The Drover's Wife at Sydney Opera House
Friday 7 August 2026 from 7:30pm to 10pm Sunday 9 August 2026 from 2pm to 4:30pm Tuesday 11 August 2026 from 7:30pm to 10pm Saturday 15 August 2026 from 12:30pm to 3pm
Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, including one interval.
Molly Johnson is the Drover’s Wife, a woman, a survivor, a force of nature. She faces down snakes, mad bullocks, and predatory men as she cares for her children in the remote Snowy Mountain ranges while her husband works away, droving sheep.
Leah Purcell’s adaptation of Henry Lawson’s classic short story gets the operatic treatment in this monumental new work with a ravishing score by George Palmer. Emotional melodies, lush orchestration and operatic grandeur meet contemporary Aboriginal storytelling in this season highlight.