Grammy award-winning Colombian icons Aterciopelados (Ah-tair-see-oh-pel-ah-dos) (The Velvets) bring their distinctive Latin alt-rock to Brisbane for one show only on Saturday 3 October at the Concert Hall, QPAC.

Led by songwriters Andrea Echeverri (vocals) and Hector Buitrago (bass), Aterciopelados annex and combine new wave, lounge, reggae, bossa nova, electro, hard rock, bolero, Mexican banda, house, rumba rock and straightforward pop anthems and surf-rock guitar lines.

Accompanied by some of the best musicians in Colombia, the pair is renowned for creating magic onstage as well as delivering socially-conscious lyrics that address human rights and environmental issues.

Their eighth and latest album Rio coincided with a proposed Colombian constitutional referendum that declares that access to water is a fundamental right for all Colombians and provides for maintenance and preservation rights.

“When I was growing up, the Bogota River was considered a mythic and iconic place, and now it’s a tiny stream,” Echeverri said.

“While on previous albums, we may have simply declared many of the world’s problems, we now strive to work in a more active way. In this case it is with the recovery of Bogota’s river, as it is one of the most polluted rivers in the world.”

THE TICKET
Venue: Concert Hall, QPAC, South Bank
Season:Saturday October 3
Time: 8pm
Tickets: Adult $59; Concession $49; Under 26 $39
Bookings: qtix.com.au or 136 246

Classical mystery tour

Yesterday, they were The Beatles - John, Paul, George and Ringo - but today the demand for these rock legends and the songs that made them immortal are greater than ever.

The memories will live on through the original members of the Broadway sensation BEATLEMANIA when they perform Classical Mystery Tour - a tribute to The Beatles featuring the 32 piece Queensland Pops Orchestra on Tuesday July14 at the Concert Hall, QPAC.

The four musicians in Classical Mystery Tour look and sound just like The Beatles. A hit with both critics and fans, the Los Angeles Times called Classical Mystery Tour "more than just an incredible simulation...the crowd stood and bellowed for more". The show presents some 20 Beatles tunes sung, played and performed exactly as they were written. Hear Penny Lane with a live trumpet section; experience the beauty of Yesterday with an acoustic guitar and string quartet; enjoy the rock/classical blend on the hard edged I Am the Walrus.

Classical Mystery Tour features Jim Owen (John Lennon) on rhythm guitar, piano, and vocals; Tony Kishman (Paul McCartney) on bass guitar, piano, and vocals; Tom Teeley (George Harrison) on lead guitar and vocals; and Chris Camilleri (Ringo Starr) on drums and vocals. Under the instruction of conductor Martin Herman, Queensland Pops Orchestra perfect the exact orchestra score of these memorable songs right down to every note and instrument that was on the original recording.

This is the opportunity for Beatles fans to experience a live Beatles show in the comfort of the Concert Hall.

THE TICKET
Venue: Concert Hall, QPAC
Season: Tuesday July 14
Times: 8pm
Tickets: $68 to $88
Bookings: qtix.com.au 136 246

Bangarra celebrates 20 years

After a sell-out tour of Europe and a visit to Arnhem Land to reconnect with their heritage, the critically acclaimed Bangarra Dance Theatre will soon embark on an historic 20th Anniversary Australian tour with a retrospective work called Fire.

Artistic director Stephen Page has created the work that will feature the most memorable and compelling elements of the company’s repertoire during its extraordinary 20-year history.

Fire traces Bangarra’s evolution from its modest beginnings to its current status as a respected and lauded dance company around the world. Audiences familiar with Bangarra can relive the magic and mysticism of the company’s powerful productions including Page’s Ochres, Fish, Skin, Bush and Corroboree.

This landmark production offers audiences an opportunity to not only experience the brilliance of the company’s ensemble and its creative inspirations, but a rare chance to experience a kaleidoscope of the best of Bangarra works that have brought the company international acclaim.

For new audiences it is time to discover the spirit and passion that Bangarra conveys through its unique theatrical creations, drawing on its heritage to enrich performances, while maintaining the cultural integrity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tradition, and combining it with contemporary expressions of dance and music.

THE TICKET
Venue: Playhouse, QPAC, South Bank
Season: Oct 7 to 10
Tickets: $24.50 to $55.00
Bookings: www.qtix.com.au or 136 246

Paris Opera Ballet Brisbane debut

One of the world's greatest dance companies will make a debut appearance in Brisbane in June.

The Paris Opera Ballet, comprising 100 dancers, accompanied by the Queensland Orchestra, will perform Rudolf Nureyev’s spectacular production of La Bayadère in the Lyric Theatre from Wednesday June 24.

Prior to that season the étoiles and premier danseurs of the company will participate in what will surely be a landmark in the history of ballet in Brisbane, a glittering one-off Grand Gala Performance at the Lyric Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, on Saturday 20 June.

The program for this evening will not only showcase the talents of the participating dancers, but also provide a sampler of the company’s remarkable repertoire, featuring highlights from ballets by Serge Lifar, George Balanchine, Maurice Bejart, Jiří Kylián and Carolyn Carlson that trace the trajectory of dance with 20th century contemporary masterpieces.

THE TICKET
Venue: Lyric Theatre, QPAC
Season: Saturday, June 20
Times: 7.30pm
Tickets: A Res $200; B Res $150; C Res $95; D Res $75
Bookings: QTIX 136 246 www.qtix.com.au

 

Miracle in Brisbane

An outstanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cast, including Aaron Fa'Aoso, Deborah Mailman, Djakapurra Munyarrayan and Casey Donovan, brings to life an opera composed by Giorgio Battistelli and directed by one of Australia’s most accomplished directors, Rhoda Roberts.
Produced by Brisbane Festival 2009, Miracle in Brisbane tells the story of a group of homeless Indigenous people ‘living on country’ who build a shantytown on Brisbane’s outskirts. The discovery of oil under the site leads them to acknowledge ancestral spirits and the life-changing wealth of the land, but people with powerful interests soon start making other plans.
Miracle in Brisbane, through music, dance and ceremony touches on many powerful symbolic moments, from the removal of a baby girl, the rebuilding of family, clan relations and the gradual invasion of sacred country by the city’s looming development.
Most powerfully, the message that the poor do not have a voice is illustrated by the primarily Indigenous cast. The sounds of the shantytown construction form part of Battistelli’s wonderful musical score, which features The Queensland Orchestra and Canticum Chamber Choir.
In Battistelli’s own words, Miracle in Brisbane is a form of ‘voiceless’ protest against inhumanity and highlights the incontrovertible rights of marginalised people to stake a claim in a world that ignores them. But both surprising and revelatory is the final theme of Miracle in Brisbane – hope.

THE TICKET
Venue: Performance Space, Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts
Season: Thursday, 1 October - Saturday, 3 October
Tickets: Adult $35; Conc $25
Bookings: 3872 9000

Opera at the Old Museum

Operatic soloists including Gregory Massingham, Sarah Crane, Shaun Brown and Georgia Hawes, will perform at a fundraising event for the Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital at the Old Museum. The program will feature the Australian premiere of Haydn’s L’Isola Disabitata (The Deserted Island).

THE TICKET
Venue: Old Museum, Bowen Hills
Season: Sunday  October 11
Time: 7.30pm
Tickets: from $40
Bookings: 3636 7588 or www.rbwhfoundation.com.au

Opportunity to see Beethoven's only opera

Beethoven’s only opera has its Australian premiere at the Conservatorium Theatre, South Bank on July 11.
Director and designer Marthinus Basson gives this powerful opera a contemporary new edge.
In the darkest dungeon of a state prison, Florestan, a young nobleman who exposed the crimes of Don Pizarro, the corrupt governor of the fortress, is slowly nearing death.production features The Queensland Orchestra and Opera Queensland Chorus and is sung in German with English surtitles. Running time – approximately two hours and forty-fi Florestan’s wife, Leonore, is determined to find him and has disguised herself as a young man, Fidelio, working for Rocco, the head jailer. When Rocco’s daughter, Marzelline, falls in love with Fidelio – to the annoyance of Jaquino, a janitor who is also in love with her – Leonore finds faith, courage and compassion, and risks her life to bring freedom to her husband, in turn liberating the entire prison.

THE TICKET
Venue: Conservatorium Theatre, South Bank
Season: July 11 to August 1
Tickets: $46 to $78
Bookings: 136 246