Our Tour Leaders
All of our tours are led by academics and experts in their field who will share their passion and knowledge with you in lectures, talks and throughout the tour. Click on their profile to find out more about them.
Mairi Nicolson
Mairi Nicolson’s long and varied career as a broadcaster for the ABC and BBC has taken her from the Sydney Opera House to New York’s Avery Fischer Hall, from the Royal Albert Hall in London to Hamer Hall in Melbourne.
For ABC Classic she currently presents a range of radio programs including The Opera Show and local and international orchestral concerts, as well as broadcasts for Opera Australia and Musica Viva.
Mairi also conducts professional media training sessions with singers and musicians so they can best communicate their stories to the widest possible audience.
Current Tours:
Winter Weekend of Italian Opera | 21 – 24 July 2022 (4 days)
Opera Bellissima | 09 – 22 October 2022 (14 days)
The Mahler Festival in Leipzig | 17 – 29 May 2023 (13 days)
Testimonials:
“Mairi is a delightful tour leader and extremely knowledgeable about the music, performers and performances.’’
Margaret S. | Adelaide Festival, 2022
“Mairi is a splendid tour leader, generously sharing so many stories of operas and opera singers.’’
Susan M. | Melbourne Opera, Music and Theatre Extravaganza, 2021
“Mairi is a wonderful leader, always upbeat, knowledgeable of all things music & her interviews are legendary.”
Ailbhe C. | Adelaide Festival, 2020
“Mairi was outstanding. Her personality was warm and inclusive, and her presentations were incredibly well constructed, drawing out points of similarity or connections in a way that illuminated the subject.”
Robin S. | ¡Opera Olé! 2019
“Mairi is so warm and friendly, and obviously so knowledgeable about the music and the performers. She continually went out of her way to ensure we all had a wonderful experience.”
Helen H. | Romanian Rhapsody, 2019
“Mairi is an excellent leader and guide, very capable and efficient as well as being charming and very read with music.”
Shirley M. | Adelaide Festival, 2019
“Mairi was very friendly and her talks were interesting, helping with an approach to Verdi as a whole and to each opera. An excellent choice.”
Carolyn W. | Opera Bellissima, 2018
“Where do we start with Mairi Nicolson! We couldn’t have a better tour leader. Her talks were very knowledgeable and she was very witty at times.”
Evangelina and Carlos H. | Verdi Festival and Opera in Italy, 2016