The report into Australia’s opera companies recommends increased funding and a cap on international singers.

The findings of former Arts Minister George Brandis’ National Opera Review have been released on Tuesday by Arts Minister Mitch Fifield to a general chorus of approval from within the industry. The review was “aimed at promoting the financial viability, artistic vibrancy and accessibility” of Australia’s four Major Opera Companies: Opera Australia (OA), Opera Queensland (OQ), State Opera of South Australia (SOSA) and West Australian Opera (WAO).

^{Stefan Vinke as Siegfriend with The Rhinemaidens in Opera Australia’s 2013 production of The Ring Cycle. Photo by Jeff Busby}

The comprehensive Report contains 118 recommendations to Governments, which it says “should be regarded as an integrated package”. These include an increase in funding of $24.1 million over four years, an appropriate balance between the numbers of Australian and international singers employed, the elevation of Victorian Opera to Major Performing Arts (MPA) status, and a package to help Opera Queensland achieve financial stability in order to retain its MPA status.

The Report also recommends that Opera Australia’s long-run musicals should not receive public funding, describing this as “a significant...