New productions, international collaborations and Australian premieres define Opera Australia’s 2027 season, its most expansive in years, thanks to Melbourne’s return to full repertory programming.

Opera Australia will mount a broad-ranging 2027 season built around major new productions, international collaborations and Australian works. The company’s program spans everything from Wagner and Puccini to Gilbert & Sullivan, with new productions sharing the stage with established repertoire.

It also reflects the growing influence of Music Director Andrea Battistoni and incoming Director of Opera Amy Lane, who officially joins the company in September but has already contributed to planning the season.

Tannhäuser. Image © Opera Australia

Among the season’s headline attractions is the world premiere of Sir David McVicar’s new production of Wagner’s Tannhäuser, to be staged exclusively in Melbourne in November 2027. It will be Opera Australia’s first new production of the work in almost three decades and forms the centrepiece of a Melbourne season consisting entirely of premieres. Battistoni will make his Melbourne conducting debut with this production.