Enlightenment comes to Queensland as Brisbane breathes new life into Baroque blockbuster.

Following on from the dispiriting announcement last year that the acclaimed annual Hobart Baroque festival would not go ahead for a third year, it seems that arts impresario Leo Schofield has pulled off a major fundraising feat enabling the event to rise like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes – only this time in Queensland.

“It was conceived for Hobart of course, but if the powers that be won’t recognise that, what can you do?” Schofield told Limelight over the phone from Tasmania, where ironically he was paying a visit to thank former supporters. The organisers are clearly thrilled that Queensland has recognised the importance and significance of the event. “I have had a five-year association with Brisbane as consultant to QPAC on their ground-breaking International Series,” says Schofield. “The city aspires to be the cultural capital of Australia and in recent years has made huge strides towards that goal. Queenslanders certainly understand the value of cultural tourism which is why a unique festival of early music has such appeal.”

Full details of Brisbane Baroque’s first program won’t be unveiled until next Monday, but they have already announced that they have secured Paul Curran’s acclaimed 2014 production of Handel’s Faramondo, an opera never before seen in Australia and exclusive to the festival. “Paul makes the whole thing into almost a comedy,” said Schofield, clearly delighted to have secured a tried and tested hit for his first Queensland outing. “He has Anna Devin sing one of her arias eating a slice of pizza and he turns one of the characters into a serial panty sniffer – it’s really very funny.”

Hobart Baroque’s woes came on the back of outstanding results for revenue and audience attendance in 2014. Schofield had asked for an increase in funding to sustain growth into the future but that application was turned down with Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman saying that the State Government wasn’t prepared to offer the festival an increase on the previous year’s funding, despite five Helpmann nominations, box office records being set and attendance doubling in two years. Schofield’s response was that it was an insulting amount and that as a result he had decided to quit the state and take the festival with him. “I’m feeling a bit pissed off of course at being treated like some kind of serf but the reality is, if one is not appreciated, one doesn’t hang around,” he told the ABC at the time.

The two-year-old Festival has enjoyed outstanding success in its first two years. In its first year it hosted the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden’s first ever visit to Australia with Haydn’s L’Isola Disabitata and last year it followed that up with a superb staging of Handel’s Orlando from America’s Glimmerglass Opera. Soloists have included Catalan countertenor Xavier Sabata and the Australian debut of coloratura sensation Julia Lezhneva. It’s believed that a sizable name will be headlining the inaugural Brisbane Baroque.

Commenting on the announcement, Tourism and Events Queensland CEO Leanne Coddington said that cultural tourism was a significant contributor to the economy and vibrant events such as Brisbane Baroque were an important lure in attracting more visitors to Queensland. “Given its proven track record, TEQ expects the event to compete globally with other major international Baroque festivals such as the Valletta International Baroque in Malta, the Boston Early Music Festival in the USA, and the Göttingen International Handel Festival in Germany,” she added.

A one-off grant from the Federal Minister for the Arts will be used to “welcome home young Australian performers on the threshold of major international careers”, as well as to help emerging local musicians. “Not only will Brisbane Baroque feature leading overseas artists” says festival CEO Jarrod Carland, “it will also provide an opportunity to showcase the talents of young Australian and Queensland musicians.”

Brisbane Baroque’s full 2015 program will be announced February 2 and the event will run from April 10-18