- +33 877 554 332
- [email protected]
- Mon - Fri: 9:00 - 18:00
HOL Presents
See the list of all the upcoming and already had events for this year
The 2025/26 Palace Opera & Ballet program continues at the Empire Cinema in Bowral.
The Southern Highlands is fortunate that we are able to see Palace Opera & Ballet at the Empire Cinema in Bowral.
Experience the best of what’s on stage in Europe in Bowral, with new performances screening direct from London’s Royal Ballet and Opera, Opéra National de Paris and Milan’s Teatro alla Scala!
‘What has become of love today?’ asked Angelin Preljocaj in 1994, when he created Le Parc for the Paris Opera Ballet. Thirty years later, the world has changed again, but his timeless ballet has travelled around the world. In a French-style garden, the choreography draws us into the seduction games of the Grand Siècle and the Age of Enlightenment, appealing to our classical musical and literary imagination: famous works by Mozart, the Map of Tendre, Dangerous Liaisons. But Preljocaj breaks with tradition by introducing a contemporary soundtrack and a choreographic language composed of broken lines and sensual movements. Like the final pas de deux, where the bodies whirl around for a languorous kiss: a moment of grace that has become the signature of this ballet.
Sessions preceded by Australian Premiere Screenings of 8-minute short Bartók by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, by award-winning cinematographer Joe Shemesh, which pairs the orchestra’s enthralling performance of music by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók with evocative imagery from across Lutruwita / Tasmania. The film won a Silver Cinematography Award from the Australian Cinematographers Society in 2025.
Screening Saturday 16 & Sunday 17 May 2026 at 1pm
Plus Wednesday 20 May 2026 at 11am
Adults: $27.00, Concessions: $20.00
Princess Pamina (Grammy-winning American soprano Julia Bullock) has been captured. Her mother (Kathryn Lewek), the Queen of the Night, tasks the young Prince Tamino (Samoan-Kiwi tenor Amitai Pati) with her daughter’s rescue. But when Tamino and his friendly sidekick, Papageno (Huw Montague Rendall), embark on their adventure, they soon learn that when it comes to the quest for love, nothing is as it really seems. Guided by a magic flute, they encounter monsters, villains, and a mysterious brotherhood of men – but help, it turns out, comes when you least expect it… Mozart’s fantastical opera glitters in David McVicar’s enchanting production, with the star cast assembled led by French conductor Marie Jacquot in her Covent Garden debut.
Screening Saturday 6 & Sunday 7 June 2026 at 1pm
Plus Wednesday 10 June 2026 at 11am
Adults: $27.00, Concessions: $20.00
Preparations are well underway for our upcoming May concert, set in the stunning surroundings of Centennial Vineyards. This program celebrates the theme of night — from the luminous and playful to the reflective and serene.
Audiences can expect a rich and varied program, including:
We’re especially excited to be working with outstanding local musicians, including Lisa Kawai, Myee Clohessy, Kate Malone, Rachel Miller and Cath Barnett. Jillian Bridge is our guest conductor, helping us bring this program to life with depth and polish.
Join us for an unforgettable afternoon of music, set against the beautiful backdrop of the vineyard.
Date: Sunday 31st May
Time: 3:30pm
Location: Centennial Vineyards Cellar Door
Reserve your tickets here: https://www.trybooking.com/DLAQF
Enquiries: [email protected]
Bring friends, family & anyone who loves live music. Make an afternoon of it with wine, scenery & song.
The Southern Highlands Symphony Orchestra (SHSO) was formed in 2014 as a result of overwhelming interest in establishing a symphony orchestra in the region. The founding Artistic Director and Conductor is Dr Allan Stiles.
The orchestra has performed many premiere performances by Australian composers. Soloists from the region, overseas and nationally have performed with the orchestra.
The SHSO has four concert series a year.
CONCERT SERIES 2
June 2026
Date/Time
Saturday 27th June at 7.30pm
Sunday 28th June at 2.30pm
Location
Bowral Memorial Hall
Dvorak | In Nature’s Realm
Alfred Hill | Cello Concerto – soloist William Howard
Prokofiev Suite 2 | from Romeo and Juliet
Pyotr Tchaikovsky | Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture
In 2026, the Australian Haydn Orchestra brings to Bowral Memorial Hall an array of programs featuring music by Haydn (of course), Mozart, Beethoven and a selection of rare and spirited works by lesser-known Bohemian composers
Mozart’s Spring – 4 pm Saturday 7 March 2026
Beethoven’s Fourth – 4 pm Saturday 2 May 2026
Divine Bohemians – 4 pm Saturday 1 August 2026
Haydn’s Oxford – 4 pm Saturday 31 October 2026
The much-anticipated 2026 staging of Adelaide’s Arena di Verona production of Aida is to be postponed for a year due to freight issues. Twenty-eight containers of the elaborate sets, all designed by Franco Zefferelli, are now stranded on docks. A significant disappointment for the 60,000 strong audiences expected to attend. A new date has yet to be announced for 2027.
The 2025 international opera awards, announced a Lifetime Achievement Award for Greek Mezzo Soprano Agnes Baltsa. Ms Baltsa has had a 5-decade career in opera and is regarded as a definitive Carmen.
Early in the new year Opera Australia will be mounting two operatic favourites with Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and Turandot. Former artistic director Moffatt Oxenbould’s staging of Madama Butterfly will be performed with Guanqun Yu and Vittoria Yeo sharing the role of Cio-Cio-San. Turandot will feature two of Australia’s most dramatic sopranos, Anna Louise Cole, returning from a triumphant Ring Cycle and Rebecca Nash fresh from The Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Is opera in decline? Opera’s traditionalism and opulence make it an easy target for calls of elitism and irrelevance, but the picture is more complex. Attendance at some major opera houses has declined this century, particularly among the younger demographic. Ageing audiences and rising production costs contribute to the perception of an endangered art form. However, in many parts of the world such as Eastern Europe and parts of Asia it is thriving. Cities such as Moscow, Beijing and Vienna regularly enjoy sell out performances.
Streaming of live performances to cinemas and online have provided access to millions who might never have set foot in an opera house. The New York Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series alone reaches audiences across 70 countries. No other art form brings together music, narrative, drama, design and vocal excellence like opera, let us hope the magic continues.
This item continues an ongoing series of articles All About Opera from Highlands Opera Lovers Past President Joanne McGrath.
Soprano Taryn Fiebig’s final album was released on 20 March 2022, on the first anniversary of her death, aged 49.
The album is titled SHE: Survival Hope Empowerment.
The Charles Aznavour song She opens the album, and a string arrangement of the song closes it, featuring some of Fiebig’s opera friends including Cheryl Barker and Peter Coleman-Wright, as well as her husband Jud Arthur. We can purchase the SHE CD at https://she4ocrf.com.au
Bowral is the legendary home of Sir Donald Bradman, Australia’s greatest cricketer.
The Don’s granddaughter, Greta Bradman, is an operatic soprano, who debuted for Opera Australia in La Bohème at Sydney Opera House in 2017. Greta is a psychologist as well as a soprano, and hosts Mindful Music on Monday evenings on ABC Classic Radio, enabling us to unwind and find solace in the power of music https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/mindful-music
Greta also is Co Chair of the Bradman Foundation, which operates The Bradman Museum & International Cricket Hall of Fame in Bowral https://internationalcrickethall.com/ as an international tourist attraction.
The image shows Greta performing at Shane Warne’s memorial service in March 2022. Greta shared her grandfather’s affection for Warne.
In the King’s Birthday Honours List in June 2025, Greta Bradman was awarded Member of The Order of Australia for significant service to the performing arts in a range of roles, and to psychology.
Ⓒ 2026 – All Rights Are Reserved – made by The Web Peeps
