Opera Australia bets on musicals, property development as losses widen

Opera Australia plunged to another loss in 2023 as box office returns dipped and materials costs soared, with the company resorting to staging more musicals and providing business-to-business services to turn things around.

Australia’s largest performing arts company made an operating loss of $7.8 million in 2023, financial statements lodged this week reveal. That was an improvement from a $9.2 million operating loss in 2022, due in part to staff costs reducing from $70 million to $65 million, following cuts that year to headcount from around 1500 to 1300.