Season Preview: Your guide to the arts in 2021

Opera Australia has announced a three-month COVID-safe Sydney summer season that embraces popular fare in Léhar’s operetta The Merry Widow and John Bell’s production of Puccini’s Tosca, as well as more adventurous choices for opera aficionados in Verdi’s Ernani and Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle.

The season will mark the company’s return to the stage for the first time since the coronavirus forced the closure of its 2020 season in March.

Julie Lea Goodwin will play Hanna Glavari in The Merry Widow.Julie Lea Goodwin will play Hanna Glavari in The Merry Widow. Photograph © Prudence Upton

Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini said that Opera Australia will emerge from COVID-19 as “a more flexible organisation”, having been forced to restructure in response to the crisis caused by the pandemic.

“It’s incredibly exciting to finally be announcing a season after the year we’ve had. It’s been really difficult but everyone has worked so hard to get us to this point where we can confidently move forward with our plans for the start of 2021,” said Terracini.

“The pandemic forced us to rethink how we...