Mackay students are set to take centre stage this month, joining some of Australia’s top professional opera vocalists for a special performance at the MECC.
Opera Australia is Australia’s largest performing arts company, presenting over 700 performances to more than half a million people every year.
The company will return to Mackay with its annual national tour, showcasing crowd favourite La Bohème with a choir of local students as part of the company’s Regional Children’s Chorus program.
The program involves recruiting a local chorus of students in each participating town to perform as part of the touring production, enabling them to take the first steps on their own special journeys with opera.
Led by Choir Leader Nicole Thomson, the students have been hard at work rehearsing, learning music, harmonies, and Italian lyrics – quite the feat for some of the students with limited experience in a language other than English.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for regional singers, they’re learning so much and are all looking forward to performing on stage with Opera Australia,” Ms Thomson said.
For many of the students, this will be their first taste of live performance in front of an audience.
“We can’t wait to showcase our hard work on stage at the MECC, it will be an exciting night for all involved” she continued.
Opera Australia will delight Mackay audiences with the original Italian version of La Bohème, with English surtitles. Led by conductor Simon Bruckard, the cast features some of Australia’s brightest operatic stars including sopranos Danita Weatherstone and Maia Andrews as Mimì, tenors John Longmuir and Nick Kirkup as Rodolfo, sopranos Cathy-Di Zhang and Sarah Prestwidge as Musetta, and baritones Andrew Williams and Benjamin Del Borrello as Marcello.
Director Dean Bryant said, "This is a story about a group of young artists dealing with all the huge things in life for the first time. Growing up in regional Australia, I had the same passion and urgency to be heard, to fall in love, to live, so it's particularly exciting for me to be taking this production, set in Paris in the 1970s, across the country.”
Tickets to Opera Australia’s La Bohème can be purchased at the Box Office on 4961 9777 or online through themecc.com.au.
What: The MECC & Opera Australia presents: La Bohème
When: Thursday 31 July 2025, 7.30pm
Where: MECC Auditorium
Tickets: www.themecc.com.au
Mackay students will take centre stage alongside Opera Australia’s cast in La Bohème at the MECC this month, performing live as part of the national tour’s Regional Children’s Chorus program. Photo supplied
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