Speeches
Tuesday, 21 April 2026
Reception to mark the Golden Jubilee of State Opera of South Australia and The Friends of the State Opera South Australia
As joint patrons of both State Opera South Australia and The Friends, Rod and I are pleased to welcome this remarkable community to Government House this evening, as we mark your Golden Jubilee.
After 36 years living away from Adelaide before returning in 2021, attending State Opera performances has been a true highlight of coming home.
There is something profound about opera – the magical coming together of voice, music, story, and staging - that accounts for the long history and continued popularity of the art form.
More than just entertainment, opera has a mysterious power to move us, notwithstanding, it has to be said, that credulity is sometimes strained by the plots and storylines.
I thank State Opera for sharing this magic with the people of South Australia for the past 50 years.
There has of course been a vice regal connection with the State Opera of South Australia since the company’s creation.
In 1976 His Excellency the Honourable Sir Mark Oliphant gave assent to the legislation creating State Opera as a statutory authority.
According to the vice regal news, on the 19th of August that same year, he and Lady Oliphant attended the opening night performance of La Bohème, the first performance of the newly formed company.
Rodolfo that evening was played by Thomas Edmonds, whose biography I had the pleasure of launching in 2024.
Thomas is with us this evening.
That inaugural performance was, in many ways, the beginning of a story of notable contribution to South Australia's artistic and cultural life.
It’s a story that includes Australia's first Ring Cycle in 1998, and the profound impact of productions such as Nixon in China and more recently Moby Dick.
It’s a story that, more recently, has also included a world-first collaboration with Opera Hong Kong on The Magic Flute.
Last week, while on an official visit to China, it was my great pleasure to join Mark Taylor for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two companies which will see a further co-production of Hansel and Gretel, to be performed in Adelaide this August and Hong Kong next year.
I am also pleased that, during a visit to Adelaide in 1986, Her Late Majesty the Queen had the opportunity to attend a State Opera performance – a musical theatre production of Boojum in the Scott Theatre.
Friends,
Standing steadfastly behind State Opera are The Friends, the most consistent and loyal supporters of State Opera across these fifty years.
During this time you have donated to mainstage productions, provided grants for young and emerging artists, and sustained community engagement.
I am heartened, too, by the milestones The Friends have achieved: the publication of Through the Opera Glass in 1991, the establishment of the Dawn Wallace Award, and your ongoing support of young artists.
I am pleased to have with us this evening Mary Handley, my Walford music teacher, but, more relevantly for this evening’s celebration, inaugural President of The Friends.
Mary’s vision and the contribution of distinguished life members have helped shape what the organisation has become.
I thank, sincerely, the past and present State Opera board, artistic directors, executive directors, and all the staff who have dedicated themselves to State Opera over five decades, and I extend my deepest gratitude to every donor and supporter.
You invest in what you cherish, and South Australia is the richer for it.
As we look to 2026, with its season of fairytale performances - each reimagined for contemporary audiences while honouring the traditions of the company's first fifty years - I am deeply encouraged by State Opera's unwavering vision and dedication.
May State Opera South Australia continue, for the next fifty years and beyond, to elevate voices, deepen ties between communities, and remind us all, as only opera can, that the human story, in all its drama and beauty, is very much worth telling.