Australia Yearbook - 2001

Chapter 12—Culture and recreation 511
12.17 ATTENDANCE(a) AT THE PERFORMING ARTS—1999
Dance performance Opera/Musical
Theatre
Other performing arts
Attendees
’000
’000
’000
’000
Sex
Male 496.0 876.6 993.0 1 170.6
Female 848.9 1 553.8 1 471.9 1 477.3
Total 1 345.0 2 430.4 2 464.9 2 648.0
Age
15–24 years 242.5 394.2 477.0 468.5
25–34 years 267.6 486.6 500.2 631.0
35–44 years 311.5 449.4 486.7 678.3
45–54 years 270.1 505.6 492.9 404.2
55–64 years 134.8 297.8 269.8 225.1
65 years and over 118.5 296.9 238.4 240.9
Birthplace
Australian-born 962.4 1 859.2 1 888.2 1 999.4
Overseas-born 382.6 571.2 576.7 648.5
(a) Attendance in the 12 months prior to interview.
Source: Attendance at Selected Cultural Venues, Australia, April 1999 (4114.0).
12.18 OPERA AUSTRALIA, Key Indicators(a)
1996 1997 1998 1999
no. no. no. no.
Employees 1 295 1 212 1 175 1 118
Performances 249 243 237 237
Attendances 284 500 293 300 268 866 290 770
(a) Excludes operations of the Australian Opera and Ballet
Orchestra. Excludes Victoria State Opera before 1997.
Source: Opera Australia.
Opera Australia
The result of a 1997 merger between The
Australian Opera and the Victorian State Opera,
the newly formed Opera Australia is more highly
reliant on box office receipts than many of the
world’s arts companies. Unlike many other
government and privately funded arts
organisations, 65% of Opera Australia’s revenue
comes directly from ticket sales.
With an extensive repertoire spanning the history
of opera, almost 250 performances are staged
each year (table 12.18). This makes the company
the third busiest in the world after the Vienna
State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, New
York. To make this heavy schedule feasible, the
company engages a full-time opera chorus and
two resident orchestras—The Australian Opera
and Ballet Orchestra, based in Sydney, and the
State Orchestra of Victoria in Melbourne.
The Australian Ballet
The Australian Ballet gave its first performance in
1962, and since then it has been the defining face
of ballet in Australia. The company has gained a
reputation as one of the top ballet companies in
the world. It has received international acclaim
for its presentations of great ballet classics, as well
as modern repertoire created by Australian and
international choreographers.
In 1999 the company presented 20 performances
overseas in Auckland, Singapore, Shanghai,
New York and Washington (table 12.19).