This evening we wrapped up Brisbane Bel Canto with Andrew Ford’s Red Dirt Hymns, a collection of songs with lyrics penned by some of Australia’s most renowned poets, in praise of the mundane. An ensemble of OQ’s young artists and students studying singing and jazz at the Qld Con, led by @hello.steve.newcomb on piano, (whose arrangements were sublime) spent a few days with me and Andy in the @operaqueensland studio putting the show together.
I wish we could table the process and performance as our submission to the new cultural policy. It expressed so much about the value art creates.
- The change in the students’ relationship with each other as their confidence built with each rehearsal.
- The technical skills developed as they committed to performing the words and music with clarity and precision.
- The generosity and warmth they found in working together and the way this ultimately transferred to the audience in the room… so clearly showed why we must invest in and hold the arts central to our wellbeing. It is our engine room of empathy and understanding, and f..k the world could do with a lot more of that right now
First song, Syreeni, words by Maria Takolander, second song, What Desire Knows by @the_shb_
Thank goodness for artists like @davidbyrneofficial , working the line between innovation and tradition with such a joy and clarity - for a few hours we all felt the wonder and possibility of humanity
Inaugural trip of the Slow Walkers, with Matthew, Paul @paulblackmorephoto and Dylan @the_corridor_project_australia . Three days on the Murramarang South Coast Walk. Very good to be with friends by the sea and amongst the trees
Our magnificent mum, Granny Gai Gai, Gaily Dancing departed this world on Tuesday afternoon. She did so with the grace and dignity with which she lived her life. A mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, aunt, proxy mum and dear friend to many. Her capacity to make everyone she met feel loved and held with care was as deep and warm as her big brown Lebanese eyes. Happiest when surrounded by family and friends, a superb cook, she fed many around a table that was always ready for guests and never visited anyone without a gift, more often than not something she had baked. Her meringues with strawberries and cream are legendary. She loved to laugh and had a wicked wit that saw through the hype and nonsense. I could go on and on… We will miss her more than it’s possible to express. We were so lucky to have her as our mum.
Today we present our final performance of Orpheus and Eurydice @edintfest . We began working on the season over a year ago but the production has been in process for six years. Each time we bring it to audiences we learn something new - about the work, about each other, about the nature of collaboration. In these hyper digital times it is a privilege to be part of something so profoundly human. Huge congratulations and thanks to all who have made this possible - singers, musicians, stage crew, producers, funders and most importantly the audiences who have grown with each outing. And to the creative team behind it all @yaron.lifschitz@libbymcdonnell1@berlage@borisbagattini@brindlehoop@benknap@circapresents@operaqueensland
@maqamat_omar_rajeh ’s Dance People @edintfest reminds us how powerful live performance can be. Sublime, beautiful, provocative and deeply human it invites us to connect in ways that are all too rare these days. Not to be missed, hopefully it will travel far and wide.
A few days in London, catching up with family, visiting galleries and museums I had long wanted to see, being reminded of how good the English are at Shakespeare, and what a grand, beautiful, ugly, messed up city it is.
We said goodbye to our dear dad, Daisy, Davo today, after a long and stubborn fight with all manner of ailments he finally decided to go and be with his God last week. A deeply devoted husband for 68 years and a father who had more than enough love for his children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. He found it easy to laugh and had a smile as infectious as it was charming. Meticulous in most things, be it the pursuit of a fact or the folding of the washing, when not regaling whomever would listen with one of his wandering yarns, he loved his beautiful garden, being by the ocean or surrounded by nature. Blessed with the gift of curiosity, we’ll miss him dearly but are thankful that he’s now released from the burden of his crumbling body. Safe travels dad, you are much loved. As your beloved Gabrielle said, you were the most gentle, decent and open-hearted person.
A great joy to open our 2025 season with a performance in the @operaqueensland studio by the beautiful, silky voiced, profoundly original storyteller, @josephkeckler . With a range that defies categorisation, he enchanted two packed houses who called for more. We are the first stop of a national tour, do whatever you can to get a ticket.
