In exciting news, it was announced this week that Lucy Turnbull has been appointed chair of the Sydney Opera House. In this world exclusive, The Australian Financial Review’s culture buff, Ms Rowena Utzon-Hughes, takes a sneak preview at the exciting operatic feast we can look forward to.

Verdi’s La Turnbullata: The tragic tale of a young boy destined for greatness whose cold and heartless mother runs off to join the circus, leaving the lonely boy with nothing but his extraordinary gifts and talents and the prophesy of his wealthy grandmother that he will grow up to become the smartest person in the room. With its infectious melodies, this gem of an operetta captures the delightful aristocratic air of self-indulgence of the “bien pensants” of Sydney’s “belle époque” of the early 1960s.