In his first program for State Opera of South Australia, newly appointed Artistic Director Stuart Maunder has delivered a 2019 season full of audience favourites that’s balanced by a serious interest in Australian work. Though Adelaide operagoers will see perennial favourites like Carmen and Madama Butterfly, they will also get the chance to discover rarely performed Australian works thanks to SOSA’s new series, The Lost Operas of Oz.

“Creating new opera is very important to State Opera, but often in the push to produce new work, many great works only receive one outing,” Maunder said. “In 2019, State Opera will be leading the charge to showcase existing Australian opera. Not only are we dedicated to creating more opera, but we are reflecting on history and creating an opportunity for audiences to engage with these fantastic pieces.”

Boojum! Photo supplied

First performed by SOSA in 1986, Martin Wesley-Smith’s Boojum! receives its second Australian performance at the Dunstan Playhouse in July after critically acclaimed performances in America. Based on Lewis Carroll’s madcap poem The Hunting of the Snark, it’s a genre-defying work that captures the author’s eclectic, witty...