Drover’s Wife – The Opera: quick links
Co-commissioned by Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) and Opera Australia (OA), The Drover’s Wife – The Opera will have its world premiere in May 2026, in QPAC’s new Glasshouse Theatre.
Based on the 2016 play by Leah Purcell AM, adapted from Henry Lawson’s 1892 short story (Purcell subsequently turned her play into a novel in 2017 and a feature film in 2021), the opera features a libretto by Purcell co-written with George Palmer AM, who also composed the score and will direct the production.
Purcell was approached to adapt the work by Palmer after he spotted her novel at his wife’s bedside. She said The Drover’s Wife had been in her heart since 1975, but the desire to bring the story to life began in 2014, taking shape across many genres and platforms.
‘The intensity and scale of this Australian story makes it ripe for an operatic re-telling; I’ve enjoyed the challenge. While this opera may not follow traditional expectations, it will offer something uniquely Australian – bold, grounded and full of heart,’ Purcell said.
‘I’ve loved diving back into The Drover’s Wife and looking at how we can use the libretto, First Nations language, and the full might of an orchestra to take the storytelling to the next level and distinguish this version from its predecessors.’
Palmer said he wanted to write an opera that was quintessentially Australian, both in its subject matter and musical expression, and the powerful drama of The Drover’s Wife play provided the perfect vehicle.
‘The opera is a confluence of the First Nations tradition of chant and dance and the western operatic tradition. Those traditions, each true to itself, come together without losing their identities and each complements the other, adding textural and contextual richness to the music and the story,’ he said.
The Drover’s Wife: key cast and team
The Drover’s Wife – The Opera will star award-winning First Nations soprano, Nina Korbe, as the Drover’s Wife, Molly Johnson, who is left to care for her children and the isolated family homestead. Heavily pregnant, Molly faces no shortage of threats while her husband is away droving sheep, including a threatening swagman and a racist policeman from the nearest township.
Fellow Queensland singer-songwriter Marcus Corowa (Opera Queensland’s Festival of Outback Opera, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and Opera Australia’s Bran Nue Dae) will play Yadaka, an Aboriginal man evading colonial authorities, who disrupts Molly’s hard-won sanctuary.
The full cast, including six dancers under the direction of choreographer Yolande Brown (Bangarra Dance Theatre), will be announced soon.
Additional creatives announced for the project include conductor Tahu Matheson, set designer Isabel Hudson, costume designer Tess Schofield, lighting designer Karen Norris and sound designer Michael Waters.
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The Drover’s Wife: Glasshouse Theatre
Currently under construction, QPAC’s 1500 seat Glasshouse Theatre is set for completion in late 2025, with the venue opening to the public in early 2026. It has the potential to host an additional 300,000 visitors each year once fully operational.
QPAC Chief Executive Rachel Healy said the world premiere of The Drover’s Wife – The Opera would be a highlight of the Glasshouse Theatre’s opening program.
‘The Glasshouse opens as a space for stories that matter, and Leah Purcell’s celebrated take on The Drover’s Wife is exactly that; Leah’s vision and voice, paired with George Palmer’s evocative score, promises to deliver a work that is visceral, unflinching and stirringly Australian. It’s a fitting beginning for a theatre built to hold the weight of powerful stories and thrilling performances,’ Healy said.
‘Following an encore season of Leah’s lauded Is That You, Ruthie? earlier this year and the epic ambition of Wagner’s Ring Cycle with Opera Australia in 2023 [Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung], we are thrilled to be uniting a team of our regular collaborators to again create work of national significance that Queenslanders will see first,’ she added.
Opera Australia Acting CEO Simon Militano added, ‘We’re proud to have co-commissioned this extraordinary piece of work with QPAC. These incredibly talented artists have created a uniquely Australian opera that bridges operatic tradition with contemporary Australian tradition and will be a highlight of OA’s 70th anniversary season in 2026.’
Queensland Performing Arts Centre’s world premiere production of The Drover’s Wife – The Opera, in association with Opera Australia and Oombarra Productions, runs from 13-22 May 2026 in QPAC’s new Glasshouse Theatre. See QPAC’s website for details.
