Australia’s four major opera companies should receive more than $24m in extra federal funding over four years, according to recommendations from the long-awaited National Opera Review.
Along with the proposal for extra funding, the review also recommended that one of the companies, Opera Queensland, be given three years to sort its finances out or lose its status as a Major Performing Arts (MPA) company, which secures it government funding.
The review also recommended that Opera Australia – the country’s principal opera company – no longer be funded for the long-run musicals which have become prominent in recent years, such as South Pacific, The King and I, and this year’s My Fair Lady.
“Significant commercial activities ... should not be funded because there are viable independent commercial competitors in the market,” it said.
The review, led by business leader Helen Nugent, includes more than 118 recommendations. In a statement, the office of the arts minister, Mitch Fifield, said the government would “give careful consideration to the recommendations before providing a response”.
But Fifield’s office welcomed the “most comprehensive review of opera undertaken in Australia” which “highlights the significant role that the major opera companies play in Australia’s cultural life and the complex challenges these companies face”.
Opera Australia also welcomed the findings. “The strong suggestion that Opera Australia present more works and greater diversity of repertoire across the year is enthusiastically welcomed by me, particularly as this will mean more opportunities for Australian artists,” said artistic director Lyndon Terracini.
The National Opera Review, which was expected to be released in March this year, is aimed at promoting the “financial viability, artistic vibrancy and accessibility” of the four opera companies with MPA status in Australia: Opera Australia, Opera Queensland, State Opera of South Australia and West Australia Opera. It recommends extra funding of $24.14m over four years. “Australia’s major opera companies play a vital role in the nurturing of artists and the evolution of the art form. They are an integral part of Australia’s rich opera ecosystem,” the review said.
The review also recommended Victorian Opera be upgraded to status as an MPA company, which would secure government funding. However Opera Queensland – which recorded a loss for six years straight before a surplus in 2015 – was found to be in breach of the financial criteria. The review recommended it be given three years to reduce its overheads and increase private sector support before its MPA status be removed.
“Without continued government support, it would not be possible for Opera Queensland to continue to operate,” the review said.
Opera Queensland is not the only company under threat. Across the country there are fewer operas being staged and fewer new operas being produced, and mainstage audiences are in decline. The review had a number of recommendations to support artistic vibrancy and accessibility of Australian opera and the development of talent, including that funding agencies “engage proactively” with the companies to increase opportunities for Australian artists in leading mainstage roles. It noted that while Australians made up 92.8% of leading performances in 2010, the number dropped to 60.4% in 2016.
“The impact on Australia’s community of established operatic singers ... has been profound. This was one of the most serious and widespread issues raised with the review during its extensive consultations,” the review said. It also recommended $1.2m of funding go towards an annual innovation fund to support the creation of new works.
The review comes one day after the resignation of the Opera Australia CEO, Craig Hassall, who has been appointed chief executive of the Royal Albert Hall in London. Announcing Hassall’s departure, Opera Australia’s chairman, David Mortimer, referred to the “challenges” faced by the company; renovations commence on the Sydney Opera House in May, closing the Joan Sutherland theatre for seven months. Artistic director Lyndon Terracini has said the closure will amount to a “huge loss of income” for Opera Australia.
Increased government funding for opera could come at the expense of other arts sectors. In the most recent arts funding round announced in May, the Australia Council passed down the majority of the 2015 arts funding cuts to the small-to-medium sector. In the 2015-16 financial year, however, opera received a funding boost, ending up with $23.7m of the total Australia Council pool of $173.8m.
With the National Opera Review’s recommended increase of $6.39m in year one of the four-year incremental spend, opera would be taking in $2m more than theatre, making it second highest-funded arts industry in Australia after symphony orchestras.
The report acknowledged that its recommendations had the potential to affect the funding of the 24 other major performing arts companies that share in MPA status, as established in 2011 by the Cultural Ministers Council.
“Many of the panel’s recommendations have the potential to affect these other companies, either directly or indirectly,” it said. “The review had to deal with the complexity of crafting its recommendations mindful of the potential impact on the other companies not within its mandate.”
• This article has been amended to reflect that Opera Queensland recorded a surplus in 2015
