Featuring a hotly-anticipated Queensland premiere, the return of a 2025 success and a sparkling new production of a musical, Opera Queensland has announced its 2026 season.

“This season celebrates the power of storytelling. To see ourselves in the hopes, fears and courage of the many different characters we encounter,” said Artistic Director and CEO Patrick Nolan.

“Every opera, every song, every concert in 2026 asks us to imagine what happens when we dream, when we wish, and when we face what lies beyond ‘happily ever after’. These timeless stories remind us that wonder lives in the telling.”

Kicking off the year is the third annual edition of the Brisbane Bel Canto Festival (29 April – 2 May). With only two performances held at the 2025 festival due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred, OQ’s La Cenerentola is again its 2026 centrepiece. Premiering in March, Limelight reviewer Paul Ballam-Cross described the production as “beautifully performed and superbly timed for comedy” in a four-and-a-half star review.

“The singing is gorgeous, the melodies are endlessly hummable, and the production is enchanting.”