Season Overview
In 2010 Opera Australia presents twelve productions which will entertain, delight, intrigue and... challenge you! The season makes full use of the wonderful breadth of talent amongst our ensemble, while also introducing international singers of the highest calibre. There are six new productions including Puccini’s The Girl of the Golden West and Tosca and the Sydney premiere of A Little Night Music. This year we also meet several exciting young directors: Julie Edwardson directs La sonnambula and Benedict Andrews explores The Marriage of Figaro.
We are truly thrilled to finally present the world premiere of Brett Dean and Amanda Holden’s new opera, Bliss, based on the novel,by Peter Carey. Bliss will be directed by Neil Armfield and will star Peter Coleman-Wright. The presentation of Bliss defines the enterprise of this Company. We are committed to creating an Australian operatic repertoire which occupies a vital place in the Company’s overall program and we believe that Bliss will be an important work in the development of that commitment. We hope that you will join us for a year of discovery, entertainment and... life amplified.
When you come to the opera you are not just having a great night out. You are coming to life. Don’t risk missing out on moments of bliss. Make this year your opera year.
Company Overview
Opera Australia is Australia's national opera company. Resident at the Sydney Opera House, Sydney and The Arts Centre, Melbourne, it performs in capital cities and regional centres, inspiring people across the country with live opera. As Australia's busiest performing arts organisation, Opera Australia gives upwards of 600 performances a year, including subscription seasons in Sydney and Melbourne and extensive regional touring and schools performances by Oz Opera, its touring arm.
The company casts its productions from an ensemble of Australian artists, with regular appearances by international guest artists. Opera Australia also manages the Sydney-based Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra (AOBO), which plays for all Opera Australia and Australian Ballet performances in Sydney. When in Melbourne, Opera Australia performs with the independently managed Orchestra Victoria.
Opera Australia’s permanent staff of around 300 people, consists of 80 singers and music staff (including a full-time chorus of 48), 70 musicians, and a further 150 people in the areas of scenic construction and painting, lighting, design, direction, wardrobe, wig-making, management, marketing and administration.
Beyond performing, Opera Australia is a national resource for opera as an artform in Australia. It maintains a repertoire of over 80 productions (including sets, props and costumes) and produces new productions every year, manufactured on site at the Opera Centre in Sydney. These productions are seen in Opera Australia's subscription seasons and also hired to Australia's state opera companies and, increasingly, other opera companies worldwide.
Opera Australia also works closely with national broadcaster, the ABC, giving live and recorded national broadcasts on radio and TV as well as producing numerous recordings to build one of the world's largest collection of operas on DVD from a single company.
Chief Executive:
Adrian Collette AM
Assistant Music Director: Tony Legge
Artistic Director: Lyndon Terracini (effective October 2009)
Telephone:
+61 2 9699 1099
Fax:
+61 2 9699 3184
Email:enquiries@opera-australia.org.au
www.opera-australia.org.au