Leah Purcell has told the story of The Drover’s Wife across play, novel, film and now opera. Each form has extended its political and emotional reach.

In opera, where the text becomes sung, breath and silence are used and the sounds of the orchestra ripple from the pit, the story becomes even more heightened.

Henry Lawson’s short story, The Drover’s Wife (1892), revolves around a woman alone with her four children in an isolated shack while her husband is away droving. She sees a snake in the house and, after putting her children to bed, she waits with her dog for the snake to reappear. When the snake eventually emerges, it is quickly killed by the woman and the dog.

The story shows the struggles of a woman alone on an isolated property, and was delivered through a white male narrator. Purcell names the woman Molly Johnson, who eventually discovers her Aboriginal identity.

Directed by Purcell and composed by George Palmer, who collaborated on the libretto, this operatic staging centres on the hardships and traumas Molly experiences and the impact of colonialism on her identity and family.

The two of us experienced this opera as a powerful vehicle to tell truths about the history of this country. It invites all of us to hear this story anew.

Here, Ren writes as a Quandamooka........

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