Entertainment
25 July, 2025
Local youth in opera special
PARISIAN passion will sweep across the Cairns Performing Arts Centre (CPAC) tonight (Friday, July 25), as Opera Australia’s La Bohème takes the stage, featuring 15 young local choristers in a special one-night-only performance.
Presented as part of Opera Australia’s 29th annual National Tour, this production of La Bohème is set in 1970s Paris and led by renowned director Dean Bryant.
The performance blends Puccini’s soaring score with modern visuals, sung in Italian and accompanied by English surtitles to make the story accessible to all audiences.
A highlight of the Cairns show will be the involvement of Cairns Young Voices, whose choristers, aged 10 to 14, have spent weeks rehearsing their parts in Italian.
“We have 15 very excited young people taking part in La Bohème,” said Cairns Young Voices founder and director Joanne Wright.
“We have been learning the singing, learning the Italian pronunciation and trying to get up to the fast tempo that has been set.”
Ms Wright said this was the third time Cairns Young Voices had been invited to join an Opera Australia production in Cairns and the students were thrilled by the opportunity.
“They have wonderful memories of the excitement of being in a professional production, taking their parts and seeing how it all unfolds,” she said.
“The sets and costumes are exciting to discover. It is also such an experience for them to stand onstage amongst full operatic voices.
“They become a little awe-struck by the sheer magnitude of the voices around them.”
The production features a stellar rotating cast, with sopranos Danita Weatherstone and Maia Andrews sharing the role of Mimì, and tenors John Longmuir and Nick Kirkup as Rodolfo. It will be conducted by Simon Bruckard.
Since launching in 1996, Opera Australia’s National Tour has brought more than 720 fully staged performances to 139 regional locations across the country.
Cairns audiences will have just one chance to see La Bohème live at CPAC tonight, July 25 at 7.30pm.
Tickets are available at
