Brisbane Bel Canto

Returning for its third year, Opera Queensland's Brisbane Bel Canto Festival once again focuses the attention of Brisbane audiences on the art of beautiful singing through a series of concerts spanning centuries of song, from April 29 to May 2.

At the heart of the festival is Rossini’s effervescent comedy La Cenerentola (Cinderella), a joyful tale of kindness rewarded, and love discovered. After its 2025 season was disrupted by Cyclone Alfred, La Cenerentola returns by popular demand, following glowing reviews that praised it as “a stunning take on a classic fairytale” (InDaily) and “beautifully performed and superbly timed for comedy” (Limelight). Conducted by Richard Mills and directed by Laura Hansford, the production stars exciting young Turkish tenor Mert Süngü as Don Ramiro. 

Apr 29 & May 2. Concert Hall, QPAC

Also featured in the festival, The Birth of Bel Canto is presented in association with Brisbane ensemble One Equal Music at St Brigid’s Church, Red Hill. The Birth of Bel Canto traces the roots of bel canto opera back to the madrigal. Known for its romantic poetry, intricate musical textures, and emotive vocal lines, the madrigal forms the basis of the bel canto operatic style. Five solo voices, accompanied by continuo (cello and harpsichord), will bring to life the expressive works of Monteverdi, Gesualdo, Strozzi, and other leading composers of the time. These early songs explore themes of love, heartbreak, and the complexity of the human condition – the emotional terrain that laid the foundations for opera as an artform.

St Brigid's Church, Red Hill Apr 30

Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle (Little solemn mass) is a glorious celebration of sacred music written towards the end of Rossini’s life, to be performed in collaboration with The University of Queensland at QPAC Concert Hall. Featuring Liam Viney and Anna Grinberg, more than 100 performers will bring Rossini’s radiant score for two pianos and harmonium to life in a grand celebration of choral artistry. 

Concert Hall, QPAC. May 1

The idea of acclaimed composer Andrew Ford, Red Dirt Hymns is a collection of secular hymns with lyrics by some of Australia’s finest writers. Working with poets including Sarah Holland-Batt, John Kinsella and Ellen van Neerven, Ford has created a collection of songs that sing praise to the everyday. Be it in the shape of a vase or desire by a river at dusk, Red Dirt Hymns sings of an Australia we all know and love. If The Birth of Bel Canto is a concert exploring the beginnings of bel canto music, in Red Dirt Hymns you're invited to explore the art of song today!

Opera Queensland Studio, May 2

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