Australian opera – a dying art?

Diminution, diversification, hybridity and new audiences are essential if opera is to thrive in the 21st century.

Opera Australia & Barking Gecko’s The Rabbits. Image via opera.org.au

In 2015, Opera Australia will stage The Rabbits, its first new Australian opera since the world premiere of Brett Dean’s Bliss in 2010. Composed by Kate Miller-Heidke, with a libretto by playwright Lally Katz, The Rabbits is a co-production with Barking Gecko Theatre Company, and has been jointly commissioned by the Perth and Melbourne festivals.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts