Opera Australia: The Drover's Wife

The Drover's Wife

Opera Australia in association with Queensland Performing Arts Centre and Oombarra Productions presents
The Drover's Wife

Heavily pregnant and caring for her children in a remote Snowy Mountains shanty, Molly Johnson faces the dangers of the Australian High Country alone. Her husband is away droving sheep, leaving her to contend with snakes, bullocks and hostile travellers at her door.

When Yadaka, an Aboriginal man fleeing colonial authorities, arrives at her isolated home, their encounter brings shared histories of hardship into the open. What unfolds is a powerful story of survival, identity and the lengths a mother will go to protect her family.

Based on Leah Purcell AM's play, novel and film, The Drover's Wife finds new expression in an opera composed by George Palmer AM. His emotionally charged melodies and rich orchestrations evoke both the beauty and brutality of the landscape, bringing a symphonic dimension to Purcell's modern Australian classic.

Grand opera traditions meet contemporary Aboriginal storytelling in a production led by Nina Korbe, known for her performance in West Side Story on Sydney Harbour. As Molly Johnson, she brings one of Australian storytelling's most formidable women to the operatic stage.

Season Details

21-29 May 2027 | Ian Potter State Theatre

Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes, including an interval.