When Opera Australia (OA) announced its 2023 Melbourne season last September, there was a strong backlash from opera supporters in the southern state.Â
While Sydney audiences would be treated to revivals of Aida, Rigoletto, Don Giovanni and La Bohème plus two new productions of The Tales of Hoffmann and Adriana Lecouvreur, in Melbourne there were to be no staged operas and just two concert performances at the Melbourne Recital Centre.