Around 200 people turned out at Rockhampton’s Customs House last weekend to witness the two-hour farewell performance by Dimitri Kopanakis.

Dimitri was ably assisted by the very talented Liz Strelow, Lauchlan Scheuber and pianist Mary Steer during the performance.

Patrons were treated to a very relaxed and informal afternoon’s entertainment with beautiful arias interspersed with amusing anecdotes from Dimitri including some about his ‘Murphy’s Law’ move to Brisbane where virtually anything that could go wrong, did go wrong.

In particular, “Time To Say Goodbye”, Dimitri’s duet with his pupil Elizabeth Strelow; his solo rendition of “The Holy City” and the final encore duet with Lauchlan Scheuber “This Is The Moment”, brought tears to many eyes and helped produce a standing ovation that lasted for many minutes.

Central Queensland University Foundation Co-ordinator Glenys Kirkwood said: “The Foundation was delighted to be able to work with Dimitri to enable him to say thankyou to Rockhampton in such a memorable way. The fact that he is so generously donating part proceeds to an encouragement prize for a student from Performing Arts, was an absolute bonus for the Foundation.” “Plans are underway to seek a return engagement on an annual basis, with a continuing student prize the long term outcome,” she said.