Opera Australia has appointed Jo Davies to take over as its new Artistic Director in February 2023. The British director, whose experience spans theatre, musical theatre and opera, succeeds Lyndon Terracini who departed the company ahead of schedule earlier this year after 13 years’ service.

Jo Davies. Photo supplied

Over a 25-year career, Davies has directed in the UK, Europe and North America. Her opera credits include productions at the Royal Opera House, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera and San Francisco Opera. She has directed musicals at London’s Barbican Centre, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the Welsh Millennium Centre and at the London Coliseum for English National Opera. She has also directed theatre for the Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre Wales and the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester.

Despite that, she has never run a company before. “I don’t see it as a problem, but it’s definitely a challenge,” she tells Limelight over Zoom from her home outside London. “There are lots of people who have successfully launched a career into the role of artistic director – Rufus Norris [AD at London’s National Theatre] being one of them...