Macbeth comes to Opera Queensland
Drama queens of all genders can rejoice. Opera Queensland will open its 2023 programme with Verdi’s hi-octane musicalisation of Macbeth, Shakespeare’s tale of murderous power-lust. QNews sat down to preview the production with director Laura Hansford. Self-described as a ‘Cairns-born bogan’, Laura Hansford never expected to find herself loving opera. Then Opera Queensland offered her …
Talking Toksvig: Sandi Toksvig Live! comes to Australia
Sandi Toksvig, internationally-renowned comedian, broadcaster, writer and campaigner will make her Australian and New Zealand touring debut with a new, specially-conceived comedy show, Sandi Toksvig Live! In an evening of comedy and curiosities Sandi will share little known facts, tall tales and her unique brand of frivolity wrapped in the no-nonsense voice of an Oxbridge …
High voltage divadom at the ultimate tribute to Dame Shirley Bassey
Fans of high-voltage divadom are in for a treat as rising sensation Rachael Roberts brings her UK hit show to Australia. It’s called This is Me: An International Tribute to Shirley Bassey. Roberts will sport the glamorous costumes, the honeyed Welsh speaking voice and of course, the fabulous powerhouse vocal that Dame Shirley is so …
Trills and Thrills at Opera Qld’s La Traviata
This is a musically thrilling La Traviata. Congratulations to Opera Queensland for this gripping fusion of singing, playing, and most crucially, conducting. Maestro Dane Lam showed a keen flair for this classic by Giuseppe Verdi, and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra responded with passion. Whether savouring the moment or pressing fatefully on, it was a pleasure …
Joanna Lumley is Ab Fab in Falling for Figaro
I went into Falling for Figaro hoping to be entertained, and I was, royally. It’s packed with music, romance and delicious barbs as only Joanna Lumley can snarl them out. However, I wasn’t expecting to be so moved. That’s partly thanks to Joanna Lumley herself. As Meghan Geoffrey-Bishop, an opera diva fallen on hard times, …
Queensland Symphony Opera Diary: Opera Gala Glitters Bright
Well, I’d say opera is making a comeback, at least for one of its traditional audiences, gay men. That’s if the proportion of hunks in sharp suits at Queensland Symphony’s Opera Gala is anything to go by. However, no one cuts a finer figure than conductor Dane Lam, very suave with just a sprinkling of …
Marriage of Figaro | Opera Queensland
Opera Queensland returned to QPAC in July with an atmospheric new Marriage of Figaro, Mozart’s lavish and laugh-out-loud rom-com. Opera Queensland’s CEO & Artistic Director Patrick Nolan directed the popular work with conductor Dane Lam leading a cast of Australia’s finest singers, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Opera Queensland Chorus. QPAC’s Playhouse sang with set …
Jarred Dewey: an acrobat leaps into Opera Queensland
Opera Queensland’s concluding production for the year, Orpheus & Eurydice, integrates circus performers into the action. QNews spoke with one of the principal artists, Jarred Dewey. The story Eurydice has died and her husband, Orpheus, is distraught. The god of Love, Amor appears and gives him a chance to retrieve his wife from the depths …
REVIEW: Visual artistry on display in Opera Queensland’s ‘A Flowering Tree’
The sense of a feast and a rich antipasto platter of musical and visual artistry was the dominant impression of Opera Queensland’s new production of John Adams’ A Flowering Tree this month, writes reviewer Tim Passmore. The majestic concert staging of A Flowering Tree by Opera Queensland’s Artistic Director Patrick Nolan elegantly combined real-time performance …
Opera Queensland’s 2019 season in full bloom with ‘A Flowering Tree’
Opera Queensland’s first mainstage presentation for the year is A Flowering Tree by American contemporary composer John Adams. Tim Passmore spoke to director Patrick Nolan about the show. Mythical India. An impoverished family. A desperate daughter discovers she can transform into a tree whose blooms sell for a princely price. But her miracle also attracts …
