Queenstown will host the world premiere of Rita and Douglas, which tells the story of a brief but passionate affair between two of New Zealand's renowned artists, during the 2011 Festival of Colour.
At the Queenstown launch of the festival, now in its fourth year, director Philip Tremewan said for the first time a four-night season would be held in the resort, an area which had previously been omitted from the schedule.
"We're pleased to be here and we're pleased to bring a substantial programme here."
The highlight of the Queenstown calendar would be the performance of Rita and Douglas, starring Jennifer Ward-Lealand as painter Rita Angus and featuring Michael Houston playing piano pieces composed by Douglas Gordon Lilburn.
Angus and Lilburn met in the early 1940s.
Subsequently, the recently divorced painter and the young composer had a brief but passionate affair.
Living in virtual poverty and struggling with health issues, Angus went on to produce a stunning body of work.
The pair sent each other letters during their affair, but Mr Tremewan said that after Angus died, her family burnt all the letters she had received, especially those from Lilburn.
However, Lilburn kept the letters he had received from Angus and when he died he bequeathed them to a national archive.
Rita and Douglas uses the letters from Angus and her artwork, combined with Lilburn's music, to tell the "most unusual love story".
Mr Tremewan said it was fitting Rita and Douglas should be premiered in the Wakatipu, as Angus had a history with the area and painted there regularly.
Also during the festival, the resort will host the Phoenix Foundation, named Best Group in the 2010 Vodafone NZ Music Awards.
The band has produced four albums and two movie soundtracks.
It would return from Europe for the festival, he said.
For those with a passion for Latin American dance, Ole Ola would also be performed in Queenstown, with Fabio and Ana Robles returning to the festival, Mr Tremewan said.
They attended the last festival and performed the tango with the New Zealand Army Band.
This year, they were bringing a troupe of dancers and musicians from the Robles Dance Academy to take the audience on a journey through Central and South American dance, including the Argentinian tango, the Cuban salsa and the rumba, Mr Tremewan said.
The resort had also attracted Passing Wind, a performance aimed at children and school groups.
Performer and inventor Linsey Pollak makes and plays wind instruments from unexpected materials, such as rubber gloves, irrigation pipes and a carrot.
Live looping was then used to build music by recording different layers of sound.
In Glenorchy, C'Mon Black, a play by Roger Hall about the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, will be performed at the Glenorchy Hall.
It stars Gavin Rutherford as cow cockie Dickie who has never left the farm, and who sets off on a supporters' tour to follow the All Blacks in the quest to become champions of the world.
Glenorchy will also host Guru of Chai, the story of a poor tea seller whose life is changed forever when a young girl is abandoned at a railway station and brings the place to a standstill with her singing.
New trustee Miranda Spary, of Arrowtown, encouraged everyone in the district to buy tickets to the performances.
Rita and Douglas will premier on April 12 at 7pm, with tickets $36, Passing Wind will be performed on April 13 at 1pm and 6pm, with tickets costing $25 for adults, $10 for schoolchildren, and adults accompanying school children $10; Ole Ola will be performed on April 14 at 7pm, with tickets $45; and the Phoenix Foundation will perform in Queenstown on April 15 at 7pm, tickets $36.
All Queenstown shows will be at the Memorial Hall.
C'Mon Black will be held in the Glenorchy Hall on April 15 at 7pm, tickets $36, while Guru of Chai, also at the Glenorchy Hall, will be on April 16 at 7pm, with tickets also $36.
The full programme is at www.festivalofcolour.co.nz.
Bookings open on February 21 and can be made online, by calling (03) 443-4162, or by filling out the booking form attached to the programme booklet.