How many Brazilians do you need for an opera in the Outback? It sounds like the beginning of a gag, but the answer is about one hundred.
Chatting to Opera Queensland’s CEO and artistic director Patrick Nolan about the success of OQ’s Festival of Outback Opera, I ask him if there is any interest internationally. Now in its sixth year, this has developed into one of Australia’s most distinctive music festivals with interest growing year on year. And with an enquiry from Brazil.
“We had a tour organiser contact us. They wanted to bring 100 Brazilians over for it,” Nolan says. “They were looking to charter a special flight. Every year we are getting international interest. In our first year we had a woman who flew into Brisbane from Los Angeles and then on to Longreach.
“People adore this event and they seek me out to tell me how much they love it. Part of what makes it special is the relationship between the artists and the people. It’s very intimate.”
OQ is launching its 2026 season this week, with the Festival of Outback Opera (May 13-18) a key part of its annual season. This year Korean soprano superstar Sumi Jo was the special guest.
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Next year’s headline act is acclaimed New Zealand-Tongan tenor Filipe Manu, a graduate of the Jette Parker Young Artist program at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He’s the toast of Europe right now and in 2026 he’ll be the toast of the Queensland Outback.
People will flock to Longreach and Winton for the Festival of Outback Opera by air, road (the odd grey nomad will be in attendance) and by rail on the Spirit of The Outback train. The festival is now a destination in itself and an example of that is the fact that musicians are jostling to get the gig.
The Queensland Symphony Orchestra is otherwise committed next year, so Nolan is now negotiating with another big-name orchestra. With only 10 slots for musicians, there is quite a lot of jockeying, apparently, by people wanting to play in the Outback. The festival is the jewel in the crown of Opera Queensland’s year with 2026 dubbed “a year of fairytales, storytelling and wonder”.
The fairytale theme includes La Cenerentola (Cinderella) at the company’s Brisbane Bel Canto festival in April/May.
“Cyclone Alfred spoiled the party last year with only one performance of the opera,” says Nolan. “This time there will be two for those who missed out. It’s fantastic that we can do it again.”
With conductor Richard Mills at the helm, it will feature a rising star of world opera, Turkish tenor Mert Sungu as Don Ramiro with the Angelina (Cinderella) role yet to be cast.
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Among other festival treats is The Birth of Bel Canto presented in association with Brisbane ensemble One Equal Music at the historic St Brigid’s Church, Red Hill.
Continuing the fairytale theme is Rusalka, a co-production between major state opera companies commissioned by the Opera Conference, the national partnership association of these companies.
Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, this fairytale opera by Dvorak tells the story of the luminous water nymph, Rusalka. It’s a big production from the award-winning team who created la Traviata and Nolan points out that it will be the company’s first production in QPAC’s Glasshouse Theatre.
To be staged in late June and early July, it will feature some amazing local talent including tenor Rosario la Spina and soprano Eva Kong, with Eleanor Lyons in the lead role of Rusalka.
Towards the end of the year OQ will be back at the Glasshouse Theatre with a co-production with Queensland Theatre of Into The Woods, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Tony-Award winning musical intertwining the stories of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel, among others, in a witty, darkly enchanting exploration of what actually happens after happily ever after.
The company will continue regional touring and The Adventures of Figaro – a riotous adaptation of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville by Shake & Stir Theatre Co – will bring energy, humour and brilliant young voices to schools and regional centres.
Meanwhile, All Together Now! and Bravo! will tour regional Queensland offering audiences the opportunity to sing along to beloved classics or experience the thrill of opera’s greatest arias performed by leading Australian artists.
So OQ really does have the state covered and that’s something Nolan, who has now been in the job for eight years, is proud of. I guess we could say he’s settled in.
“I’m starting to call Queensland home,” this Sydney-sider confesses. “And I’m loving it.”