Opera Australia is facing increases in production costs of up to 40 per cent, forcing the country’s largest performing arts company to seek more donations and sponsorships to repair a balance sheet already damaged by the pandemic.

Opera Australia’s annual report for 2022, released on Wednesday, revealed an operating deficit of $447, 878. It was a sobering turnaround from the $39.6 million surplus recorded in 2021, although that number was skewed by OA’s emergency sale and leaseback of its props warehouse in inner-Sydney for a $37 million net gain, and higher levels of one-off government support during lockdowns.