Opera Queensland’s 2015 season, announced today, will focus on continuing to engage new audiences for opera with innovative programs and unique venue settings. This will build on the successes of this year’s Open Stage and Opera at Jimbour projects as well as the ambitious and highly successful Project Puccini. Project Puccini was a world-first initiative which gave hundreds of Queenslanders the opportunity in appear in the chorus of a new production of Puccini’s masterpiece La Bohème.

Opera Queensland’s Artistic Director, Lindy Hume, is clearly proud of the achievements of 2014. “This year’s Project Puccini was a turning point for us – by taking hundreds of Queenslanders on the journey with us, not only did we unearth new talent and create new artistic networks across eight regions, we comfortably doubled our box office from our last tour, with enthusiastic audiences wherever we went, many of whom had never been to the opera. It was an unconventional and hugely ambitious project, and a risk well worth taking” Hume said.

Hume continues, “One of the projects I am most excited about in 2015 is our new Studio 4101, a pop-up performance space, laboratory and bar at South Bank where anyone can come and see a diverse range of performances that run for about an hour...