Opera Australia has appointed British director and festival leader Amy Lane as its new Director of Opera following an international recruitment process, completing the company’s senior leadership team in its 70th anniversary year.

Lane, who will begin the role in September 2026, joins the national opera company after seven years as artistic director of the Copenhagen Opera Festival. Before that she served as Head Staff Director at The Royal Ballet and Opera in London.

Her appointment brings together a leadership trio at Opera Australia alongside chief executive Alex Budd and music director Andrea Battistoni, a team the company says will shape its long-term artistic direction and strengthen its international profile.

Lane’s appointment fills a long-vacant gap. Opera Australia parted company with its previous Director of Opera, Jo Davies, in August 2024 over “differences of opinion about how Opera Australia should successfully balance artistic innovation, audience development and commercial imperatives moving forward.”

Opera Australia’s new Director of Opera, Amy Lane. Photo © Westrup

Alex Budd describes Lane as “one of the most compelling leaders of her generation in the opera world,” citing her experience as a stage director and her relationships with...