BRAVO Cruise of Performing Arts has announced the artists coming aboard for its 2025 cruise.

A star-studded lineup of international and Australian musicians will set sail on the 90,000 tonne Italian-built Carnival Luminosa for eight nights, departing from Sydney on 11 October and weaving its way through the South Pacific. Ports of call include Mare, Lifou and  Noumea.

Silvie Paladino and David Hobson share the stage on board the BRAVO Cruise of Performing Arts. Photo supplied

Among the headliners for this cruise are Ireland’s Celtic Tenors, who bring their fusion of classical and contemporary music to the Luminosa‘s lyric-style theatre. With a history spanning over 25 years, the Echo Award-winning group has sold over one million albums. This appearance marks the group’s first return to Australia since 2019.

Co-headlining is Australian star of stage and screen David Campbell. Best known as the host of Channel Nine’s Today Extra, Campbell is an icon of cabaret, theatre and musical theatre whose credits include starring roles in North By Northwest, Dream Lover: The Bobby Darin Musical and Sondheim’s Assassins. He was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to entertainment and the arts in 2019. 

Powerhouse vocalists dominate the program. Soprano Silvie Paladino (who is performing as Sarah Brightman’s alternate in Opera Australia’s upcoming production of Sunset Boulevard) and tenor David Hobson, renowned for his performances in opera, concert and musical theatre, will be aboard. Having performed with BRAVO since its first cruise in 2014, acclaimed conductor and Limelight columnist Guy Noble returns to lead The Metropolitan Orchestra, the cruise’s resident musical ensemble.

The BRAVO Choir conducted by Jonathon Welch. Photo supplied

Peter Coleman-Wright is another returning favourite. His performance alongside Cheryl Barker in excerpts from Tosca is one of Noble’s cruising highlights. Argentinian-Australian baritone José Carbó and The Man from Snowy River star Tom Burlinson are also performing, alongside vocalists Michael Cormick, Rachael Beck, Rhonda Burchmore, Damien Leith and rising star Georgia Wilkinson, who is currently starring in a European production of The Phantom of the Opera.

There’s also a chance to join in on the action: for those seafarers who are musically-inclined, the BRAVO Sings Choir takes on guests across all levels of singing as led by conductor and vocalist Jonathan Welch. Alternatively, the BRAVO Community Choir welcomes those who sing in choirs back on land. 

Carnival Luminosa, with a capacity for more than 2,000 guests, features an 800-seat main theatre, as well as a gym, spa, basketball court, nightclub arcade, library and a variety of bars and dining options. The cruise will also offer a range of theme nights, interactive activities and events.

“[It’s] a huge festival, a feast of music as it is of food. The music never runs out and nor does the food,” Noble told Limelight. “It’s amazing how many people come up to me and are joyful about the experience because … it’s like a big, floating hotel where the performers come to the audience.”

More about the 2025 BRAVO Cruise of Performing Arts can be found here.