State Opera of South Australia facts for kids

State Opera South Australia (SOSA) is a professional opera company located in Adelaide, South Australia. It was started in 1976 and is known for putting on exciting opera shows.

How State Opera South Australia Started

State Opera South Australia began in 1976. It was created by a special law, thanks to Don Dunstan, who was the Premier of South Australia at the time. The main goal of SOSA is to create and show opera performances. They want to attract many different people from South Australia, other parts of Australia, and even from other countries.

For many years, the company reported to a government arts department. Since 2018, it has reported directly to the state's main government department.

Leaders of the Opera Company

From 2011 to 2017, Timothy Sexton was the artistic director and CEO. After he left, Stuart Maunder became the new artistic director in early 2018. Yarmila Alfonzetti also joined as the executive director. They announced their first yearly program in September 2018.

In September 2022, Mark Taylor became the new Executive Director. He joined SOSA from Opera Queensland, where he had worked for 12 years.

Australian Opera Digital Library

In 2022, State Opera South Australia launched something new called the Australian Opera Digital Library. This is an online collection of operas by Australian composers. You can watch these operas for free if you sign up. Stuart Maunder helped choose which operas to include in this special library.

Amazing Opera Shows by SOSA

State Opera South Australia has put on many important and exciting shows. They are known for bringing big productions and new operas to Australia.

Famous Opera Cycles

SOSA has presented two full cycles of Wagner's famous opera series, Der Ring des Nibelungen.

• The first was a production from Paris in 1998.
• The second was an all-Australian production in 2004, directed by Elke Neidhardt.

World and Australian Premieres

SOSA has also been the first to show many operas in Australia, and even some for the very first time anywhere in the world.

• In 2010, they helped create and show the world premiere of Moby-Dick by Jake Heggie. This was a team effort with several other opera companies.
• They brought the Australian premieres of Nixon in China and El Niño by John Adams.
• Other Australian premieres include Flight by Jonathan Dove and The Fiery Angel by Sergei Prokofiev.
• At the 2010 Adelaide Festival of Arts, they showed the Australian premiere of Le Grand Macabre by György Ligeti.
• In 2016, they presented the world premiere of Cloudstreet. This opera was based on a book by Tim Winton and composed by George Palmer.
• At the 2017 Adelaide Festival, they showed the Australian premiere of Barrie Kosky's production of Saul. This was done with Glyndebourne Festival Opera.
• The 2018 Adelaide Festival featured the Australian premiere of Hamlet by Brett Dean, also with Glyndebourne Festival Opera.

Gilbert & Sullivan Festival

In May 2023, SOSA hosted a special festival celebrating the works of Gilbert & Sullivan. This was the first time such a festival had been held in the Southern Hemisphere.

Awards and Nominations

State Opera South Australia has been recognized for its excellent work.

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are big awards in Australia for music. They started in 1987.