By Liz Hobday
Opera Australia artistic director Jo Davies has quit, effective immediately, midway through her inaugural season.
The acclaimed British director started at the national company part-time in 2023 and stepped into the job full-time in November.
“The agreed decision follows differences of opinion about how Opera Australia should successfully balance artistic innovation, audience development and commercial imperatives moving forward,” the company said in a statement.
Davies has programmed Opera Australia’s slate from mid-2024, including Tosca, Watershed, Il Trittico and Hamlet in Sydney.
“I have loved my time working with and for artists and audiences at Opera Australia, and I am thrilled with the critical success of the 2024 Sydney and Melbourne opera seasons,” she said in a statement on Friday.
In Melbourne, the company has had to contend with the closure of the State Theatre at Arts Centre Australia, with Davies presenting a production of Tosca at the Margaret Court Arena.
With the appointment of chief executive Fiona Allan in 2021, and Davies in 2023, Opera Australia became the first major opera company in the world to be led by two women.
A review of the company’s artistic management and planning has been underway since July.
Opera Australia’s 2025 season will be announced next month.
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