Italian greats to Grammy Award winners – Opera Queensland announces its bold 2025 season
There is no denying that opera is an art form that speaks directly to the heart. With soaring melodies, emotional performances and intricate stories, it has an unwavering power to move audiences, transcending language and culture. Opera Queensland has long been committed to evolving the art form across our fine state, with a mission to make opera accessible to all. The company’s visionary 2025 season is no exception, offering new works, reimagined classics and internationally acclaimed singers, performing everywhere from cavernous cathedrals to the vast horizons of the Outback. Read on for all of the dramatic details …
Whether you’re an opera aficionado or a total novice, Opera Queensland’s 2025 season is sure to pique your curiosity. Curated with OQ’s mission at the forefront – to make opera accessible to all – the program brings together a collection of innovative mainstage and touring productions that are guaranteed to sweep you off your feet. If you’re yet to experience the magic of the opera and are hesitant to take the leap, please take our word for it – upon leaving, you’ll feel as if you’ve emerged from a larger-than-life dream. You’ll feel exhilarated, awestruck, reflective and, likely, emotional – the grandiosity of the performance, the powerful voices and the dramatic orchestral sweeps will vibrate through you, leaving you buzzing with energy.
Opera Queensland’s 2025 season is guaranteed to deliver all of that and more, curated under the visionary direction of CEO and artistic director Patrick Nolan. Recently renewed to lead the company until 2028, Patrick says, “In putting our 2025 season together we set out to explore how we connect with each other in ways that are born of kindness and empathy. What might we learn if we open ourselves to the beauty and wonder of opera? Be it the majesty of La bohème or the grand horizons of the Outback, 2025 invites us to look for moments of connection through the music and stories we experience together.”
The season kicks off with the Brisbane Bel Canto Festival, returning for its second year from March 4–8. The program of concerts will cover music from the beginnings of operatic song in Italy to contemporary Australian works, celebrating the art of beautiful singing. Leading the festival on March 4 and 8 is Rossini’s La Cenerentola (Cinderella), centering around the compassionate, generous and kind heart that beats within the titular character. Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University will be participating in the festival once again, with a presentation of contemporary Australian secular hymns with lyrics by some of Australia’s finest writers, Andrew Ford’s Red Dirt Hymns.
The University of Queensland School of Music is joining the festival for the first time with Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle (Little Solemn Mass), which will see pianists Liam Viney and Anna Grinberg accompanied by a mass choir in The Cathedral of St Stephen, as well as emerging Brisbane ensemble One Equal Music, presenting The Birth of Bel Canto. Plus, on March 7, Opera Queensland is bringing back its beloved Long Lunch, curated by Mildura chef Stefano de Pieri. Stefano and the OQ team are promising a perfect symphony of flavours and songs, celebrating Queensland and Italy in a way that only an Italian-Australian chef as renowned as Stefano could.
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Opera will head west from May 13–19, when the fifth Festival of Outback Opera takes over the towns of Winton and Longreach. This year’s event will see Grammy Award-winning coloratura soprano Sumi Jo perform, emphasising Opera Queensland’s commitment to bringing world-class talent to regional audiences. Headlining this year’s program, Sumi’s stratospheric upper range, technical brilliance and endearing diva playfulness have made her the highest-selling classical singer in the world. Under the breathtaking Outback skies and against iconic country backdrops, the Festival of Outback Opera’s series of concerts will feature everything from formal galas and large-scale outdoor performances, to fine dining events and pub sing-a-longs. We can guarantee this is unlike any other music performance you have experienced!
Prepare to have your heart broken in September, when OQ brings one of the world’s most beloved and famous operas to the Lyric Theatre stage. Puccini’s classic masterpiece La bohème is the original bohemian love story, exploring the lives of four free-spirits struggling to realise their dreams on the fringe of society in Paris. This everlasting tale of tragic romance has inspired numerous adaptations on stage and in film, such as Rent, Moulin Rouge and Moonstruck, with its true-to-life characters, Mimì and Rodolfo. This original co-production by Opera Queensland and West Australian Opera is being presented in association with Brisbane Festival, starring Italy-based Western Australian-born soprano Elena Perroni as Mimì, Roman rising star Valerio Borgioni as Rodolfo (performing in Queensland for the first time) and award-winning First Nations soprano Nina Korbe in the role of Musetta.
Opera Queensland’s Studio Series is also back for its sixth year, bridging the classical and modern with an inspired collection of exclusive recitals and cabaret-style performances. The worlds of opera, jazz, art song and contemporary music will collide for the series of intimate performances, featuring a vast array of talents from the world over. The program spans from February to October, featuring the likes of American singer, performance artist and musician Joseph Keckler, acclaimed Australian baritone James Roser with pianist Alex Raineri, Brisbane’s beloved lyric soprano Leanne Kenneally and more. Expect a dedication to Schubert’s timeless lieder, a celebration of Cole Porter, a tribute to Maurice Ravel on his 150th birthday, and genre-defying performances in a series that is guaranteed to enchant.
Finally, OQ’s most successful regional tour in its history, Are You Lonesome Tonight, will be on the road again in 2025. This national tour will visit communities in remote locations and historic towns across the country, directed by Laura Hansford. “After Are You Lonesome Tonight toured Queensland in 2021, I have been repeatedly asked when it was coming back,” says Laura. “Are You Lonesome is proof that music is the great connector, bringing people across genres together to celebrate a love of storytelling.” The cast includes First Nations artist Marcus Corowa, one of the country’s most in-demand talents, who will perform arias and songs from Puccini to Slim Dusty and Dolly Parton.
For the full program and details on season tickets, head to the Opera Queensland website.