Event 1: ITALIAN GALA

PERFORMERS:
-QUEENSLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
– JAMES CRABB, classical accordion
– UMBERTO CLERICI, conductor

VENUE:
Concert Hall, QPAC

Fri 15 May, 7.30pm

Take a trip through Italy’s musical heartlands in this rich and varied program drawing from opera, film and the concert hall. From Rossini’s The Barber of Seville to the drama of Puccini and Verdi, every piece speaks with lyricism and power. JAMES CRABB returns with classical accordion, joined by Queensland Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Natsuko Yoshimoto and a rare solo appearance from Chief Conductor Umberto Clerici playing cello for Vivaldi’s radiant Triple Concerto. Begin the evening with beloved arias, while the second half shifts into cinematic territory with Piazzolla’s Aconcagua and Rota’s La Strada Suite.

Events 2-4 : STEP INSIDE THE MUSIC

PERFORMERS:
– ENSEMBLE Q
– THE AUSTRALIAN VOICES

VENUE:
Sandgate Town Hall,
5 Brighton Rd, Sandgate

Sat 16 May, 11.30am – 4.30pm

Experience music in new and exciting ways, including surround-sound experiences!

Concert One 11.30am – BAROQUE MASTERPIECES
Sit within an orchestra to hear and feel Baroque masterpieces by Vivaldi, Corelli and Telemann.

Concert Two 1.30pm - IN SPACES BETWEEN
Be surrounded by sound in the round, with Mozart’s Divertimento in F, K138, Anne Cawrse’s In Spaces Between, Ian Clarke’s Within… for antiphonal flute choir, Anne Cawrse’s Ruby and Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending.

Concert Three 3pm - AN ENCHANTED EVENING
Sing along with The Australian Voices!
Hear Erik Ēriks Ešenvalds’ In Paradisum, Paul Dean’s new work for choir, winds and strings, Queensland Nocturnes, and Arnold Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht.

Event 5: WAGNER DAY at 4MBS

Featuring Eugene Gilfedder’s The Twilight of Richard Wagner

PERFORMERS:
STEPHEN EMMERSON, pianist/scholar PETER BASSETT, Wagnerian scholar
BRADLEY DALEY, Heldentenor
JOHN GRANGER FISHER, pianist
EUGENE GILFEDDER, actor/director

VENUE:
4MBS Performance Studio,
384 Old Cleveland Rd, Coorparoo

Sat 16 May, 11am-4pm

Celebrate Wagner’s immense influence on opera with a day of music, theatre, and discussion!
Featuring talks by pianist and scholar STEPHEN EMMERSON and Wagnerian scholar PETER BASSETT, performances by internationally acclaimed heldentenor BRADLEY DALEY (patron of the Wagner Society in Queensland)and 4MBS Musician-in-Residence, pianist JOHN GRANGER FISHER. The day culminates in The Twilight of Richard Wagner, written and performed by EUGENE GILFEDDER – a dramatic insight into Wagner’s Ring Cycle.

11am | Introduction to Wagner’s life and work – talk by Stephen Emmerson
11.30am | Wagner in Australia – talk by Peter Bassett
12pm | Lunch break (light refreshments provided)
12.30pm  | Short presentations and panel discussion with members of The Queensland Wagner Society,
including favourite extracts, a Q&A session, and open discussion between panel and audience members
1.40pm | Meet Brisbane virtuoso pianist John Granger Fisher, performing Liszt’s piano transcription of the “Liebestod” from Tristan und Isolde
2pm  The Wagnerian Heldentenor – in conversation with Bradley Daley
2.30pm Afternoon tea (light refreshments provided)
3pm EUGENE GILFEDDER’S The Twilight of Richard Wagner

Presented by The Wagner Society in Queensland in conjunction with 4MBS Classic FM. See wagnerqld.com.au

Event 6a: FLIGHTS OF COUNTERTENOR FANCY
In Memoriam: Gerald Glynn

PERFORMERS:
– HARTLEY NEWNHAM, countertenor
– MATTHEW FARRELL, cello
– PATRICK NOLAN, flute
– NICHOLAS ROUTLEY, piano

VENUE:
St Mary’s Anglican Church,
455 Main St, Kangaroo Point

Sat 16 May, 6pm

Commemorate the life and music of Brisbane-born, Paris-based composer Gerald Glynn (1943-2025) in this intimate concert with countertenor HARTLEY NEWNHAM, cellist MATTHEW FARRELL, flautist PATRICK NOLAN, and pianist NICHOLAS ROUTLEY. Hear some of Gerald Glynn’s music, interspersed with favourite works by Fauré, Mozart and Bach.

Event 6b: PURE VOICE AND GUITAR
A  Journey Through The Ages

PERFORMERS:
– CANTIGA (Madeline Gibbs, soprano | Philip Griffin, guitar)

VENUE:
St Mary’s Anglican Church, 455 Main St, Kangaroo Point

Sat 16 May, 7.30pm

Explore the rich possibilities of the voice-and-guitar duo, from the expressive world of John Dowland through luminous art song to radiant twentieth-century and contemporary works. This program balances intimacy and colour, pairing the refined vocal artistry of soprano MADELINE GIBBS with the sensitive, finely shaded guitar playing of PHILIP GRIFFIN. Together they create a warm, atmospheric sound world that invites attentive, reflective listening.

Event 7: MR MARK’S
CUSHION CONCERTS

PERFORMERS:
– IAN TUCK, piano
– MARK HOOPER, narrator

VENUE:
4MBS Performance Studio,
384 Old Cleveland Rd, Coorparoo

Sun 17 May, 10am

Bring your Teddy to hear the story of Paddington Bear’s adventure from Peru to his first London concert with his host family. Narrated by MARK HOOPER (‘Mr Mark’), this interactive children’s concert showcases the piano, played by young pianist IAN TUCK. Notice how it imitates the orchestra, plus underscores the story. Paddington ends up making an unplanned appearance with the orchestra (by mistake, of course!).

Children must be accompanied by an adult. Please bring cushions to sit on the floor. Suitable for littlies up to approx. 10 years.

Event 8: MOZART: MY LIFE, MY MUSIC

PERFORMERS:
– CORDA SPIRITUS
– CHEN YANG, conductor and compère

VENUE:
St Augustine’s Anglican Church, 56 Racecourse Rd, Hamilton

Sun 17 May, 2.30pm

Journey through Mozart’s life via his own words and music, including the overture to his pastoral opera Ascanio in Alba.

MOZART:
Serenade No.6 in D, Serenata notturna, K239
Sinfonia concertante in Eb, K297b for wind soloists and orchestra
Overture to Ascanio in Alba, K111
Symphony No.38 in D, Prague, K504

Event 9: STRINGS
OF FIRE

PERFORMERS:
– MARTIN LASS, violin
– INGE LASS, piano

VENUE:
St Mary’s Anglican Church, 455 Main St, Kangaroo Point

Sun 17 May, 3pm 

Join celebrated violinist Martin Lass for an electrifying musical journey that moves freely between the concert hall and the living traditions of gypsy music. In this special program, Lass presents both authentic Romany repertoire and the classical works it inspired, inviting audiences to hear how composers such as Brahms, Bartók, Sarasate, Falla and Dinicu absorbed, reshaped, and re-imagined the fire and freedom of gypsy expression. It is a concert belonging not to one genre, but to many, bringing classical elegance, folk vitality, and popular appeal into a single, vivid, musical experience.

Renowned for a career that has always crossed stylistic boundaries, Martin Lass brings his trademark virtuosity, warmth, and showmanship to music that is as emotionally direct as it is technically dazzling.

Event 10: CLASSIC JAZZ

PERFORMERS:
– INGRID JAMES, voice
– JENNI FLEMMING, piano
– GWYN ROBERTS, cello
– MOLTICELLI
– QUEENSLAND YOUTH ORCHESTRA BIG BAND

VENUE:
Brisbane Jazz Club,
1 Annie Street, Kangaroo Point

Thu 21 May, 7.30pm
(doors open 6.30pm)

Spend an evening by the river immersed in the sounds of jazz mixed with the classics! In the first set, hear a selection of pieces for voice, piano, solo cello, and cello ensemble. Eight-cello ensemble MoltiCelli will perform Villa-Lobos’ Aria from Bachianas Brasileiras No.5 with vocalist Ingrid James. Tap your toes in the second set to the QYO BIG BAND with its own arrangement of a classical/jazz favourite as the evening’s grand finale. 

Event 11: AROUND the World 10 OPERAS
IN 80 Days MINUTES

PERFORMERS:
– ENHARMONIE CHAMBER ENSEMBLE (ALLAN HALL, cello | LEE NORRELL, flute | TERTIA HOGAN, piano)

VENUE:
4MBS Performance Studio, 384 Old Cleveland Rd, Coorparoo, Brisbane

Fri 22 May, 7pm

Embark on a splendid journey through 10 operas in 80 minutes! 

Before the advent of recordings, publishers used arrangements to take music into homes, building familiarity with new operas and letting people enjoy their old favourites. The prolific and award-winning French composer Renaud de Vilbac (1829-1884) produced innovative piano trio arrangements and variations based on famous operas of the day, bringing a new perspective to some old favourites, and capturing the lyrical beauty and even the humour within the operatic art form.

Join ENHARMONIE CHAMBER ENSEMBLE as it enters into the world of the 19th century soiree.

Event 12: FROM THE
GOLD COAST
TO THE RHINEGOLD

PERFORMERS:
– BRADLEY DALEY, tenor
– SARKA BUDINSKA, piano

VENUE:
St Mary’s Anglican Church, 455 Main St, Kangaroo Point

Sat 23 May, 3pm

Hear internationally-renowned tenor BRADLEY DALEY perform some highlights from Wagner’s operas including “Winterstürme” from Die Walküre and extracts from Siegfried and more! Daley has performed extensively in leading opera houses in Australia, Europe and the UK, and has been recently acclaimed for his performances as Siegfried in Der Ring des Nibelungen at Longborough Opera. He will be supported by pianist SARKA BUDINSKA.

Presented by The Wagner Society in Queensland in conjunction with 4MBS Classic FM. See wagnerqld.com.au

Event 13: VERDI’S DIVAS

PERFORMERS:
– SPRINGBOARD OPERA
– VOCAL MANOEUVRES ACADEMY CHORUS
– Members from BRISBANE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
– NEIL FLOTTMANN, conductor

VENUE:
Grand on Ann, 311 Ann St, Brisbane City

Sat 23 May, 7pm

The divas take centre stage! Alongside a 70-piece orchestra and chorus, SPRINGBOARD OPERA will bring to life the dramatic roles of Aida, Violetta, Gilda, and other operatic favourites in the exquisite Grand on Ann (Masonic Memorial Centre). Springboard Opera’s soloists will be joined by members of the BRISBANE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA and VOCAL MANOEUVRES ACADEMY CHORUS, conducted by NEIL FLOTTMANN. Springboard Opera is a not-for-profit dedicated to supporting emerging artists and transforming the opera idea through unexpected and exciting experiences. They focus on providing performances and professional development opportunities for local emerging artists which benefit the arts scene in Brisbane and welcome new audiences to the world of opera.

Event 14: OPERA IS BORN

PERFORMERS:
– SALLY-ANNE RUSSELL, mezzo-soprano
– TOBIAS MERZ, countertenor
– QUEENSLAND BAROQUE
– JOHN FOSTER, Artistic Director

VENUE:
City Tabernacle Baptist Church, 163 Wickham Tce, Spring Hill

Sun 24 May, 3pm

Travel back to the very birth of opera, with the finest selections of works by Monteverdi, Caccini, Purcell, Vivaldi, Porpora, Eccles and Handel. Performed by the internationally acclaimed voices of SALLY-ANNE RUSSELL, mezzo-soprano, and TOBIAS MERZ, countertenor, with the QUEENSLAND BAROQUE ORCHESTRA conducted by JOHN FOSTER (Baroque trumpet)in the exquisite City Tabernacle Baptist Church.

Program includes:
MONTEVERDI | L’incoronazione di Poppea: Pur ti miro
PURCELL | Dido and Aeneas: When I am laid in Earth (Dido’s Lament)
VIVALDI | Nisi Dominus, RV 608: Cum dederit
HANDEL | Serse: Ombra mai fu
HANDEL | Rinaldo: Lascia ch’io pianga

Events 15-17: PIANO MARATHON – IN THE KEY OF OPERA

PERFORMERS:
– REUBEN TSANG, piano
– LEANNE WARNE, piano
– JACK GOVES, clarinet
– JOHN GRANGER FISHER, piano

VENUE:
Nickson Room, UQ School of Music, Level 4, Zelman Cowen Building (51), Staff House Road, St Lucia

Sat 30 May, 11am-4pm

Discover piano transcriptions of operas and ballets by the greats, performed by three brilliant Brisbane pianists! Sample individual concerts, or experience all three in one go! Parking available on campus. 

11am  REUBEN TSANG
STRAVINSKY trans AGOSTI | The Firebird, Suite
PROKOFIEV | Romeo and Juliet, excerpts 
BELLINI trans Liszt | Réminiscences de Norma

1pm LEANNE WARNE
MOZART | The Marriage of Figaro, Overture
HUMMEL | Fantasie on a Theme from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro
MASSENET | Thaïs, excerpts including ‘Méditation’
WEBER | Variations on a Theme from Silvana
with JACK GOVES (clarinet)
MASCAGNI | Cavalleria rusticana, Intermezzo
PUCCINI trans Zuccoli | Madame Butterfly, ‘Un bel di‘
ROMBERG | The Student Prince, ‘Serenade’
LISZT | Soirees musicales de Rossini, ‘La danza’ (Tarantella napolitana)
ELGAR | Salut d’Amour

2.30pm JOHN GRANGER FISHER
WAGNER trans LISZT | Tannhäuser, Overture 
WAGNER trans LISZT | Tristan und Isolde, ‘Liebestod’
VERDI trans LISZT | Concert Paraphrase on Rigoletto
MOZART trans LISZT | Reminiscences de Don Juan
BIZET trans HOROWITZ | Variations on a Theme from Carmen

Event 18: ST JOHN PASSION

PERFORMERS:
– LUCEM VITAE
– Naomi Yu, soprano
– Kaija Scott, alto
– Gregory Massingham, tenor (Evangelist and arias)
– Troy Castle, bass (Jesus)
– Harrison Hammett, bass (Pilate)
– Hainian Yu, bass 
– Lucem Vitae and friends – Choir and Orchestra
– Natalia Carter, conductor

VENUE:
St Paul’s Presbyterian Church | 43 St Pauls Tce, Spring Hill

Sat 30 May, 2pm

Join Brisbane vocal and instrumental ensemble LUCEM VITAE for an epic, yet deeply personal reflection upon the passion of Christ. This will be the ensemble’s first ever performance of J.S. Bach’s St John Passion in an English translation by veteran evangelist Gregory Massingham. In a simultaneous celebration of friendship and community, Lucem Vitae will be joined by a talented chorus from Central Queensland, all coming together in the sublime acoustic of St Paul’s Presbyterian Church and united by a love of making music for the joy and encouragement of others.

Event 19: VIVA PAVAROTTI

An Homage To The Greatest Tenor Of All Time 

PERFORMERS:
– PAUL ETTORE TABONE, tenor
– JAKE LYLE, baritone
– with piano accompaniment

VENUE:
The Old Museum, 480 Gregory Tce, Bowen Hills 

Sat 30 May, 7.30pm

Experience the power and passion of the late great Luciano Pavarotti! Lyric tenor Paul Ettore Tabone will bring Pavarotti’s music to life with his stunning voice and captivating stage presence. Hear classic arias including Nessun dorma, Maria, Torna a surriento, O sole mio, and many more! Tabone has performed to audiences across the globe including the National Opera of Bucharest, Teatro Carlo Felice, Teatro del Giglio, Sydney Opera House, London’s West End and on Broadway.

Event 20: JOAN SUTHERLAND
SPECTACULAR

Celebrate 100 years of La Stupenda!

PERFORMERS:
– EVA KONG, soprano
– MIRUSIA, soprano
– ROSARIO LA SPINA, tenor
– Guest singers from OPERA QUEENSLAND
– THE QUEENSLAND CHOIR
– BRISBANE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
– TAHU MATHESON, condutor
– ED LE BROCQ, compère

VENUE:
Main Auditorium, City Hall, Brisbane City

Sun 31 May, 3pm

Celebrate Dame Joan Sutherland and her greatest operatic roles, with internationally renowned sopranos EVA KONG and MIRUSIA (recipient of the Dame Joan Sutherland Award), tenor ROSARIO LA SPINA, OPERA QUEENSLAND guest singers, THE QUEENSLAND CHOIR and BRISBANE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, conducted by Opera Australia’s Head of Music TAHU MATHESON and compèred by ABC Classic’s Ed Le Brocq.

Event 21: THE LANGUAGE
OF SONG

PERFORMERS:
– FRACTIO MODI
Members:
– ANNE LEVITSKY, soprano, hurdy-gurdy
– MADELINE GIBBS, soprano
– AARON BROWN, rebec
– PHILIP GRIFFIN, oud, lute, baritone
– TUNJI BEIER, hand percussion

VENUE:
St Brigid’s Church, 78 Musgrave Rd, Red Hill

Sat 6 June, 7pm

Song was special to medieval musicians, audiences, and intellectuals. Music theorists in the medieval West believed the human voice was the only instrument created by God, while composers of secular love lyrics described themselves as “writing and speaking in song” when they composed songs in vernacular languages. This program explores the wide range of medieval vocal music, including the chants of Hildegard, the lyric songs of Machaut and the troubadours, early opera, and sacred and secular polyphony alike.

Events 22: A Baroque Coda

A Concert of Baroque Favourites

PERFORMERS:

ARIOSO CHAMBER ENSEMBLE
Members:
– JUDIT MOLNÁR, soprano
– MARGARET CALEY, baroque violin
– FRANK FODOR, baroque viola
– SHANNON SCHELTEMA, viola da gamba 
– JANET BREWER, harpsichord

VENUE:
St Paul’s Anglican Church,554 Vulture St East, East Brisbane

Sun 14 Jun, 3pm

Farewell the festival with an intimate concert of Baroque favourites. From the heart-rending lament from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and “Lascia ch’io pianga” from Handel’s Rinaldo, to playful arias from La serva padrona by Pergolesi, this program of quintessential Baroque arias and dances will transport and delight audiences.