Opera Australia reports $10m deficit after a tumultuous year

Deficits have mounted and audiences have been falling for Opera Australia but its chair Rod Sims assures patrons that cost-saving changes have already been made.

Cody Simpson in a rehearsal before an Opera Australia production of Guys & Dolls. Opera Australia chairman Rod Sims said Opera Australia is ‘confident of a much-improved result for 2025’. Pictures: Richard Dobson, Gary Ramage

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Australia’s largest performing arts company Opera Australia has reported a $10m operating deficit, as the board “thoroughly reviews … many aspects” of its operations.

Over the last year, OA has shed both its chief executive, Fiona Allan, and its new artistic director, Jo Davies, a Welsh opera and musicals director who barely seemed to have arrived, leaving over “differences of opinion” with Ms Allan and the board concerning the balance between “artistic ambitions and innovation with commercial imperatives”.

The company is under the management of acting chief executive Simon Militano, while deficits from operations are mounting, and the board and executive are the subject of an external review.

The number of attendees reached just 362,430 across 23 productions in 2024, a 26 per cent fall on 2023, which was already down more than 600,000 on the year before. Donations decreased by $1.8 million on 2023.

AO reported a $7.8 million operating deficit in 2023 with the further slip deemed an “unfavourable movement”.

“Unfortunately, I must report that the 2024 year ended with a deficit of $10.1 million,” Chair Rod Sims wrote in the 2024 annual report.

“On a consolidated basis with the Opera Australia Capital Fund, our loss was $6.1 million.

The cast of Opera Australia's production of Brett Dean's Hamlet. Picture: Keith Saunders

“The board is thoroughly reviewing our financial position and many aspects of our operations,” Mr Sims wrote.

“Indeed, we are confident of a much-improved result for 2025 and we expect a small profit in 2026. We have already implemented new processes around Opera Australia’s forward programming, musicals, and cost control incorporating a recent review of procurement.

“As we undertake these improvement strategies, we are most grateful for the support of Creative Australia that has provided assistance and insight in a number of ways.”

In a separate statement to the media, Mr Sims said the 2024 report highlighted both the “many remarkable artistic achievements, and the significant financial challenges we have faced”.

“Australia’s national opera company, of course, has not been immune from the external pressures facing arts organisations around the world. Due to the advance planning cycles required, arts companies have taken longer to recover post-Covid, and notable increases in production costs and overheads have had an impact. But we have also experienced issues unique to OA,” Mr Sims added.

OA repeatedly highlighted the summer season was “the strongest Sydney summer box office result since 2019” with more than 83,000 people attending 68 performances, while the Sydney winter season, which included Il Trittico and Hamlet, followed by Sunset Boulevard, “fell short of the revenue target”.

Mr Sims said the “company has already implemented new processes around forward programming, its approach to musicals, and cost controls as part of the commitment to long-term sustainability” following “a thorough review of OA’s financial position” by the board.

An Opera Australia chorus in The Magic Flute 2024. Picture: Keith Saunders

“With these changes the board is confident of immediately returning to sound financial outcomes.”

Acting chief executive Mr Militano said “we have also reassessed our approach to musicals and cost controls, and further strategic initiatives and critical choices will drive us towards a sustainable future”.

“I am proud of the way that Opera Australia staff have stepped up and delivered excellence on stage despite the difficulties off stage.”

The financial statement blamed a “challenging domestic market which remains competitive with regards to live theatre, consistent cost-of-living pressures, and notable increases to production and overhead cost bases have maintained pressure on OA’s financial performance”.

OA would focus on “commercially sustainable programming, considering the balance of commercial and artistic outcomes in its annual program in a way that both excites audiences and delivers sound financial returns”, as well as cost control.