Seduction, shipwrecks, scandal and soaring arias.

Before Nellie Melba, there was Anna Bishop — opera’s original rebel. Opera’s Bad Girl brings Anna's wild, untold story to life, blending the music she made famous, and as a fearless celebration of a woman who dared to defy her time.

Continuing from her tour in Australia, Anna Bishop returns to New Zealand to fill you in on the details of her adventures since her last visit in 1867. A Victorian-era trailblazer and early suffragette who defied her time, Anna lived fast, sang farther, and dared to do what no woman had done before.

Leaving her famous composer husband and defying polite society she ran off with her harpist lover — embarking on a globe-trotting adventure so wild it reads like fiction: shipwrecks, tiger attacks, hostage-takings, war zones and epidemics — and through it all, she sang. To royalty. To rebels. To packed houses on every continent.

Anna's incredible story is brought to life through songs including Lucia's 'Mad Scene', 'Home Sweet Home', and 'Last Rose of Summer'.

"Opera’s Bad Girl is a thoroughly entertaining, brilliantly presented tour de force by Sarahlouise Owens..." Bill Stephens, Australian Arts Review

Canberra based Australian soprano, Sarahlouise Owens, studied at RNCM Manchester and pursued an international career in European theatres for over 10 years, including the Bayreuth Wagner Summer Festival. More recently she has been a soloist for various choral groups in Canberra, as well as an Art Song recitalist. Sarahlouise has a reputation for creating quirky programs, revealing composers obscured by history, and championing women composers. The research for Anna Bishop's story has been an all absorbing passion over several years.

Born in England, and now based in Nelson, Andrew Ward is a professional pianist, choir and orchestras conductor, as well as an accompanist.

Keywords: theatre, music, storytelling, historical, new work, international