2010 Annual Report Part 1 - Opera Australia

Chairman's Report
Dr Ziggy Switkowski
It sometimes feels that the world of opera is being buffeted by forces
of an unprecedented nature. Within much less than a generation,
economic cycles have put recurring and incredible financial pressures
on arts institutions, audience tastes shift continuously, critical opinion
and subscriber reactions condemn artistic choices, complex technology
infuses productions, demographics challenge a box office never centered
on the young, and the internet changes everything.
Yet such a feeling passes quickly. Opera, of all the arts, has chronicled
and reflected centuries of human experience, social and economic
upheavals, and successfully adapted to the times. Many things change
but some stay the same such as the quality of the opera experience
and the rich multidimensional productions. Our task is not to seek
stability but to define a path where Opera Australia moves with the
times while preserving the best of our art form and maintaining elevated
standards of performance and production. Our strategy is defined by a
growing flexibility of approach always guided by our core values and our
obligations as a cornerstone cultural institution connected to the larger
arts industry.
Rosario La Spina as Cavaradossi and
Takesha Meshé Kizart as Tosca
Tosca
Opera Australia had a fine year in 2010 as it went about delivering its
mandate as a national company enriching Australia's cultural life. Our
audiences remained strong although box office numbers present a
continuing commercial challenge. The finances resumed an improving
trajectory. Relationships with our main stakeholders – the OA family
of employees contractors and artists, government agencies, sponsors
and donors, the broader arts community – are cooperative, mature
and progressive.
OPERA AUSTRALIA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
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