21-05-2025
Opera Queensland's country and opera performance finds success in the outback
There are two genres of music people love to hate — opera and country.
Under a kaleidoscope of stars in outback Queensland the two styles have merged and found a surprising audience.
"Slim Dusty and Puccini, who would have thought," Melbourne opera fanatic Rosey Boyd said.
Country songs are said to be made up of "loving, drinking, fighting and cussing" — similarly inspired themes that feature in opera, according to Opera Queensland.
It is a hypothesis that Opera Queensland's Laura Hansford has transformed into the nationally touring country-opera production Are You Lonesome Tonight.
Opera is not the typical genre of choice in rural communities, but the Festival of Outback Opera has been running for five years in western Queensland, bringing an influx of tourists from across Australia.
It is a welcome boost for the local communities of Longreach and Winton where destructive flooding in parts of the outback earlier this year led to mass cancellations at the start of the tourist season.
"We were actually very pleased that we were able to come and support the community given that they've had really hard times," said Brisbane attendee Elizabeth Wray.
Laura Hansford recalled her initial apprehension four years ago when she was tasked with the challenge of creating a show that somehow combined John Williamson, Verdi, Slim Dusty and Puccini.
"I said 'that's crazy' and then I went away and thought 'that's actually really cool and interesting,'" she said.
It turns out that after "ruining" her Spotify algorithm researching the two genres, they unexpectedly had a lot in common.
"One of the big things is the brilliance in storytelling," she said.
She said the show had found success particularly with regional Queensland audiences, which led to Opera Queensland taking the show nationally this year.
"Whether you're an opera fan, whether you are a country fan, whether you're a Taylor Swift fan, there is something in this show for everybody — and that's what connects us all," she said.
Singer Gabrielle Diaz never thought she would end up in a production like this after studying classical voice at Brisbane's Conservatorium of Music.
She loved the exploration of the two styles, switching effortlessly from American twang to the full vowels of an operatic aria.
With grey nomad tourist numbers on the decline, a different niche of silver-haired travellers is boosting visitor numbers in western Queensland.
Retirees, often from Melbourne or Sydney, make up the majority of the crowd at the Festival of the Outback Opera.
Rosey Boyd and her crew are on a three-month road trip and were crunched for time to get to the show in Longreach.
"We broke down two hours out of Melbourne, but we didn't let that stop us," Ms Boyd said.
"We love the opera. We go as often as we can afford in Melbourne."
Wrapped in a fur coat, Margaret Morgan flew from Brisbane just to experience the outback.
"It's one of those things you have to be here to feel."
Opera Queensland chief executive Patrick Nolan said the vast outback made for a perfect stage.
"There's a clarity you get acoustically, once the sun sets, something happens in this environment which really lifts the singers' voices in a way," he said.
As for the outback residents themselves?
Opera has won over more than a few fans.
"It's actually enjoyable. I don't usually like opera but from this I do. It tells a story," said Longreach country music enthusiast Kelsey Silburn.
