Australia’s consul-general in New York, Nick Greiner, can’t wait to get to the Metropolitan Opera in September. The grand old institution is one of the last in the United States to get the green light for reopening after a protracted battle with unions that prevented theatre workers from going near the place.

“There have not been any live performances in New York since February 2020,” Greiner says from the Harvard Club. “I am quite keen to see the Met’s production of Hamlet, which is directed by Australian Neil Armfield.”