Mezzo-soprano Louise Dorsman has performed opera in theatres, cathedrals and even caves, but says there's something special about singing in the country.
"There is an innate connection using your voice in nature, where it should naturally be," Dorsman tells AAP.
"The birds are singing, you are singing, there's a definite synergy about that.
After a beat, she adds: "Until you eat a bug."
Dorsman, who trained in Melbourne, regularly travels to rural areas with Opera Queensland's schools program, which brings music and performance to towns that may ordinarily miss out.
Children connect deeply with opera when they first hear the sound of a raw human voice in song, she said.
"It's so different to every other instrument because you can't see it, you can't just press a button and make a note, it's a whole body experience.
"I've had young kids cry - not because they hated it, thank God - but tears well up in their eyes and they're so emotionally moved by the vibration of voice on their skin."
In mid-October Dorsman will stage Opera in the Gardens in Goondiwindi, set under under a canopy of trees near the winding Macintyre River, which separates Queensland and NSW.
The Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal awarded a $25,000 grant for the opera, as part of a national disaster recovery program that funds everything from festivals and neighbourhood gardens to town hall upgrades.
The Goondiwindi region was hit by floods in 2021 and 2022, in the wake of COVID-19 lockdowns that divided border communities and separated tight-knit residents.
Organiser Viv Perry said the after-effects lingered, but a night of music would bring all corners of the town together.
"The level of depression is quite high here," Ms Perry said.
"So the ability to get out, meet people and talk lifts the spirits.
"And it's not often you get the rugby club putting on the bar for an opera."
The singers and a string quartet will treat the town to a performance of Bizet's Carmen under the stars and offer workshops to local children.
Dorsman, who also performs with Underground Opera in settings like caves and reservoirs, said the intimacy of song is powerful.
It can ease heavy feelings and strengthen bonds, she said.
"There's so many different facets to how music builds community - they're coming together, they're conversing ... and people aren't feeling so isolated.
"Music and, in particular, singing evokes emotion and expression.
"It helps people."
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