Despite exquisite vocal and musical performances, this staging of Benjamin Britten's Canticles is less than the sum of its otherwise beautiful parts, landing somewhere between performance art and oratorio.

The world premiere of this new Australian opera – a work that prompts dread as well as wonder about humanity's relationship with the natural world – was an enormous triumph, artistically and logistically.

SCO will take a new opera by Mary Finsterer to Holland, and explore Britten at home, including a musical response by Luke Styles, with a creative team in residency for both works.