzi
Don Ramiro
Petr Nekoranec
Dandini
Samuel Dundas
Don Magnifico
James Roser
Alidoro
Shaun Brown
Clorinda
Sarah Crane
Tisbe
Hayley Sugars
Opera Queensland Chorus
Queensland Symphony Orchestra
CONDUCTOR RICHARD MILLS
Internationally recognised composer Richard Mills, AO, pursues a diverse career as composer, conductor and artistic director, with an extensive discography of orchestral works including his own compositions and the film music of Franz Waxman with the QSO (Preis der Deutscher Schallplatten Kritik, 1992).
Richard’s posts have included Artistic Director of both Victorian Opera and West Australian Opera, Artistic Director of the Adelaide Chamber Orchestra, Director of the Australian Music Project for Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and Musica Viva’s Composer of the Year.
Most recently Richard has conducted the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for an ABC recording as part of their 50 Fanfares project; Voyages for Darwin Symphony; the world premiere of his new opera Galileo, Elektra, Butterfly Lovers (Mills), La Cenerentola and Salome for Victorian Opera; Glimpses and Dialogues from Galileo at Perth Festival; Lucia di Lammermoor, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, a gala concert and Tosca for Opera Queensland; Voss and Summer of the Seventeenth Doll for State Opera South Australia; The Sound of History (for Adelaide Festival) and his Christmas oratorio Nativity with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. His opera Butterfly Lovers was also performed in collaboration with Wild Rice Theatre Company at the Victoria Theatre, Singapore.
Richard’s concert performance of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde with the Australian Youth Orchestra for Queensland Music Festival, won the Helpmann Award for Best Classical Concert in 2005.
Richard Mills has been Lecturer in Composition and Conducting at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, and director of the Symphony Australia Composer Development Program, run in collaboration with Orchestra Victoria. He is currently a Senior Fellow, Faculty of Music, at the University of Melbourne. He has also been the recipient of an Ian Potter Foundation Fellowship.
DIRECTOR & SET DESIGNER LAURA HANSFORD
Laura has worked on opera productions across Australia for the last decade as both an artistic and technical collaborator. She wrote and directed Opera Queensland’s most successful touring production Are You Lonesome Tonight (2021/2025), directed and designed Macbeth in Concert (2023), co-directed The Sopranos (OQ) and Home Grown Opera (for OQ and Bleach*), and wrote and directed regional touring productions Lady Sings the Maroons and Do We Need Another Hero.
Laura was the director of the New Years Eve Gala with Opera Australia (2024/25), the revival director of John Copley’s Lucia di Lammermoor (2024) for State Opera South Australia, and is the Associate Director on the Opera Conference Production of Rusalka, opening with West Australian Opera (2024). In 2021/2022 Laura was Resident Director with Circa working across several productions and 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) and Pelléas and Mélisande (2018). She currently holds the position of Director of Learning, Regional and Community with Opera Queensland and leads delivery of the Festival of Outback Opera.
COSTUME KAREN COCHET
Trained in fashion, Karen Cochet owned innovative clothing business “Salon Dada”. In 1989, she relocated to Europe and worked for Opèra de Lausanne and Grand Théâtre de Genève from 1994 to 2006. Originally as a cutter costume maker and later as Artistic Liaison, she expanded her knowledge and love of costume working alongside the most talented and respected costumiers and artisans in Europe.
A career highlight was La Fête des Vignerons in 1999, where Karen was responsible for the realisation of over 6,000 costumes, spanning all periods from 15th century to contemporary times. She worked with Christian Lacroix, Couturier, commissioned to design the costumes for the goddesses.
Resident costume designer for Ballet Romand in Vevey from 2003 to 2008, Karen realised the costumes for The Nutcracker, Cinderella and Peter Pan, to name a few. Her final project in Switzerland was “Calvin, Genève en Flammes”, celebrating the 500th anniversary of Jean Calvin in Geneva.
Karen was appointed Head of Wardrobe at Opera Queensland in 2013. Design credits for Opera Queensland include The Adventures of Figaro, A Night with Opera Queensland, Snow White (nominated for Best Costume Design, Matilda Awards, 2016) and The Marriage of Figaro. She co-designed Songs of Love and War and Chrysalis in 2021, The Sopranos in 2022 and, most recently, Macbeth (2023), Lucia di Lammermoor (2024) and Do We Need Another Hero (2024).
COSTUME BIANCA BULLEY
Bianca is a costume designer, cutter and maker for live performance and film. Graduating with Honours from a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design, she has worked for multiple independent Australian fashion designers as well as extensively within the costume industry. Her work as a costume designer and maker expands across multiple Queensland major performing arts companies such as Queensland Theatre, Queensland Ballet and most recently full time as Principal Cutter of Wardrobe at Opera Queensland (OQ).
For OQ, Bianca designed the schools touring production of The Frog Prince and La Bohème in 2020, and was co-designer for Chrysalis and Songs of Love and War (2021), The Sopranos (2022), Macbeth (2023), Fizz (2023) and Lady Sings The Maroons (2023). She has also worked on films such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, where she worked on Elvis’s tailored suits. In 2019 Bianca was awarded a Churchill Scholarship, undertaking training to further her skill as a costume tailor.
Bianca is a Co-Manager of fashion not-forprofit The Stitchery Collective, a group of fashion practitioners who create immersive fashion events and workshops for Queensland art galleries and museums. In addition, Bianca co-runs fashion label Bulley Bulley with her sister Kiara, where they design clothing that combines the concepts of historical costuming with the frivolity and fun nature of contemporary fashion.
LIGHTING DESIGN CHRISTINE FELMINGHAM
Christine is a Brisbane-based lighting designer, with a creative practice spanning theatre, dance, opera, installation, and circus. She loves collaborative, cross-disciplinary practice that blurs the line between forms. She is also a Company Director for Counterpilot Arts, an award-winning collective of transmedia performance artists, having worked as their lighting and technical designer since 2017.
Christine’s unique blend of technical expertise and creative flair has earned her three nominations for a Matilda Award for her lighting designs on Adrift (Counterpilot, 2022); Bunker (Lisa Wilson Projects, 2022); and The Bull, The Moon and The Coronet of Stars (The Hive Collective, 2021). In 2019, she was presented with the inaugural Emerging Female Leader Award at the Matilda Awards Ceremony, and holds bachelor’s degrees in Technical Production and Drama from QUT.
Christine has created lighting designs for a diverse range of companies and festivals, including: Opera Queensland (Lucia di Lammermoor, 2024; Macbeth, 2023; The Sopranos, 2022); West Australian Opera/Opera Queensland (La Bohème, 2023-25); Counterpilot (Scaredy House, 2024; Pigeon Fool, 2024; Not a Cult*, 2023; Adrift, 2022; Escape from Monotony, 2022; Institute of Light, 2021; Statum, 2019; Truthmachine, 2019; Crunch Time, 2018; Spectate, 2017); Australasian Dance Collective (Halcyon, 2023; Echo, 2019); Dead Puppet Society (ISHMAEL, 2021); La Boite Theatre Company (Ceasar, 2021); Playlab (Rising, 2021; The Dead Devils of Cockle Creek, 2018); Vulcana Circus (As If No-one is Watching, 2018); Belloo Creative (Rovers, 2018-21); and Now Look Here Theatre Company (Sound of a Finished Kiss, 2018).
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
EUGENE LYNCH
Eugene Lynch is a director of theatre and opera.
Upcoming engagements include Maid Made Boss (La Serva Padrona) with Pinchgut Opera in 2025. He will also be directing IRL by Lewis Treston at KXT on Broadway in Sydney (presented by The Other Theatre in association with bAKEHOUSE Theatre Company). Eugene is currently developing a new opera work, The Hairy Ape, composed by William Gardiner with a libretto by Julian Larnach (supported by Create NSW & Creative Australia). He will be the Associate Director on La Cenerentola for Opera Queensland in March 2025.
Eugene is currently a 2024-2025 Young Artist with Opera Queensland. His directorial credits include: The Pigeons by David Gieselman; Georg Kaiser’s From Morning to Midnight (The Other Theatre), Beckett’s Not I; Graeme Koehne and Louis Nowra’s Love Burns, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Shakespeare’s Richard II, Mike Bartlett’s Cock (co-production with Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and Brand X) and the Australian premiere of Marius von Mayenburg’s The Dog, The Night and The Knife He has also directed Suor Angelica with Pacific Opera.
Eugene’s Assistant and Associate Director credits include: Platée (Pinchgut Opera, dir. Neil Armfield); The Golden Cockerel (Adelaide Festival, dir. Barrie Kosky); TheTurn of the Screw and Richard Meale’s Voss (State Opera South Australia, dir. Stuart Maunder); Lucia di Lammermoor (Opera Queensland, dir. Patrick Nolan); Hamlet (Opera Australia, dir. Neil Armfield); and Julius Caesar (Pinchgut Opera, dir. Neil Armfield).
CHORUS MASTER NARELLE FRENCH
One of Australia’s most respected and versatile pianists and musicians, Narelle French undertook studies at Sydney Conservatorium and Sydney University, and has been awarded the Dame Roma Mitchell Churchill Fellowship (2002) and Centenary Medal (2002).
Narelle was for many years a senior member of the music staff at Opera Australia, where she fulfilled a number of roles including Head of Music Staff, Guest Chorus Master and Children’s Chorus Master, harpsichord continuo, prompting (including Dame Joan Sutherland’s farewell season of Les Huguenots), overseeing musical preparation for conductors including Richard Bonynge, Dame Jane Glover, Richard Hickox, Johannes Fritzsch and Carlo Felice Cillario. She has worked with organisations including Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Brisbane Festival, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, University of Tasmania, University of Queensland and Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University.
Since relocating Queensland in 1999, Narelle’s roles at Opera Queensland have included Head of Music (2001-present), Director of Young Artist Program (1999-2008 and 2020-present) and Chorus Director (since 2013). Her roles have included conductor, pianist, arranger, librettist and translator, and she has co-created, performed and toured with productions, special events, concerts, education and workshop programs. As Chorus Master, she has led the Opera Queensland Chorus for over forty productions and concerts.
ANGELINA (CINDERELLA)
MARA GAUDENZI
Born in Cattolica, Mara Gaudenzi studied at the University of Bologna, where she graduated in Classical Literature and concurrently studied at the Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro. Under the guidance of Professor Agata Bienkowska, Mara graduated with top marks, honours and honourable mentions.
Mara has distinguished herself in several competitions and won third prize at the Etta e Paolo Limiti International Competition in Milan, was a finalist in the XLVIII edition of the Toti Dal Monte International Competition in Treviso, and won a merit scholarship as best Italian artist.
Concert engagements include Mozart’s Requiem with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo and the Orchestra Giovanile del Piemonte, in Haydn’s Missa in Angustiis
Mara has performed Orfeo in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, Doralba in Cimarosa’s L’impresario in angustie, Dorotea in Le convenienze e inconvenienze teatrali, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Serafina in Il campanello, Camilla in Donizetti’s Il giovedì grasso at the Teatro Comunale di Treviso, Flora in La traviata, and Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Teatro Mancinelli di Orvieto.
More recently, Mara debuted the roles of Ciesca and Suora Infermiera in Puccini’s Trittico at the Teatro degli Arcimboldi, Milan. She was also awarded a student scholarship at the R. Celletti Academy in Martina Franca and is currently attending the two-year advanced training course for opera singers at the Accademia del Teatro alla Scala, where she made her debut in the role of Angelina in La Cenerentola for children.
Recent and future engagements include La Cenerentola, Il matrimonio segreto and Medea at Teatro alla Scala, Il barbiere di Siviglia at Teatro Regio in Parma, Rovigo, Ravenna and Trento, Il piccolo principe in the title role at the Teatro alla Scala, Così fan tutte at the Circuito Lombardo, and Andrea Chénier in Turin
Mara makes her Australian and Opera Queensland debut in the title role of La Cenerentola
DON RAMIRO PETR NEKORANEC
Tenor Petr Nekoranec is one of the most outstanding talents of the young Czech singing generation.
He started the 2024/25 season with his debut at the Polish National Opera in Warsaw in the role of Stefan (The Haunted Manor). In November, he made his house debut at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as Roméo (Roméo et Juliette) and sang his first Rodolfo (La bohème) at the National Theatre Opera in Prague, where he has assumed many roles since the 2021/22 season.
In 2025, Petr returns to the National Theatre Brno as the Shepherd in the new production of Szymanovski’s King Roger, and will also appear for the first time at the Teatro Real Madrid, Lille and Lyon as David (David et Jonathas). This season on his home stage, Petr creates Almaviva (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Roméo (Roméo et Juliette), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Peppe (Pagliacci), An Italian singer (Der Rosenkavalier), Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore), and Vít (The Secret).
During the last year, he made his debut at the Aix-en-Provence Festival as Pisandro (Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria). He assumed the role of Ernesto in a concert performance of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale with the Prague Philharmonia, appeared as Ramiro in the concert version of Rossini’s La Cenerentola in Prague’s Smetana Hall, Arbace (Idomeneo) at the Opéra nationale du Capitol, and David (David et Jonathas) at Théâtre de Caen, Opéra national de Lorraine, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg.
Petr was the first Czech to be selected for the prestigious two-year Lindemann Program at the New York Metropolitan Opera (2016) and received the Classic Prague Awards for the Talent of the Year (2017). In autumn 2019, his profile album French Arias (Supraphon; Czech Philharmonic, conductor Christopher Franklin) was released.
Petr makes his Australian and Opera Queensland debut as Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola
DANDINI SAMUEL DUNDAS
Samuel Dundas regularly appears with all the Australian opera companies, New Zealand Opera, and the major Australian symphony orchestras and choral societies.
Featured major role debuts this year are Dr Falke (Die Fledermaus) for West Australian Symphony, Sharpless (Madama Butterfly) for West Australian Opera and Figaro (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) for Opera Australia. Samuel also returns to New Zealand Opera and to Opera Queensland for Marcello, to the Sydney Symphony for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (Simone Young conducting) and to the Tasmanian Symphony (Christmas Gala).
Further recent major role debuts include Horatio (Hamlet) and Wolfram (Tannhäuser) for Opera Australia, Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor) for Opera Queensland, the Count (Capriccio) for Victorian Opera, Donner (Das Rheingold) for Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the title role in Richard Mills’ opera Galileo for Victorian Opera, and Cave (Eucalyptus: Jonathan Mills) in Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne.
Samuel has also appeared in the role of Aphron in The Golden Cockerel for Adelaide Festival; as Marcello and the title role (Voss) for State Opera South Australia (Marcello also for Opera Australia and West Australian Opera); Papageno (The Magic Flute) for New Zealand Opera; Count Carl Magnus Malcolm (A Little Night Music) for Victorian Opera; Beethoven Symphony No. 9, Haydn’s Harmony Mass and both Fauré and Mozart Requiems for Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra; Carmina Burana for Festival of Voices, Hobart and Adelaide Symphony. He has given recitals for the Ten Days on the Island Festival and for Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared in the Chamber Landscapes series at Ukaria (Adelaide Festival) and at Coriole Festival.
In 2013 Samuel won the Lady Fairfax New York Scholarship and in 2014 the inaugural Dame Heather Begg Award.
DON MAGNIFICO JAMES ROSER
Australian-born baritone James Roser initially began a career as an environmental scientist, having completed a Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) at the University of NSW, before beginning musical studies. He was a recipient of a number of major singing awards in Australia, including the Mietta Song Recital Award, Vienna State Opera Award and BrittenPears Young Artist Award, was a young artist with Pacific Opera and has performed with the Vienna State Opera, Victorian Opera, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Tiroler Festspiele Erl, Beijing Music Festival, Shanghai International Arts Festival, Opéra de Baugé and State Opera of South Australia.
Operatic roles include Rigoletto, Germont (La Traviata), Amfortas (Parsifal), Beckmesser (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Gunther (Götterdämmerung), Don Pizarro (Fidelio), Wotan (Das Rheingold), Don Giovanni, Il Conte (Le Nozze di Figaro), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Allazim (Zaide), Wiedhopf (Die Vögel), Dulcamara (L’elisir d’amore), Owen Wingrave, Escamillo (Carmen), Peter (Hänsel und Gretel). His performance as Rigoletto with the Tiroler Festspiele was televised on Servus TV and that of Wiedhopf in Die Vögel was televised on ORF.
James has performed in recital across Europe, as well as in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, performing for Artsong NSW, Chamber Music Australia, Oxford Lieder Festival, Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme, Franz Schubert Institut, Rainhill Music Festival, Gesellschaft für Musiktheater Wien, has appeared as a soloist with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and has been broadcast a number of times in Australia on 2MBS-FM, 3MBS-FM and ABC Classic FM, as well as ORF and Servus TV in Austria and Germany.
James makes his Opera Queensland debut as Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola
ALIDORO SHAUN BROWN
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, appearing in over fifty productions, in addition to numerous concerts, festival events, workshops and masterclasses. He is known to Queensland audiences for his roles in Don Giovanni, The Merry Widow, Die Fledermaus, Così fan tutte, Carmen, The Marriage of Figaro, 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 productions of La traviata and Così fan tutte, as well as appearances in the inaugural Bel Canto Festival, Opera at Jimbour and 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. He has performed to critical acclaim as a concert soloist in repertoire including Britten’s War Requiem, Fauré’s and Duruflé’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s St Matthew Passion and Mendelssohn’s Elijah
Recently he was the bass soloist in Queensland Symphony Orchestra’s much lauded performance of Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium. Shaun also holds the position of Director of Performance at The University of Queensland, School of Music.
CLORINDA SARAH CRANE
Brisbane soprano Sarah Crane has worked extensively in Europe with engagements at Cologne Opera, Opéra National du Rhin Strasbourg, Basel Opera, Freiburg Opera as well as Opera Australia, Opera Queensland (OQ), Opera Victoria and State Opera of South Australia.
Sarah’s operatic repertoire includes Hansel and Gretel, The Rape of Lucretia, Die Zauberflöte, Fidelio, Carmen, Roméo et Juliette, The Marriage of Figaro, The Merry Widow, The Love of the Nightingale, Rusalka, Alcina, Werther, Orlando and The Perfect American
Concert engagements include Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah for The Queensland Orchestra and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the Stabat Mater by Szymanowski with the Philharmonic Orchestra Freiburg.
Beyond the stage, Sarah is a dedicated educator, serving as a Vocal Lecturer at The University of Queensland. She is a sought-after adjudicator for vocal competitions across the state and regularly presents masterclasses for secondary school music programs, mentoring the next generation of singers.
Recent performances include OQ’s The Sopranos, the inaugural Bel Canto Festival, Opera at Jimbour, Mozart Airborne – a collaboration with OQ and Expressions Dance Company, Handel’s Israel in Egypt, the Mendelssohn-Hensel Oratorio and Mendelssohn’s Psalm 42 with Brisbane Chorale, Bach’s St John Passion with Canticum Chamber Choir, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the UQSO, and A Poet’s Love, a recital in collaboration with Brisbane Music Festival and Opera Queensland’s Studio Series.
TISBE HAYLEY SUGARS
Hayley was a member of the Opera Queensland Young and Developing Artist Program (2007-2009). She has enjoyed success in many national competitions, including the German-Australian Opera Grant, which she won in 2010. This resulted in contracts with the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden and the Landestheater Coburg, where she was a resident soloist performing a wide range of mezzo-soprano roles.
Operatic repertoire includes Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, the title role in Rinaldo, Mrs Grose in The Turn of the Screw, Rosina in The Barber of Seville, Varvara in Katja Kabanova, Flora Bervoix in La traviata, Mirabella in Der Zigeunerbaron, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro, Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Valencienne in The Merry Widow, Prince Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus, Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde, Auntie in Peter Grimes and Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro Hayley also toured state-wide extensively with seasons of A Night with Opera Queensland and Waltzing Our Matilda
Since returning to Australia, Hayley has performed to great acclaim for Opera Queensland, New Zealand Opera and Brisbane Festival. Most recently, she was a featured soloist in Opera at Jimbour, the First Witch in Dido and Aeneas and Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor, as part of Opera Queensland’s inaugural Bel Canto Festival in 2024.
OPERA QUEENSLAND CHORUS
CHORUS MASTER NARELLE FRENCH
TENORS AND BASSES
Sean Andrews
Joel Berndt
Matthew Broadbent
Ryan Carlson
Brett Holland
Nick Kirkup
Daniel Kramer
Connor Willmore
Jia-Peng Yeung
QUEENSLAND SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA
PATRONS
Her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeannette Young AC PSM, Governor of Queensland and Professor Graeme Nimmo RFD
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Michael Sterzinger
CONCERT MASTER
Johnny van Gend
VIOLIN 1
Gregory Lee ^ Eliza Scott
Brenda Sullivan
Mia Stanton
Lisa Smith
Ann Holtzapffel
Sonia Wilson
VIOLIN 2
Katie Betts = Nicholas Thin
Helen Travers
Luke Hammer
Delia Kinmont
Jonah Spriggs
Harold Wilson
Faina Dobrenko
VIOLA
Imants Larsens ~ Julian Duthoit + Ella Pysden
Charlotte Burbrook de Vere
Gregory McNamara
Felix Hughes-Chivers
CELLO
Matthew Kinmont = Kathryn Close
Kaja Skorka
Stirling Hall
DOUBLE BASS
Phoebe Russell ~ Paul O’Brien
Alyssa Deacon
FLUTE
Alison Mitchell ~ Laura Cliff
OBOE
Sarah Meagher = Alexa Murray
CLARINET
Brian Catchlove = Kate Travers
BASSOON
Nicole Tait ~ Evan Lewis
FRENCH HORN
Timothy Allen-Ankins = Hannah McLellan
TRUMPET
Richard Madden >> Alfred Carslake
TROMBONE
Jason Redman ~
~ Section Principal = Acting Section Principal + Acting Associate Principal ^ Acting Principal
Information current at time of printing.
QUEENSLAND PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE
PO Box 3567, South Bank, Queensland 4101
T: (07) 3840 7444 W: qpac.com.au
Chair Professor Peter Coaldrake AO
Deputy Chair
Leigh Tabrett PSM
Trust Members
Leanne Coddington
Julian Myers
Georgina Richters
Susan Rix AM
Chief Executive
Rachel Healy
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Queensland Performing Arts Trust is a statutory body of the State of Queensland and is partially funded by the Queensland Government
The Honourable John-Paul Langbroek MP Minister for Education and the Arts
Sharon Schimming
Acting Director-General, Department of Education
QPAC rests on the lands of the Jagera and Turrbal peoples. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this country and recognise their rich cultural heritage and enduring connection to the land, waters and skies. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are this country’s original storytellers, and it is our privilege to continue to share stories and be a place of gathering on this land that has been a meeting place for millennia.
QPAC WARMLY THANKS OUR KEY DONORS WHO HELP US ENGAGE BROADLY ACROSS THE STATE AND CONTINUE ENRICHING LIVES THROUGH PERFORMING ARTS.
Tim Fairfax AC and Gina Fairfax AC, Dr Lee and Professor Peter Coaldrake AO, Leigh Tabrett PSM, Susan Rix AM, Julian Myers, Dr Sally Pitkin AO, Dare Power, Dr Cathryn Mittelheuser AM, Sandi Hoskins, Lance and Suzanne Hockridge, Leigh Wheeler, Judith Musgrave Family Foundation, Queensland Community Foundation, de Groots Charitable Fund, Joachim and Paula Erpf, Dr Colin and Mrs Noela Kratzing, Barbara Snelling, Frank and Karen Alpert, Dr Ailbhe and Dr Frank Cunningham, Jenny Morton, Klaus Beckmann and several donors who wish to remain anonymous.
We give heartfelt thanks to QPAC’s Principal Partners Hyundai and MinterEllison.
Patrons are advised that the Performing Arts Centre has EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURES, a FIRE ALARM system and EXIT passageways. In case of an alert, patrons should remain calm, look for the closest EXIT sign in GREEN, listen to and comply with directions given by the inhouse trained attendants and move in an orderly fashion to the open spaces outside the Centre.
Photos: Jade Ellis
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 Katie McNamara
Treasurer Will Fellowes
Director Judy Mather
Director Jody Currie
Director James Walker
Director Mark Fenton
Director Jane Keating
HONORARY LIFE MEMBERS
Emeritus Professor Christa Critchley
Anne Cross AM
Lady Jane Edwards AM
Sir Leo Hielscher AC
Martin Kriewaldt
David Macfarlane OAM
Marilyn Richardson
Emeritus Professor David Siddle
Dr Nancy Underhill
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
OPERA QUEENSLAND
CEO & Artistic Director Patrick Nolan
Executive Director Adam Tucker
Chief Financial Officer Christine McEwan
Head of Music and Chorus Director Narelle French
Director of Technical Production Alex Loh
Director of Marketing & Sales Lucy Childs
Director of Learning, Regional & Community Laura Hansford
Director of Development Phoebe Rouse
Executive Assistant Lynne Anderson
Managing Producer Alicia Cush
Graphic Designer Murray Summerville
Digital Marketing Campaign Specialist Jesse Sobey
CRM & Ticketing Coordinator Alexandra Donald
Partnerships Manager Warrick McDonald
Development Officer – Administration & Events Zoé Noble Fox
Producer – Learning, Regional and Community Simone Doczkal
Associate Producer – Learning, Regional and Community
Justine Hansberry
Head of Wardrobe Karen Cochet
Principal Cutter Bianca Bulley
Production Administrator Annette Kerwitz
Production Coordinator Rhi Booth
Finance Business Partner Sangeeta Khosla
Accountant Sara George
Artistic Coordinator Charlotte Walker
PRODUCTION CREDITS
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Stage Manager Mak Purdy
Deputy Stage Manager Skye Heales
Assistant Stage Manager Josiene James
Props Skye Heales, Hassen Degebrodt
Head of Wardrobe Karen Cochet
Principal Pattern Maker Bianca Bulley
Pattern Maker Jacinta Vella Campbell
Art Finisher Hannah Moroney, Hasen Degebrodt
Wardrobe Assistant Joshua von Rurik
Surtitle Writer Narelle French
Costume Maker Kiara Bulley, Beth Cook, Elodie Cooper, Danni Grantford, Yesim Kara, Amelie Klingseisen, Joash Teo, Carly Tullio, Stephanie West
Interns Alethea Brownlow, Duncan Fraser, Sara Zajac
TECHNICAL CREDITS
Technical Director Alex Loh
Production Coordinator Rhi Booth
Production Administrator Annette Kerwitz
Head of Staging Hasen Degebrodt
Head of Lighting Tim Gawne
Lighting Desk Operator Lauren Sallaway
Sound Engineer & Operator Geoff McGahan
Titles Technician Stephen Brodie, Tammy Weller
Titles Supervisor & Operator Narelle French
Makeup Artist Rachael Appleyard
Wig & Hair Stylist Lidiya Kaplun, Kat McAndrew
Dresser Stephanie West
Lighting Supplier Krank’d Audio-Visual Productions
Set Construction A Noble Event
Transport Roadpro Event Services
Special Thanks Buck Outdoor
BRISBANE BEL CANTO
EXPLORE THE ART OF BEAUTIFUL SINGING AT OTHER EVENTS DURING THE BRISBANE BEL CANTO FESTIVAL FOR BRISBANE BEL CANTO TICKETS VISIT
BRISBANE BEL CANTO IS SUPPORTED BY PHILIP BACON AO
THE BIRTH OF BEL CANTO
The Birth of Bel Canto traces the roots of bel canto opera back to the madrigal. Known for its romantic poetry, intricate musical textures, and emotive vocal lines, the madrigal forms the basis of the bel canto operatic style.
Five solo voices, accompanied by continuo (cello and harpsichord), will bring to life the expressive works of Monteverdi, Gesualdo, Strozzi, and other leading composers of the time. These early songs explore themes of love, heartbreak, and the complexity of the human condition – the emotional terrain that laid the foundations for opera as an artform.
Presented in association with One Equal Music, one of Brisbane’s most accomplished choral ensembles.
Running time – approximately 60min with no interval
Musical Director Tomasz Holownia
Soprano Louise Prickett
Soprano Madeline Gibbs
Alto Eleanor Adeney
Tenor Tomasz Holownia
Bass James Fox
CITY TABERNACLE BAPTIST
CHURCH, BRISBANE WED 5 MAR 7PM
LONG LUNCH WITH STEFANO DE PIERI
We’re thrilled to welcome one of Australia’s most beloved culinary figures, Stefano de Pieri, to curate the Long Lunch for this year’s festival. His renowned restaurant Stefano’s has been a fixture in The Age’s Good Food Guide for an impressive 29 years.
A champion of using local ingredients, Stefano will draw upon the culinary delights of Queensland to create an afternoon celebrating great food and wonderful singing in equal measure. You’ll be treated to a sumptuous four course meal created by Stefano, which includes a three hour drinks package.
The Long Lunch will be a sensory celebration, offering both extraordinary food and a vibrant atmosphere, accompanied by a degustation of songs performed by some of Opera Queensland’s remarkable artists: Eva Kong (The Marriage of Figaro, VERDI), Rosario La Spina (Festival of Outback Opera 2024, Macbeth), and Jeremy Kleeman (Così fan tutte, The Marriage of Figaro).
This is food and festival taken to the next level.
WATERS EDGE, PORTSIDE FRI 7 MAR 12PM
PETITE MESSE SOLENNELLE
ROSSINI
Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle (Little solemn mass), written in 1863, is a glorious celebration of sacred music written towards the end of Rossini’s life. Neither little nor solemn, this is a work of profound beauty and exultant joy.
Written for two pianos and a harmonium, with four soloists and a choir, our collaboration with The University of Queensland sees us joined by two of Australia’s great pianists – Anna Grinberg and Liam Viney.
Perfect for seasoned concertgoers and newcomers, Rossini combines orchestral and choral textures, to create a work distinguished by its unashamed romanticism.
Presented by Opera Queensland in association with The University of Queensland.
Sung in Latin
Running time – approximately 90min with no interval
Conductor Richard Mills
The University Of Queensland
Chamber Singers
The UQ Singers
Lumens Chamber Choir
Piano Anna Grinberg
Piano Liam Viney
Organ Graeme Morton
THE CATHEDRAL OF ST STEPHEN, BRISBANE FRI 7 MAR 7PM
RED DIRT HYMNS FORD
The idea of acclaimed composer Andrew Ford, Red Dirt Hymns is a collection of secular hymns with lyrics by some of Australia’s finest writers. Working with poets including Sarah Holland-Batt, John Kinsella and Ellen van Neerven, Ford has created a collection of songs that sing praise to the everyday. Be it in the shape of a vase or desire by a river at dusk, Red Dirt Hymns sings of an Australia we all know and love.
Running time – approximately 80min with no interval
Composer Andrew Ford
Director Patrick Nolan
Musical Director Steve Newcomb
Featuring Jazz Department vocal and instrumental students from Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University
OPERA QUEENSLAND STUDIO, SOUTH BANK SAT 8 MAR 7.30PM
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE
THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE IS DEDICATED TO SUPPORTING THE ARTISTIC VISION OF OPERA QUEENSLAND’S PROGRAM.
Members of the Circle understand the value of producing powerful contemporary work in both intimate and large spaces. Philanthropic investment from our donors to join the Circle will support innovative projects and initiatives whilst giving members unparalleled access to the artform and Artistic Director’s vision.
We continue to invite our donor community to join us on this important journey and thank our existing members for their continued support.
HOW TO JOIN
To join the Artistic Director’s Circle, donors make an additional contribution above their existing annual gift, pledging their commitment for the next three years. In doing so, members help secure the financial future of the Company and opera in Queensland.
CURRENT MEMBERS
We would like to take this opportunity to thank our current members for their commitment, loyalty, and generosity in supporting this campaign. Opera Queensland welcomes you to the Artistic Director’s Circle and are delighted to have you join us over the coming years, which we plan to be some of the most exciting in the Company’s history.
For more information scan or visit: oq.com.au/artistic-directors-circle/
OUR DONORS, OUR FUTURE
LEGACY DONORS
The Estate of Lois Schultz & June Wheeler, the Estate of Marie Jameson
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE
Mr Philip Bacon AO, Prof Ian Frazer AC & Mrs Caroline Frazer, Prof Frank Gannon & Mrs Mary Gannon, Mr David Gow & Dr Kirsten Gow, Mr Hien Le, Emeritus Prof Andrew Lister & Ms Kate Lister, Emeritus Prof David Siddle & Emeritus Prof Christa Critchley, Dr Susan Urquhart† & Dr Philip Aitken†
FOUNDATION DONORS $15,000 AND ABOVE
Dr Philip Aitken† & Dr Susan Urquhart†, Mr Philip Bacon AO, Emeritus Prof Peter Coaldrake AO, Mr Tim Fairfax AC & Mrs Gina Fairfax AC, Tim Fairfax Family Foundation, Frazer Family Foundation, Hall-Brown Family Foundation, Mather Foundation, Emeritus Prof David Siddle & Emeritus Prof Christa Critchley, Wagner Corporation
PLATINUM DONORS $10,000 – $14,999
Mr Douglas Murphy KC § & Mrs Geri Murphy
GOLD DONORS $5,000 – $9,999
The Hon Justice Thomas Bradley§ & Dr Matthew Yoong, Miss Adele Dickman, Dr John Gough & Ms Ann Page, Mr Lee Nevison§ & Mrs Mary Louise North, Dr Ken Piaggio, Dr Jonathan Ramsay, Geoff Ross Endowment – Australian Philanthropic Service Foundation, Dr Mark Walker, Anonymous 2
SILVER DONORS $1,000 – $4,999
Ms Linda Apelt, Dr Richard Baer, Mr Damian Bartholomew, Dr John Bashford & Ms Deborah Sinnott, Dame Quentin Bryce CVO AD, Ms Anne Cross AM, Mr Robert Cumming§, Mr Gordon Cumming-Harris, Mr Will Fellowes & Dr Michael McLaughlin, Mr Russell Fortescue, Mr Liam Gaskin, Dr Ruth Gough & Prof Ian Gough AM, Dr Pamela Greet, Ms Valmay Hill & Mr Russell Mitchell, Dr Annette Kortlucke† & Dr Peter Kortlucke†, Mrs Andrea Kriewaldt & Mr Martin Kriewaldt, Prof Andrew Lister & Ms Kate Lister, Mrs Gay Lohse, Ms Katie McNamara, Mr Richard Mills AO, Mr Patrick Nolan, Ms Lyn Parsons, Mr William Rivers, Mr Philip & Mrs Jackie Rouse, Dr Beverley Rowbotham AO†, Mr Robert Sanderson, Mr Allen Smith & Mrs Mitzi Smith, Mr Adam Tucker, Dr Phillip & Ms Marisa Vecchio AM, Anonymous 3
BRONZE DONORS $500 – $999
Mr Roger Bagley, Mr Geoffrey Beames, Ms Zoe Connolly, Mrs Judith Cush, Mr Terence Daubney, Emeritus Prof Robert Gilbert, Ms Jody Gosling, Mr Ross Lamont & Ms Sophie Lamont, Mr Dan Law, Dr Ranjeny Loneragan, The Hon Justice Margaret McMurdo AC§, Ms Marion Pender, Mr Henry Smerdon AM, Ms Robyn Wenck, Anonymous 1
PIANO KEY CAMPAIGN DONORS
Dr Philip Aitken, Ms Linda Apelt, Dr John Bashford & Ms Deborah Sinnott, Mr Sebastian Burgman, Emeritus Prof Peter Coaldrake AO, Ms Anne Cross AM, Mr Robert Cumming, Ms Patricia Dempsey, 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, Dr Peter Kortlucke, Mr Hien Le, Ms Judy Mather, Ms Katie McNamara, Mr Douglas Murphy QC & Mrs Gerry Murphy, Mr Patrick Nolan, Mr Iain Saul, Emeritus Prof David Siddle & Emeritus Prof Christa Critchley, Dr Susan Urquhart, Ms Janine Walker AM, Dr Mark Walker, Ms Natasha Woodward, Brisbane Racing Club, Cisco Systems Australia, Data#3, Diamond Experiences, Hanworth House, Wagner Corporation
†The Medical Chapter
§ The Legal Chapter
The information in this document is current as of 18/02/2025.
Festival
Wednesday
Cultural
Dark
Thursday
Long
The
Music
Friday
Saturday
Sing Sing Sing
Opera Ball
Sunday May 18 Are You Lonesome Tonight
Monday May 19
Edinburgh International Festival and Opera Australia present Opera Queensland’s production of Orpheus and Eurydice in association with Circa
Opening at the Edinburgh Playhouse 13 August 2025
Connecting Brisbane to the world for 100 years
This year, Brisbane Airport celebrates its 100th birthday.
Across the century there have been many milestones, including royal visits from Queen Elizabeth II in 1958.
Explore more milestones at bne.com.au/100years
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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.
If you would like to join us, please phone 07 3735 3030 or email development@oq.com.au
GOVERNMENT PARTNERS
PHILANTHROPY PARTNERS
MAJOR PARTNERS
PRINCIPAL PARTNER
SUPPORTING PARTNERS
PERFORMANCE PARTNERS
ORCHESTRA PARTNER
MEDIA PARTNERS
