Immediately after the conclusion of his eighth and final Edinburgh International Festival in 2014, the newly knighted Sir Jonathan Mills walked out the door of the festival office, down the hill and into his apartment to compose an opera. 

“Literally the next day,” he says. “I already had a functioning libretto from Meredith Oakes and had started to sketch, but that day, I started work in earnest. I did that partly because I couldn’t wait to do it and also because I think there’s no better antidote to doing a big job like [Director of] the Edinburgh Festival than doing another big job – completely different, like writing an opera.”

Sir Jonathan Mills

Sir Jonathan Mills. Photo supplied

The ‘job’ that became Eucalyptus had a long run-up to the crease. It was commissioned by the late Richard Hickox for Opera Australia in 2006. Fate intervened when Mills, who had always alternated between composing and festival direction, was offered the plum job in Scotland.

“We agreed on a postponement until I’d finished in Edinburgh. And when I knew the time was nigh, I went to [Hickox’s successor, OA Artistic Director] Lyndon Terracini and said, ‘Do you still want to do this?’ And he said,...