Where are the development programs for women opera directors?

Whereas state theatre companies have taken a proactive role in investing in development programs for women directors and other creatives, opera companies are accused of falling behind.

Australia’s major opera companies need to invest in development programs for emerging women directors, according to the director of an upcoming chamber opera in Melbourne. 

Katy Maudlin, who is directing a new production of Iphis for Lyric Opera at Theatre Works, said the opera equivalent of MTC’s Women in Theatre Program and similar initiatives ‘would make such a difference’ in her field. 

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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