Opera Australia resorted to taking a loan from a director to shore up operations in the wake of financial stress from its staging of Sunset Boulevard, while chief executive Fiona Allan is leaving after just over three years in the post.

OA chair Rod Sims confirmed on Wednesday that a “low seven figure” loan from a director had been made in the last quarter of 2024, an extraordinary step which together with the departures of its CEO and artistic director in the last six months, and a hastily-called governance review from the federal government, adds to a sense of crisis at Australia’s largest performing arts company.