ART SONG – OPERA – MUSICAL THEATRE
Join sparkling soprano, Katie Stenzel, and award-winning pianist, Alex Raineri, on a musical exploration spanning art song, opera and musical theatre. Featuring beloved favourites and gems, the program begins in a classical, dramatic soprano space, settles into an intimate contemporary art landscape, and finishes with high-energy musical theatre.
A sought after duo, Stenzel and Raineri have delighted audiences with their infectious joy and camaraderie time and again.
DATE & TIME
SUNDAY, 25 October
3:00 – 4:30 PM
TICKETS
GENERAL $30
CONCESSION $25
Under 18 Free
“Throughout it is obvious to hear, not only her skill, but her passion for these airs. She gives the listener a fresh outlook on the songs by giving them a modern twist and a new heart.” Thelma Harris, Golden Plec – Ireland
“Operatic performers are triple threats…And this we see in abundance in the performance of Katie Stenzel” The Barefoot Review
“Katie Stenzel’s vocal ability is extraordinary and she is luminous” Glam Adelaide
Katie Stenzel
Katie is a dynamic, coloratura soprano. Described by Limelight Magazine as possessing “a powerful and perfectly controlled upper range”, she has established herself as an engaging and multi-faceted performer.
A graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, Katie has performed across Australia and internationally with companies including State Opera South Australia, Opera Queensland, Opera Australia, Brisbane Festival, Brisbane Music Festival, The Adelaide Fringe Festival, and the Taipei Drama Festival in Taiwan.
Operatic roles have included Queen of the Night in The Sopranos, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Lucy in The Telephone, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, Valencienne in The Merry Widow, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Niece 1 in Peter Grimes, Zorah in Ruddigore and the creation of the title role in the new Australian work, Loretta. Cover roles include Despina in Cosi fan tutte, Euridice and Amore in Orfeo ed Euridice, Kumudha in A Flowering Tree, Rose Maybud in Ruddigore, Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Cunegonde in Candide. Notable concert works include Mahler 4, Messiah (Handel), Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno (Handel), Carmina Burana (Orff), African Sanctus (Fanshawe), The Mysteries of the Macabre (Ligeti), and Oratorio de Noêl (Saint- Saëns)
Alex Raineri
Hailed as a “born communicator” (The Australian), Alex Raineri lives on Jagera and Turrbul land in Meanjin (Brisbane, Queensland). He is active throughout Australia and Internationally as a piano recitalist, concerto soloist, chamber musician, harpsichordist, composer, writer, producer, and educator.
Alex is an artist ambassador for Kawai Australia and is the Artistic Director of Brisbane Music Festival and live-music venue FourthWall Arts. International tours include America, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Finland, Netherlands, Asia, and New Zealand. Within Australia, Alex has been a featured artist at many major festivals, series, and venues.
A passionate advocate for contemporary music, Alex has commissioned over 80 works and has given over 140 World Premieres and over 170 Australian Premieres to date. As a concerto soloist he has appeared with the Queensland, Tasmanian, Darwin, and West Australian Symphony Orchestras, Camerata, Orchestra Victoria, Ensemble Q, and others. Radio broadcasts include BBC Radio 3, Radio NZ, California Capital Public Radio, Chicago’s WFMT, ABC Classic FM, and all of the Australian MBS Networks.
Collaborations with notable Australian and International artists include Andreas Ottensamer, Twoset Violin, eighth blackbird, ELISION, Asko|Schönberg, Lior, Sara Macliver, Mirusia, Natalie Clein, Natsuko Yoshimoto, Greta Bradman, Karin Schaupp, Lorina Gore, Amy Lehpamer, Claire Edwardes, Li Wei Qin, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Warwick Fyfe, Jack Liebeck, Kathryn Stott, Slava Grigoryan, Brett Dean, William Barton, Sophie Rowell, Jane Sheldon, Lisa Moore, Ensemble Offspring, Orava Quartet, and many others.
Major awards include winning the Australian National Piano Award, ANAM Concerto Competition, and Kerikeri International Piano Competition (New Zealand). Alex was a recipient of the Queensland Luminary Award (2021) in the APRA/AMCOS Art Music Awards and also received a Kranichsteiner Musikpries (2014) at the Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music (Germany). In 2023 he was awarded a prestigious Churchill Fellowship.