Director

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 we invite you to explore the art of song today.

Red Dirt Hymns

Opera Queensland

Tatyana, a young woman living in the depths of the Russian countryside, falls hopelessly in love with Eugene Onegin, a dashing, cynical man of the world. Thinking her naïve, he casually rejects her. When, many years later, they meet again, Tatyana is married to another man and the toast of fashionable St Petersburg society. Too late Onegin realises that he loves Tatyana, with devastating consequences for them both.

Tchaikovsky adapted Pushkin’s great verse novel for the stage and set it to music that displays his gift for unforgettable melody – particularly in Tatyana’s famous ‘Letter Scene’ – and his genius for dance in the rural revels and the Petersburg ball scenes. The result is a deeply affecting portrait of love, regret and missed chances.

Eugene Onegin

Leeds Grand Theatre

Four decades since its Broadway premiere, Into the Woods has established itself as a beloved musical classic.

In 2026, Opera Queensland, Queensland Theatre Company and Queensland Symphony Orchestra collaborate to bring a new production of this Tony Award-winning masterpiece to QPAC’s sparkling Glasshouse Theatre.

With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine, Into the Woods follows iconic and well-loved characters like Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and Rapunzel. In a world where fairy tales collide, this timeless musical asks what happens when the story ends and “… everyone lives happily ever after”.

When deepest desires are fulfilled, not all wishes are granted without a cost…

Into the Woods dazzles with its unforgettable score, cast of dearly loved characters and a plot that refuses to play by the rules.

Director

Patrick Nolan

Events

Upcoming events

Oct 9 - Nov 21, 2026

Eugene Onegin · Opera North

11 - 21 Nov, 2026

Into the Woods · Opera Queensland

Past events

May 2, 2026

Red Dirt Hymns · Opera Queensland

About

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