West Australian Opera (WAO) is the principal opera company of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and is a resident company at

His Majesty's Theatre, Perth His Majesty's Theatre is an Edwardian Baroque theatre in Perth, Western Australia. Constructed from 1902 to 1904 during a period of great growth for the town, the theatre is located on the corner of Hay Street and King Street in Perth's cent ...

. The company formed in 1967 and works in close association with the

West Australian Symphony Orchestra The West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Perth, Western Australia. Its principal concert venue is the Perth Concert Hall. WASO also gives concerts at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre. , W ...

. It presents three main stage productions each year as well as the annual free event, City of Perth's Opera in the Park. The company draws from the principal canon of operatic repertoire and increasingly is involved in the commissioning and development of new operas. It has a strong education program and is involved with many concerts and community events in metropolitan and regional Western Australia. In July 2012 Joseph Colaneri was appointed Artistic Director and succeeded Richard Mills, who had previously held the post since 1997. The current chairman is Terry Bowen and the principal partner of the company is

Wesfarmers Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. It has interests predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, operating in retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety products. With revenue o ...

Arts.

History

The company was founded in 1967 by James Penberthy and Giuseppe Bertinazzo. In 1997 Richard Mills was appointed artistic director of the company. In 2007, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the company, Mills composed '' The Love of the Nightingale'' and its world premiere was staged by the West Australian Opera. In October 2014, the company and its general manager, Carolyn Chard, attracted controversy in the media in Australia and abroad for its decision to embargo '' Carmen'' from its program for the next two years because of a $400,000 sponsorship over two years by Healthway,"Politicians speak out on WA Opera 'censorship'"
by Maxim Boon, '' Limelight'', 15 October 2014 a West Australian government body established to reduce smoking and to work towards a smoke-free Western Australia. It is Healthway's policy that "smoking is not to be portrayed during any performances under the control of the sponsored organisation e.g. theatre, film and other performing arts." Australia's prime minister

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott was born in Londo ...

, state premier

Colin Barnett Colin James Barnett (born 15 July 1950) is a former Australian politician who was the 29th Premier of Western Australia. He concurrently served as the state's Treasurer at several points during his tenure and had previously held various other po ...

and state health minister

Kim Hames Kim Desmond Hames (born 24 March 1953) is an Australian politician who was a Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1993 to 2001 and from 2005 to 2017. He served as a minister in the governments of Richard Co ...

criticised the decision as " political correctness gone crazy". In 2015, WAO held the world premiere of

Kate Miller-Heidke Kate Melina Miller-Heidke (; born 16 November 1981) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Although classically trained, she has generally followed a career in alternative pop music. She signed to Sony Australia, Epic in the US and RCA in th ...

's opera ''

The Rabbits ''The Rabbits'' is a music theatre work with music by Kate Miller-Heidke and libretto by Lally Katz (with additional music by Iain Grandage), based on the book by John Marsden illustrated by Shaun Tan. As per the original book, it is an allegory ...

'', after John Marsden's and

Shaun Tan Shaun Tan (born 1973) is an Australian artist, writer and film maker. He won an Academy Award for '' The Lost Thing'', a 2011 animated film adaptation of a 2000 picture book he wrote and illustrated. Other books he has written and illustrated inc ...

's picture book. In 2017, WAO and the UWA School of Music signed a Memorandum of Understanding that explores Masterclasses, workshops and performance opportunities for the professional development of musicians, as well as the development of postgraduate qualifications to be offered jointly.

References

External links

* {{authority control Australian opera companies Culture in Perth, Western Australia Musical groups established in 1967 1967 establishments in Australia