Victorian Opera will be moving to a new home from mid 2018, the company has announced. Victorian Opera, which will become a Major Performing Arts company from 2019 (a recommendation of the 2016 National Opera Review), has taken over the lease of 29 Laurens Street, just a short walk from the current North Melbourne train station and in an area set to undergo significant urban renewal.

Artist’s impression of Victorian Opera’s brand new facility. Photo: supplied

The former commercial plasterboard warehouse will be transformed into a state-of-the-art facility designed by Rara Architecture, Principal Architect Wesley Spencer, that will see the company gain a second rehearsal studio, dedicated coaching rooms for artists, a green room, a music library, a multimedia suite for live-streaming and a performance space with a stage, lighting, tiered seating, a box office and audience facilities. The rehearsal and coaching studios have been designed to be acoustically isolated so they can be used simultaneously.

“Victorian Opera has been undertaking a comprehensive search for a new home for a number of years,” said the company’s Managing Director Andrew Snell. “I am thrilled that we’ve now found this location that accommodates the...