This year’s Festival of Outback Opera is very much a tale of two tenors and one aria, which practically bookended the Longreach leg of Opera Queensland’s annual event.

The aria in question is E lucevan le stelle (And the stars were shining) from Tosca – a fine choice in Puccini’s centenary year.

Opera Queensland’s Festival of Outback Opera 2024 on Camden Park Station. Photo © Glenn Hunt

Rosario La Spina opens Saturday evening’s Singing in the Night Camden Park Station with his rendition and nails it. No surprises there; he made his Opera Australia debut as Cavaradossi nearly two decades ago.

The starry sky above the 18,000-acre cattle farm makes for a most appropriate backdrop, and La Spina’s performance fulfills this writer’s wish to experience his artistry again after having been wowed by his performance as Siegmund in last year’s Ring Cycle.

Accompanied by the UQ Pulse Chamber Orchestra and members of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra under Christopher van Tuinen, La Spina’s performance is everything one could wish for, finely tuned and undeniably conventional.

Fast-forward to the final performance of the festival, Do We Need Another Hero? (this year’s free-of-charge, regional touring production) at...