Your guests think two sommeliers have arrived to run a wine presentation. One of them clearly knows her craft. The other is winging it. The banter sharpens, the mistakes pile up, and then — mid-sentence — one of them starts to sing. Full operatic voice, no warning, no backing track needed. The room takes a few seconds to catch up. That moment is the whole reason this act exists.
We are Jon and Rebecca Bode. We met as soloists at Opera Australia in 1997, married in 2000, and spent years performing lead roles across Europe, America, Asia and the Middle East before returning to Melbourne. The Singing Sommeliers grew out of a simple observation: audiences respond to opera most when it ambushes them.
The act runs as a plant. We arrive in character, mingle as wine experts, and begin what appears to be a legitimate tasting. The reveal builds through comic bickering into full performance — arias from Carmen, La Bohème and others, rewritten with English lyrics tailored to your event, your people and your in-jokes. We research your organisation beforehand and write material specific to the night. No two shows are the same because no two rooms are the same.
It suits corporate dinners, gala events, milestone birthdays and weddings — anywhere guests are seated, fed and not expecting a thing. The act needs no stage, no special lighting and minimal technical support. We have performed it in ballrooms, wineries, marquees and boardrooms. We are based in Melbourne and perform Australia-wide.
If you are considering it for an event, tell us the occasion, the venue and the audience, and we will tell you honestly whether the act will land. It usually does. When it does not suit — very loud rooms, standing cocktail crowds with no focal point — we will say so and suggest alternatives.
Contact us through the booking page to check availability.