Being ‘evicted’ from the Joan Sutherland Theatre by the rock musical Rent seems to have been a blessing in disguise, given the Opera Australia Orchestra and Chorus’s blazing form last night.

Jane Ede, Helen Sherman, Paul Fitzsimon, Richard Anderson and Iain Henderson with the Opera Australia Orchestra and Chorus in Mozart Requiem, 2025. Photo © Jansson J. Antmann

It has long been acknowledged that the OA Chorus is one of the best choirs in the world, but given half a chance, the national opera company’s musicians are just as much at home on the concert podium as they are in the pit.

And they certainly give our symphony orchestras a run for their money!

They should. Like so many of the world’s often-overlooked pit ensembles, the OA Orchestra has to master the most diverse repertoire imaginable, servicing both OA and The Australian Ballet (TAB) during its Sydney performances.

The first half of this concert opens with the overture to Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. Such an accomplished and buoyant rendition should come as no surprise – the opera was part of OA’s winter season at the Sydney Opera House.

Under Tahu Matheson, it moves with...