The one-night-only performance, announced today, will be directed by the company’s artistic director, Stuart Maunder, with an all-Australian cast including soprano Cathy-Di Zhang and tenor Rosario La Spina as the ill-fated young lovers Mimi and Rodolfo.
“They fall dazzlingly in love, blind to any possibility that there could be a less-than-happy ending to their story,” Maunder says of the characters.

Get InReview in your inbox – free each Saturday. Local arts and culture – covered.
Thanks for signing up to the InReview newsletter.
“La Bohème has everything you can ask for in an opera. High-voltage romance and the kind of young love that storytelling was built for; some of the greatest music ever composed – all sweeping romantic lines and delicious melodies – and a weepy ending that will have you reaching for your Kleenex. All wrapped up in a tight two hours.”
The cast for the March 26 performance also includes Desiree Frahn (Musetta), Samuel Dundas (Marcello), Jeremy Tatchell, Pelham Andrews and Douglas McNicol, who will be joined by the State Opera Ensemble and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra under conductor Simon Bruckard.
Bohème on the Beach will be the first large outdoor production by State Opera since it presented Carmen in the Square to a sold-out audience in Victoria Square in March 2019. It had planned to present Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana at Memorial Drive in 2020, but was forced to cancel the performance due to COVID-19. (The ASO is now presenting Carmina Burana as part of its Festival of Orchestra at the Adelaide Showground next month.)
Tickets for Bohème on the Beach at Glenelg Beach go on sale today, with options ranging from general admission (sitting on the sand) to reserved seating and premium packages.
Support local arts journalism
Your support will help us continue the important work of InReview in publishing free professional journalism that celebrates, interrogates and amplifies arts and culture in South Australia.
Donate Here