Opera Australia is promising a "glittering reimagining" of La Bohème, Puccini's tragedy of star-crossed lovers in Paris, ahead of opening night at Sydney Opera House on Saturday.
Performed by an all-Australian cast, the production moves the action of one of the world's most popular operas forward about 100 years from 1830s Paris to 1930s Weimar Republic Berlin.
The company said opera-goers could expect the fresh take on the original bohemian love story to transport "audiences to the dazzling fishnets and fairy lights world" of the late Weimar era - a time of cultural flourishing in Germany.
There would be glamorous costumes and grand sets to go with the "universal themes of love, friendship and loss", Opera Australia said.
"La Bohème is a story that transcends time and place and has been moving audiences around the world for generations," it said.
Opera Australia - the nation's largest performing arts company - hopes the fan-favourite can boost box office takings as it tries to turn around a 2024 slump in audience numbers and an operating deficit of $10.6 million.
It is also trying to bounce back from 2024's loss of Jo Davies as artistic director, which it blamed on differences of opinion on artistic innovation and commercial imperatives.
The company this week named Alex Budd, current director of Canberra Theatre Centre, as its new boss, seven months after Fiona Allan abruptly left the top job at the Sydney-based company.
In announcing Mr Budd's appointment, Opera Australia said it backed him to strengthen its position as "the nation's premier opera company".
Other key changes place Glyn Davis as board chairman and Italian maestro Andrea Battistoni as music director.
Marking its 70th anniversary this year, Opera Australia has also recently announced a return to some of its milestone productions.
Its Sydney 2026 program includes Moffatt Oxenbould's production of Madama Butterfly and Graeme Murphy's The Merry Widow.
In Melbourne, highlights are the city's first new production of La Bohème in 15 years, as well as La Traviata directed by Sarah Giles.
