Angel of Australia shines at The Regal Theatre
Despite a six-month COVID delay, powerhouse soprano Mirusia is letting nothing hold her back from performing at The Regal Theatre this autumn.
Born to Dutch parents in Brisbane, Mirusia has been described as the “Angel of Australia” by the iconic André Rieu, who took Mirusia under his wing only weeks after she graduated from the Queensland Conservatorium in 2006.
Mirusia’s aunt played a pivotal role in launching the soprano’s career, having called Rieu to tell him about her niece’s remarkable talent. Rieu found Mirusia’s music online and within weeks was touring alongside her and the Johann Strauss Orchestra internationally.
While Mirusia’s career has gone from strength to strength since, music has always played a prominent role in her life ever since a young age.
“When I was about four-years-old I had to go to kindergarten and I could only speak Dutch, and so to teach me English my parents bought kid’s music cassette tapes and played them for me,” Mirusia said.
“The thing they quickly realised was that I wasn’t just learning English, it was that I could actually sing all of the songs in tune after only listening to them once or twice. From there in primary school I would sing in the choir, volunteer to perform the anthem in assembly, and in high school I performed in musicals. If music hadn’t been in my life as a child, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”
Although being a country artist had originally been Mirusia’s aim, she found her voice didn’t align with the genre and was more suitable for a career in classical crossover.
“To this day I still love country music and I love all of the Australian country artists. I very much respect what they do because it’s a very difficult genre to master,” Mirusia said.
After over 10 years of touring with André Rieu, Mirusia has since established a successful solo career, which the artist found time to focus on during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was actually in Adelaide in March 2020 when my promoter called me and said ‘hey, your concert in the Barossa is cancelled, so head home and hopefully this will blow over in a couple of weeks’, and as we know it didn’t,” Mirusia said.
“I’m a silver linings person and realised it was a wonderful opportunity to spend more time with my daughter, going for walks in the park and having picnics. Rather than being on the road I had that time to spend at home.
“I also had time to record two albums and a live DVD, so the pandemic afforded me time for things I wouldn’t normally have time for. I think for all of us it was a time to reflect on what was important.”
Mirusia is now having a bumper 2022, which she described as “three years of touring rolled into one” as she travels nationwide to catch up on a variety of postponed shows. This includes her performance at The Regal Theatre on 20 and 21 May, which was postponed from 10 and 11 December 2021.
“I am so excited to perform here [The Regal Theatre] for the first time. There’s something for everyone in this show, there’s different genres: classical, classical crossover, musical theatre, pop and so much more,” Mirusia said.
“We’ve got local artists from Adelaide in Amicus Strings and Emma Kavanagh, our wonderful soprano. We’ve got artists coming from Brisbane and my musical director Shane Calderbank as well. It’s really going to be a wonderful event and I can’t wait.”
You can see Mirusia – Live in Concert at The Regal Theatre on Friday 20 May and Saturday 21 May. Tickets are available online at www.theregaltheatre.com.au/event/mirusia-live-in-concert/
