Delight your arts-loving friends, family or colleagues with a gift subscription (or certificate) to the performing arts. Ballet, circus, concerts, theatre – whatever your passion, there are abundant opportunities for engaging with Brisbane’s thriving arts scene.
Gift subscriptions
Opera Queensland
Opera Queensland’s Season 2009 – Revelations – will take audiences on an operatic journey of redemption, justice and betrayal with a core three-opera season of the finest calibre. An opera subscription (adult or concession) for the 2009 season includes three popular operas – La Traviata, Fidelo and Rigoletto – and provides the recipient with the best seats available for the entire season plus a free subscription to Opera Queensland’s quarterly newsletter Opera News and Opera E-News and special discounts to many performing arts companies as well as selected retail and restaurant outlets. If you’re buying for someone 30 or under, there’s even a special youth discount (save up to 60% on normal subscription prices). For full details of Season 2009 subscriptions, check out the Opera Queensland website.
Queensland Ballet
Queensland Ballet: it’s young, energetic and creative. For dance devotees, a gift subscription is a chance to experience dance entertainment at its best. So what’s in store for 2009? The season gets off to a sizzling start with a new production of A Streetcar Named Desire and includes a new full-length production of the ever-popular Sleeping Beauty. You can choose between the Full Program Package (5 shows) or the Subscriber Choice Package, which lets you tailor the subscription package as you wish – just choose three or more events from the Full Program Package. For full details visit the Queensland Ballet website.
Queensland Theatre Company (QTC)
Anyone receiving a wallet-sized plastic card as a present should get excited. Chances are it’ll be a Season Ticket to the QTC, personalised with all your performance details. QTC presents a dynamic mix of nine plays each year that span the range of entertainment, from riotously funny comedies and classic dramas to exciting new theatre. Shows include Arthur Miller's The Crucible and Michael Gow's Toy Symphony. Choose between a variety of packages, ranging from My Personal Seat (you select a series to see all nine plays) to 8 Pass (a value pack of 8 theatre passes). For full details of the Season Tickets for 2009, check out the QTC website.
The Queensland Orchestra (TQO)
If you know someone who loves music, give them the gift of a 2009 TQO Subscription. TQO offers an eclectic and entertaining program, ranging from great orchestral classics, new commissions, and the more intimate Baroque for aficionados through to themed concerts of light classical music, Proms and cinema favourites. 2009 also offers special concerts featuring José Carreras or Roberta Flack. You can choose to purchase a Set Series, where the concerts are chosen for you, or you can choose to purchase a Flexi Series, where you may buy as many concerts as you wish, with a minimum of four per person. For full details of the 2009 season, see the TQO website.
Gardens Theatre
QUT Gardens Theatre has their biggest season ever in 2009. The 8 shows they'll be producing include Menopause the Musical and The Seed. They offer 4, 5, 6 and 7 show subscription packages, ranging in price from $68 to $217. Subscribers receive complimentary parking, free tickets to see student showcases and dining discounts. More details here.
Musica Viva
Musica Viva prides itself on bringing the world's finest musicians to your doorstep. Musica Viva began in Brisbane in 1956 with like-minded local music lovers joining forces to secure the world's best classical musicians for Brisbane. Now a nationwide not-for-profit organisation, Musica Viva's 2009 Concert Series once again sees the best performing in the finest acoustics: Australian Soprano, Miriam Allen (March 18), Russian Pianist Katia Skanavi (May 20), Tokyo String Quartet (June 10), cellist extraordinaire Steve Isserlis and pianist Dénes Varjon (5 August), Jerusalem Quartet with Zvi Plesser (11 November).Flexible Subscriptions start at $45 for fulltime students and $84 for under 30s, through to $292 for A reserve GOLD. For more information, to request a complimentary CD or to book, visit Musica Viva.
Gift Certificates
Brisbane Powerhouse
Nestled on the banks of Brisbane River beside New Farm Park, Brisbane Powerhouse is a hub for everything creative, including theatre, music, comedy, film, visual arts, festivals and ideas. If you’re looking for a gift to surprise and delight, give a Powerhouse experience by purchasing a Brisbane Powerhouse gift voucher. Suitable for all tastes, vouchers are redeemable for any performance or workshop at the Powerhouse, and start at $20, so they won't break your budget! For more details of upcoming events at the Powerhouse visit their website.
Judith Wright Centre
The Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley is a vibrant, flourishing home to cutting-edge arts, dance, multimedia, indigenous theatre, music and circus performances in Brisbane. Work by independent Brisbane artists and local and international musicians is shown regularly while an edgy performance program featuring electronic and world music, performance art and cabaret adds a fierce new twist to Valley culture. A Judith Wright Centre gift voucher is a wonderful present for anyone. Available in denominations of $25, $35 and $50, and valid for 12 months from date of purchase, they may be used to buy tickets to most performances advertised in the Judith Wright Centre program guide and in the centre’s “What’s On” listing.
La Boite Theatre Company
La Boite presents contemporary theatre that is up close, in your face and in the round. It’s also a company with a long history of developing and nurturing young and emerging artists and giving Queensland stories, actors and designers a stage. The company’s 2009 season at the Roundhouse Theatre will be launched in January, but some of the shows have been announced already. They're kicking off the year with a stage adaptation of Andrew McGahan's award-winning novel White Earth and following it up with The Peach Season by Debra Oswald. If your friend/family/colleague loves dynamic theatre, you can buy a gift voucher for La Boite and they can choose which shows they'll see and what dates they'll see them on. Check out the La Boite Theatre website.
Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC)
If you're looking to impress, why not buy a dinner and show package from QPAC? You can paint the town and enjoy the hospitality of QPAC's Lyrebird Restaurant plus tickets to smash-hit musical, Chicago all in the one package. If ballet's more your thing, you can get a dinner and show package to see The Paris Opera Ballet in June.
Don't want to commit to a particular date or performance? You can buy a gift voucher for one of the many QPAC performances. QPAC Gift Vouchers are exchangeable for admission tickets (subject to availability) to performances on sale at QPAC's ticketing arm, QTIX. Vouchers are valid for 12 months and the person who receives your gift has the flexibility to choose from the full range of productions during the year – splendid opera, blockbuster musicals, gripping drama, or family entertainment! They might also choose to purchase a souvenir from the Centre Stage Shop. See QPAC's website for details of their upcoming shows.
Memberships
Metro Arts
Have a hand in shaping Brisbane’s independent arts scene – give the gift of membership to Metro Arts, the city’s centre for new and adventurous work. Metro Arts’ unique combination of artistic programs, subsidised venue hire and arts business development, provides professional development support for independent artists to become sustainable in their creative practice. Individual membership is just $35 (for 12 months) and includes tickets to Metro Arts shows at members' prices, discounts at selected retailers and cinemas, and voting rights at Metro Arts' Annual General Meetings. Contact Metro Arts to receive a membership form.
