yorta yorta language from the opera pecan summer. the production tells the story of australia's stolen generation as it follows the attempts of an 11—year old aboriginal girl to try to avoid being taken from her parents by the authorities. with me is the writer, composer and artistic director of pecan summer, deborah cheetham, who is herself a celebrated opera singer. why did you write this opera? principally wanted to provide a platform for indigenous singers to find their way into the world of classical music. i have been singing for 20 years and i have never once shared the stage with an aboriginal opera singer wanted to encourage aboriginal singers. you said art is not just their two entertain. aboriginal singers. you said art is notjust their two entertain. what is the message of pecan summer?m is the message of pecan summer?m is important, not just for indigenous people, but art has carriage knowledge. opera is a large genre, something that can be really powerful. with pecan summer, wanted to show story from australian history with australians so they could have a deeper understanding of the shared history between non— indigenous and indigenous australians. how did the opera pecan summer help you reconnect with your story? it is quite remarkable, i was researching events that the place in 1949 which form the basis of this story, and i discovered that my aboriginal grandparents were part of the story i was writing the opera about. it was a remarkable discovery. a moment in history when the yortaested about the treatment that they suffered. the performance of pecan summer started in 2010 but this is a first for asia. an aria will be performed here in singapore. two scenes tonight with three wonderful singers from singapore. a baritone, a tanner and a mezzosoprano. for us from singapore. a baritone, a tanner and a mezzosoprano. for us it is a first to collaborate with national is from another country and, more importantly, to share an aboriginal language with them for the first time and they have done an incredible job. i am sure everyone is looking forward. to that performance. in a moment, we're going to hear deborah sing, but first let me just give you a taster of the original opera pecan summer — this is from a recent performance in sydney. (singing) well now for a real treat, deborah cheetham will sing us her song by—aami creation to the break. thanks for being with us. (sings) hello, once again. as has been the case in recent days, tuesday brought 30 degrees widely across