From a smash hit Australian musical to International superstar, worlds collide in Opera Queensland’s visionary 2020 season. A new Australian opera cabaret, a great Australian musical, a story of profound love and a visually dazzling classic are the centrepieces of Opera Queensland’s Season 2020. The vibrant program is anchored by four main stage productions complemented by a new Concert Series, a regional tour of the Company’s acclaimed 2019 production of Tosca and an expanded offering of education and community programs.
The season begins in March with Lorelei, a playful new Australian opera cabaret where ancient myth meets modern woman. The sumptuous and snappy 75-minute production centres on the Lorelei, a trio of Sirens who sit atop the cliffs of Germany’s Rhine River singing sailors to their watery graves. From one new Australian work to another, Opera Queensland and Queensland Performing Arts Centre present the high spirited, Australian coming of age story Bran Nue Dae from late July. Written in 1990 by the late Jimmy Chi with the band Kuckles, Bran Nue Dae was lauded as “the great Australian musical” when it premièred.
In October 2020, Wagner’s sweeping saga of forbidden love, Tristan und Isolde, plays at the Concert Hall featuring world acclaimed New Zealand tenor Simon O’Neil, American soprano Megan Miller and one of the world’s greatest interpreters of Wagner, conductor Pietari Inkinen. Opera Queensland’s main stage season ends in November with Verdi’s Aida, a co-production with Opera Australia starring soprano Natalie Aroyan in the title role. The production played to sold out houses in Sydney, wowing audiences with the quality of music and its spectacular, cutting-edge projected visuals.
