Opera Australia $10m turnaround a result to sing about
Opera Australia’s latest performance is AC/DC’s Back in Black rather than Verdi’s La Traviata.
The national company reported a major turnaround in its finances, balancing its books in 2025 after a massive loss of more than $10 million in 2024.
“It’s very close to break-even, which is great… a return to the good times is not an anomaly,” said CEO Alex Budd, who started his role in November and is part of an overhauled senior management structure.
He said improvements under acting chief executive Simon Militano resulted from more disciplined cost controls, a carefully balanced repertoire and a focus on rebuilding the company’s finances.
While total revenue reached $122.8 million in 2025, Opera Australia posted a small deficit of $36,051 before the inclusion of the company’s capital fund, with the final result a profit of $3.6 million, according to its annual results released on Wednesday.
Box office is up 29 percent in 2025, with ticket revenue rising from $50.7 million in 2024 to $65.3 million.
All of this reflected the huge increase in audiences; The number of people attending demonstrations in 2025 was just under 575,000, compared to around 362,000 the previous year.
The biggest hits were the musical Hadestown, which had audiences of 185,000 in Sydney and Melbourne, while Rent drew more than 50,000 viewers to the Sydney Opera House.
Nearly 48,000 people watched director Anne-Louise Sarks’ new production of Carmen in Sydney and Melbourne. Sarah Giles’ version of Rusalka, starring Australian soprano Nicole Car, was another notable event at the Opera House with an audience of 10,000.
The company is also relying on $25 million in Creative Australia funding, $3.9 million from the NSW government and $1 million from the Victorian government.
Budd is cautiously optimistic about 2026, predicting a small surplus thanks in part to a record-breaking extended run of Phantom of the Opera on Sydney Harbor with more than 92,000 tickets sold.
Like other performing arts companies, Opera Australia is struggling with cost-of-living pressures for audiences, a competitive market for live theater and rising production costs.
“We’ve done a lot of work on our risks and exposure to conflict in the Middle East, and our main concern that we need to manage our way through is around production,” Budd said.
Budd said the move to the Regent Theater due to renovations at the Melbourne Arts Center had worked for the company, but it had reduced the number of productions presented in the city.
The return to Opera Australia’s traditional State Theater home will mean an expanded program for Melbourne opera lovers in 2027, he said.
“I suspect that when we announce our season next year, Melbourne will be really pleased with what we have been able to bring back to the Ian Potter State Theatre,” he said.
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