Leah Purcell’s The Drover’s Wife – The Opera has been shortlisted for a 2026 International Opera Award in the World Premiere category, putting the Australian work in contention for one of opera’s major international prizes.

The nomination follows the opera’s world premiere at Brisbane’s Glasshouse Theatre in May and a sell-out Sydney Opera House season in August. It will have its Melbourne premiere in May 2027 as part of Opera Australia’s season.

Marcus Corowa and Shane Lowrencev in Opera Australia’s The Drover’s Wife 2026. Photo © Carlita Sari

The first-time co-commission between Opera Australia and Queensland Performing Arts Centre, in association with Oombarra Productions, brought together Purcell and Australian composer George Palmer for a new operatic adaptation of Henry Lawson’s 1892 short story. Purcell’s previous adaptations took the form of a play, novel and a feature film.

The production combines Palmer’s score with contemporary First Nations storytelling, with choreography by Bidjara woman and former Bangarra dancer Yolande Brown. The creative team includes set designer Isabel Hudson, costume designer Tess Schofield, lighting designer Karen Norris, video designer Craig Wilkinson and sound designer Michael Waters.

Nina Korbe and Marcus Corowa in The Drover’s Wife – The Opera. Photo © Carlita Sari

The International Opera Awards announced its 2026 finalists on 23 September, with nominees drawn from 24 countries. The Drover’s Wife is one of eight works shortlisted for World Premiere, alongside new operas from La Monnaie/De Munt, Palau de les Arts/Teatro Real, Bayerische Staatsoper, Scottish Opera, Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège, San Francisco Opera and Bühnen Bern.

The wider shortlist includes some of the major companies and artists in international opera. The Opera Company category features Atlanta Opera, Croatian National Opera in Zagreb, English National Opera, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Opéra de Lyon and Teatro Real, Madrid.

British soprano Louise Alder, winner of the 2017 Young Singer Award, is nominated in the Female Singer category alongside Sara Blanch, Vera-Lotte Boecker, Ambur Braid, Saioa Hernández and Golda Schultz. American tenor Lawrence Brownlee, another 2017 winner, is among the Male Singer nominees with SeokJong Baek, Clay Hilley, John Osborn, Morris Robinson and Georg Zeppenfeld.

Founded by philanthropist Harry Hyman in 2012, the International Opera Awards recognise achievement across the art form, with proceeds supporting the Opera Awards Foundation and bursaries for emerging opera talent.

Winners will be announced on Saturday 21 November at MusikTheater an der Wien in Vienna, in a ceremony hosted by BBC presenter Petroc Trelawny. The ceremony will be livestreamed free through OperaVision.