On being reminded of the brilliance of Australian artists.

This week we’ve been reminded of the brilliance of Australian artists, not once, but twice. Firstly on Monday the 15th annual Helpmann Awards recognised the achievements of the past year’s best performing arts events. As expected many of the biggest companies took home the top gongs, with Cameron Mackintosh, Sydney Dance Company and Sydney Theatre Company all taking home multiple laurels. However perhaps the most interesting success of the night was that of Leo Schofield’s Brisbane Baroque, which swept the opera categories winning five bobbys for its production of Handel’s Faramondo. This must surely have been a moment of blissful validation for Schofield, who after resurrecting his Hobart-based festival in Queensland in response to inadequate state funding from the Tasmanian Government, managed to dominate the goliath competition of Opera Australia in just about every category; a demonstration that big budgets and abundant funding are not the only paths to achieving great art.

On Wednesday night, the Sydney Opera House’s concert hall welcomed an astonishing legion of Australia’s most talented orchestral players, united under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle for the Australian World Orchestra’s 2015 season. The tangible electricity of the audience’s...