Opera Queensland (OQ) continues to boldly reimagine the classic repertoire, commission new works, and bring great singers to Queensland, in its 2025 season.
The 2025 offering showcases OQ’s mission of making opera accessible to all. It combines mainstage and touring productions sure to resonate throughout Queensland, Australia, and overseas.
“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,” CEO and Artistic Director Patrick Nolan says. “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 Brisbane Bel Canto Festival will return for its second year, with a programme of concerts covering music from the beginnings of operatic song in Italy, to a song cycle composed in Australia over the past few years. At the centre of Bel Canto is Rossini’s ‘La Cenerentola’ (‘Cinderella’), celebrating the generous, compassionate and kind heart beating within the title character.
The festival will also include the return of Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, with a presentation of Andrew Ford’s ‘Red Dirt Hymns’. Plus, The University Of Queensland School Of Music joining OQ for ‘Petite Messe Solennelle’ (‘Little Solemn Mass’).
“Opera Queensland has begun a major festival initiative which will bring visitors to Queensland to hear some of the greatest singers in this repertoire. This is becoming a must see for opera enthusiasts from around Australia and I am proud to conduct the performances of music for which I have a heartfelt affinity with such a great group of singers from Australia and Europe and enjoy the partnership of our wonderful Queensland Symphony Orchestra - please join us,” Conductor Richard Mills AM says.
In May, Opera Queensland heads west for Festival Of Outback Opera – a series of outdoor concerts in iconic locations and scenery, on a grand scale.
“This is the little festival that could, one of those happy coincidences in which the joy of what we bring as an opera company is in perfect harmony with the majesty of the outback and the warmth and generosity of the locals,” Patrick Nolan says.
In September, OQ presents ‘La bohème’, one of the world’s most beloved and famous operas, exploring the lives of four bohemians struggling to realise their dreams on the fringe of society in Paris. Plus, OQ’s most successful regional tour in its history ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’ will be on the road again in 2025, thanks to a Playing Australia grant. The cast, including one of the country’s most in-demand talents, First Nations artist Marcus Corowa, will perform the arias and songs from Puccini to Slim Dusty and Dolly Parton.
The OQ Studio Series affirms the company’s commitment to musical excellence and innovation. This season features an eclectic array of talents including Joseph Keckler, James Roser, Alex Raineri, Amy Lehpamer, Voxalis Opera, Katie Stenzel, Camilo Lopez, and Leanne Kenneally.
OQ mainstage productions have travelled far and wide this year. In 2025, OQ’s second collaboration with Circa, ‘Dido And Aeneas’, opens in Sydney. . . And ‘Orpheus And Eurydice’ will be presented at the Edinburgh International Festival before returning for Opera Australia’s 2025 Melbourne season.
Check out the full programme.
