Nervous wait for Opera Australia as weather plays its part

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Nervous wait for Opera Australia as weather plays its part

By Adam Fulton

TICKET sales for La Traviata have jumped following its stellar weekend premiere but the company behind Sydney's opera on the harbour remains nervous about whether its grand experiment will turn a profit.

Tickets to the first of three operas on Sydney Harbour will need to sell ''strongly'' in the next fortnight to achieve budget, Opera Australia says.

"I think that, fingers crossed, weather permitting,  we will get there if we continue at the current rate of sale" ... Opera Australia marketing and communications director, Liz Nield.

"I think that, fingers crossed, weather permitting, we will get there if we continue at the current rate of sale" ... Opera Australia marketing and communications director, Liz Nield.Credit: Marco Del Grande

''We're not being complacent about this," says its marketing and communications director, Liz Nield. ''I think that, fingers crossed, weather permitting, we will get there if we continue at the current rate of sale.''

If the weather turns nasty and sales drop, ''we have issues''. To break even, it has to sell 75 per cent of seats in its three-week run. ''Unlike anything we do in a traditional venue, it's one of those hair-raising adventures where you … really don't know where you're going to end up till very close to the end of the season,'' Ms Nield says. ''And that is entirely about weather.''

Sales had a ''big increase'' since opening night, she says. But she is cautious about the trend continuing, saying figures across this week will need to be seen. The weather gods smiled on Saturday's opening under a clear sky and the lavish production received positive reviews. Seat availability on Opera Australia's website shows Saturday nights are selling strongest, as expected, and next Saturday is virtually sold out, from a nightly total of about 3250 seats. Fridays are next in demand.

Other nights are far slower, however. At least five still have more than 800 seats to fill. The Easter exodus of Sydneysiders could hamper sales on the long weekend. Take-up is stronger in the centre two sections of seating.

Opera Australia's chief executive, Adrian Collette, has outlined plans to bring the production to cinema and television screens internationally. Securing a deal for North American TV rights was going well, he said. ''We've now got a distributor in Europe and into North America. We're also negotiating cinema releases.''

SBS has bought the Australian rights to screen the production on its pay-TV arts channel, Studio, on April 30.

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