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SHAUNTAI ABDUL-RAHMAN

@shauntai___

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Wiradjuri Soprano, Composer, Theatre Maker
www.shauntaiabdul-rahman.com

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26.101 - The Drover's Wife captures the epic scale of Henry Lawson's work, following Mrs. Molly Johnson through harsh rural Australia. Its weight is mirrored in the monumental set: a giant snow gum enveloping an ever-shifting video landscape.

The plot is quite difficult, exploring historical disrespect for First Nations peoples. Yet the portrayal of Indigenous characters as benevolent role models is a beautiful counterbalance. Yadaka's musical motif introducing himself, and Molly's childhood flashback stand out; Nina Korbe's shift in timbre is glorious.

The blocking doesn't flinch from the darker elements of the story, while the connection to the deceased is handled quite sensitively; ethereal dream sequences, Indigenous dance and music are used to great effect.

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I didn’t expect to fall in love with opera this year.

I bought myself a ticket to Turandot for my birthday in February. A “fancy night out at the opera”. I had absolutely no idea what I was opening up.

And then the music started.

By interval, I didn’t want an interval. I just wanted it to keep going.

Opera is almost absurd in how much it throws at telling us a story.

An orchestra. Extraordinary voices. Sets, costumes, lighting, movement, sometimes dance. Dozens — sometimes hundreds — of people combining their craft to create something enormous and impossibly intimate at the same time.

And murders… SO. MANY. MURDERS!

An orchestra can tell us something a character cannot. A voice can make emotion physical. All these art forms collide to create something none could create alone.

I fell completely in love with it.

But I also fell in love with opera people.

From my first night, when the woman beside me gave me a birthday Opera 101 and confidently guaranteed I’d be back, people have welcomed me into this world.

The artists and creatives who follow, share, answer my questions and let me gush about their craft. The audience members genuinely delighted that someone new has discovered the thing they already love.

That lady in seat E10 was right.

I came back.

And back.

And back.

And it turns out Timothée Chalamet was so, so wrong.

Opera is not dead.

It is gloriously, ridiculously, unmistakably alive.

Opera Australia announced its 2027 season today, and I booked mine almost immediately.

There is still so much about opera I don’t know. That might be one of my favourite things about it.

Every time the orchestra starts, there is something new to hear, notice and understand.

So this isn’t really a post about a new season.

It’s a love letter to opera.

To the people who make it. The people who love it. And everyone who made room for one more.

Thank you, Opera Australia, for opening the door.

(And not to Timothée Chalamet.)

I cannot wait to see what’s on the other side in 2027.

#OperaAustralia #Opera #Turandot #Opera2027 #Theatreflections

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Opening night. Sydney Opera House. ✨

To see this story, The Drover’s Wife, take the stage at the Sydney Opera House is something I’ll always remember.

A huge thank you to every artist, performer, musician, creative and crew member who has poured their heart into bringing this work to life.

The Drover’s Wife – The Opera
Sydney Opera House
7–15 August 2026

Four performances only.

📸 by @renaesaxby

#TheDroversWife #OombarraProductions #OperaAustralia #SydneyOperaHouse

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The Drover’s Wife - @sydneyoperahouse Opening, Friday 7 August. Smoking Ceremony on Tubowgule by Uncle Matt Doyle, a Muruwari/Yuwalaraay man.

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Opening night of The Drover’s Wife in the Joan Sutherland Theatre @sydneyoperahouse

So privileged to continue sharing this incredible new work with the support of @markgogollartists @leahpurcell @oombarraproductions @operaaustralia @atqpac

📸: @theonlydonarnold
📸: @carlitasariphoto

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LET’S GO TO THE OPENING NIGHT OF
‘THE DROVER’S WIFE’ @sydneyoperahouse 🍃

CONGRATULATIONS @shauntai___ love you❤️

wearing @_mimco @theofficialpandora

#thedroverswife #sydney #sydneyoperahouse #opera #openingnight

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Drover’s Wife feels completely at home on the Joan Sutherland Theatre stage.

Leah Purcell’s Molly Johnson remains a formidable presence throughout: a woman surviving the brutality of the Australian bush, protecting her children and navigating a world shaped by violence, racism and increasingly complicated questions about her own identity. The performances across the company allow us to connect deeply with Molly’s struggle without ever reducing her to someone whose struggle we should pity. Whatever is taken from her, her strength remains her defining quality.

And this production gives that story an extraordinary physical world.

A magnificent hand-moulded red gum dominates the stage, part landscape and part architecture. Importantly, the design feels built for function as much as beauty: this is bush living that exists with and within the natural environment rather than attempting to separate itself from it.

Karen Norris’s lighting is exceptional, constantly reshaping that environment to carry the emotional temperature of the story. Even the enormous digital screen — and I am generally VERY suspicious of digital screens in theatre — works because it never feels like a substitute for physical design. It extends it. Together, the screen, lighting and set create an Australian bush that feels almost tangible. You can practically smell the bush air and the gums.

A beautiful and unmistakably Australian score balances opera with Indigenous singing, dance and movement, each never overwhelming the other. For the first Indigenous opera to take the Joan Sutherland Theatre stage, that combination feels particularly significant: a European artistic tradition being expanded by the cultural and musical traditions of the country in which it is being performed.

This is a production about motherhood, survival, Country, identity and the devastating racial structures of colonial Australia — but it is also a formidable piece of Australian theatrical craft.

And one that feels like it belongs on this stage.

📸: @davidkellyphotographer

#Theatreflections #TheDroversWife #SydneyOperaHouse #SydneyTheatre #AustralianOpera

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where the house lights faded, cue lights came alive, stories were told, friendships were found and another piece of theatre found its way into my heart
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| The Drover’s Wife 2026 |
🪵🧺🪃🐊🪓📜🎶

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Together with @australianartorchestra and @songlines.music, we're excited to announce award-winning Wiradjuri soprano Shauntai Abdul-Rahman as First Nations Artist Residency program leader for 2026/27!

Renowned for her versatility, artistry and commanding stage presence, @shauntai___ has collaborated with leading organisations across her career including Opera Australia, QPAC, Short Black Opera, and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

As part of her residency, Shauntai will be supported to develop a new work, to be premiered at the 2027 Melbourne International Jazz Festival.

Find out more at melbournejazz.com.

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2nd last show for The Drover's Wife The Opera.
Get your tickets so you dont miss out. Link in my bio.
See you at the opera
♡
📸 @davidkellyphotographer
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#thedroverswifetheopera #qpac #operaaustralia

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It's Official, We opened The Drover's Wife The Opera on Saturday the 16th of May.

Three more shows to go, get your tickets while you can.
Link in my bio and I'll see you at the opera.
♡
📸 @davidkellyphotographer
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#thedroverswifetheopera #qpac #operaaustralia

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