Opera Australia has launched a free online streaming service called OA | TV: Opera Australia on Demand.

It’s something that OA Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini has been keen to develop for some time. When the company found itself unable to perform live because of the COVID-19 restrictions, the challenging situation proved to be the spur to make a digital program happen.

Dame Joan Sutherland in Lucia di Lammermoor (1980). Photograph © Branco Gaica/Opera Australia archives

OA | TV will feature exclusive content from its back catalogue, which includes the world’s most comprehensive collection of performances on video by Dame Joan Sutherland. It will also stream the Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour productions.

On top of that there will be a new series of chat show-style interviews called In Conversation with Lyndon Terracini, in which the OA AD will talk with singers, instrumentalists, directors, conductors, designers and technical staff. The interviews will be recorded in the Joan Sutherland Studio at the Opera Centre in Sydney. “It’s now our TV studio,” says Terracini.

New content will be added to OA | TV each week, while the content already posted will continue to be available on demand.

The platform launches...