After a much-criticised 2023 season that saw no staged operas performed in Melbourne, Opera Australia’s newly announced program for the upcoming year promises an improved balance between the country’s two biggest cities.
New artistic director Jo Davies’ inaugural season with the company brings together a mix of classic operas, new productions and inspired collaborations, delivering for both Sydney and Melbourne.
The Company of Tosca in Opera North’s 2023 production of Tosca.Credit: James Glossop
“The plan is to try to really expand the repertoire as much as we can and just look at different things, different opportunities, really, for creatives to explore different stories,” says Davies.
“Some of the key considerations in putting together the program have been to be a real champion of homegrown talent, to really focus on Australian creative artists and Australian casting,” she says. “It was also personally very important to me that we brought fully staged works to Melbourne.”
One key example of this is Eucalyptus, a new opera inspired by Murray Bail’s novel of the same name. Presented in collaboration with Victorian Opera, it will have its debut in Melbourne before moving on to the Brisbane Festival. “It’s a piece that Opera Australia commissioned and have been working on for some time,” explains Davies. “And it’s a really brilliant collaboration between four major arts organisations, which I’m really, really proud of.”
Another debut is Breaking the Waves, a semi-staged concert inspired by the 1996 Lars von Trier film, directed by artistic director of Melbourne Theatre Company Anne-Louise Sarks, and composed by Missy Mazzoli. “She’s one of the most incredible female composers of our generation, and I think it’s really important that Melbourne get to hear her work,” says Davies.
Sydney’s season includes Gilgamesh, an epic new work by The Picture of Dorian Gray’s Kip Williams performed at Carriageworks, and Australian Brett Dean’s operatic treatment of Hamlet directed by Neil Armfield.
Armfield will also be directing the oratorio Watershed, which tells the harrowing true story of the drowning of Dr George Ian Ogilvie Duncan in Adelaide in 1972. The production had its premiere at the 2022 Adelaide Festival to mark the 50-year anniversary. “It’s not a local scandal,” Davies says. “It’s a national scandal – so it needs a national voice.”
Rounding out the Sydney season are Il Trittico, made up of three one-act Puccini operas, Mozart’s comedy Cosi Fan Tutte and the musical West Side Story.
Shared between the states will be Tosca, The Magic Flute and a touring production of La Boheme. Also on the program is a new production of Sunset Boulevard, marking soprano Sarah Brightman’s return to the stage after a 34-year absence. “I’m really excited that she’s going to come and play Norma Desmond for us,” says Davies.
Opera Australia’s new artistic director Jo Davies.Credit: Daniel Boud
The closure of the State Theatre in Melbourne has led to some creative programming and an eclectic list of venues which include Margaret Court Arena, Geelong Arts Centre, Hamer Hall, Palais Theatre, Princess Theatre and even Federation Square.
“This particular year, I’ve had to spend more time programming Melbourne because we don’t have a set established theatre venue. So we’ve got to be more creative,” says Davies. Rather than a challenge, however, she sees it as an opportunity.
“I’ve got to know different venues in Melbourne. And I am hoping that we’ll continue to do the same next year.”
Asked why such a large percentage of Victoria’s season is taking place in Geelong – with The Magic Flute and Chorus! both being staged there – she says it was important to the company “that we didn’t limit ourselves entirely just to the central city area”.
While the balance is improving, Sydney’s program is undoubtedly bigger, with more shows, each running for a longer season.
The New South Wales government contributes approximately three times more funding to Opera Australia than the Victorian government does, but, while Davies acknowledges this is a consideration, “it’s to do with us building back our audiences – we’ve gone from just doing concerts in Melbourne last year [and] we’re doing three fully staged operas this year. So it’s about building that back up. And I hope this is the first step in a journey.”
Davies has put together a strong first program, blending old and new, with the aim of putting Australian stories on the world stage and interrogating our national identity. She’s taking risks with different kinds of stories and new venues, but for her that is a source of excitement – catering both to their existing audience while potentially reaching a new one.
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correction
An earlier version of this story said the free concert in Federation Square would be a Puccini Gala. This was incorrect. The free concert at Fed Square is the BMW Opera For All concert. The Puccini Gala is a ticketed concert at Hamer Hall.