Opera Queensland Singing in the Night

25th Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia and 24th Governor of Queensland, the Honourable Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO; Mayor of Longreach, Councillor Tony Rayner; Mayor of Winton, Councillor Cathy White; Vice-Chancellor, The University of Queensland, Professor Deborah Terry AO; Director-General, Department of Education, Ms Sharon Schimming; Deputy Director-General, Arts Queensland, Ms Kirsten Herring; Chair, Opera Queensland, Ms Linda Apelt, and Board members Ms Katie McNamara, Mr Will Fellowes and Mr James Walker; Chair, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Professor Emeritus Peter Coaldrake AO; Chief Executive Officer, Tourism and Events Queensland, Mr Craig Davidson; Chief Executive Officer, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Mr Michael Sterzinger; Opera Queensland staff, patrons and supporters; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

I begin by acknowledging the Original Custodians of the lands around Longreach, the Iningai people, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to any First Nations people here this evening.

Graeme and I are delighted to be back in the Central West for this year’s Festival of Outback Opera. In Winton earlier this week, we joined the sing-along at the official opening in The Royal Theatre, enjoyed sundowners at the famous Way out West sign, and experienced the magic that Opera Queensland creates every year, at the jump-up at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museums.

The ‘Dark Sky Serenade’ in Winton was actually our second experience of hearing those glorious voices soaring into the night under the vast Outback sky.

The first was in 2023 and, like the growing number of Australian and international visitors who are drawn here every year for this extraordinary Festival, we simply couldn’t stay away, especially when the Festival this year offers the rare opportunity to hear the superstar Korean soprano, Sumi Jo.

Sumi Jo last visited Brisbane in 2018 as part of her tour of the eastern capitals, and I congratulate Opera Queensland’s CEO and Artistic Director, Patrick Nolan, on enticing her back to discover the very different world of Australia’s Outback. I know that, like Graeme and me, many of you were at ‘Dark Sky Serenade’ in Winton on Thursday but have taken the opportunity to hear Sumi Jo for the second time tonight, here on Camden Station.

In addition to being an exceptional artist, she is a woman of great warmth and generosity who has been an active advocate for UNESCO for the past 23 years as an Artist for Peace, and, on behalf of you all, I am delighted to welcome her to this truly unique part of the world.

From the very first Festival in 2021, the Opera Queensland team have set the bar very high for this event, but each year, through careful incremental growth, they have delivered successively more powerful and enriching musical experiences to those who live in this region.

Being a State performing arts company brings prestige, but it also comes with the responsibility of relevance for all Queenslanders, wherever they may live in this vast state. Fortunately, our State arts companies excel in finding creative solutions.

In this instance, Opera Queensland and The Queensland Symphony Orchestra have collaborated not only with each other but with Department of Music of The University of Queensland to stage performances in the Central West which are the envy of theatres and companies in metropolitan areas – certainly no capital city could offer a venue to match this spectacular 360-degree sunset view to the desert horizon.

Creating an event like this comes with challenges that can’t be resolved through innovation alone; it requires generous financial support, and I take this opportunity to publicly acknowledge and thank the Queensland Government, the Outback Tourism Association, The University of Queensland and Hayman’s Electrical for their generosity and ongoing commitment to the Festival.

I also thank the other government partners – Creative Australia, the Longreach Regional Council and Winton 150, as well as the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation, the Australian Cultural Fund, and the other sponsors and donors, including the Walker family of Camden Park for providing this extraordinary location. Without the support of each and every one of you, this event would simply not be possible.

This year’s Festival has unfolded against the backdrop of record-breaking floods and hardship across parts of regional Queensland—challenges that have only highlighted the extraordinary resilience of communities across this part of our state. Over the past few days, Graeme and I have visited Winton, Jundah and Windorah, where we’ve heard deeply moving stories of devastation, determination and recovery—reflecting the strength and spirit that define this part of the world.

And like all of you, we are looking forward to a wonderful evening of music tonight, but there’s still ‘Sing Sing Sing’, ‘Are you Lonesome Tonight’ and the fabulous Opera Ball to come before the Festival of Outback Opera comes to a close for another year.

And if that’s not enough to sate your appetite for this spectacular part of our State, its hospitable people would be delighted to welcome you back for the Outback Film Festival in Winton next month, or for the Winton Outback Festival in September – and I hope you will all be there to experience the start of the Great Australian Charity Cattle Drive tomorrow!

Enjoy your evening!