The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra has cancelled the Australian leg of its global farewell tour with renowned maestro Zubin Mehta, the Sydney Opera House announced today. The Australian performances, scheduled to take place at the Sydney Opera House in March, were cancelled due to “unforeseen issues with touring logistics”, a spokesperson for the SOH said today.

Zubin Mehta. Photo © Shai Skiff

Mehta and the IPO were due to perform two programs in Sydney, the first featuring Israeli composer Ödön Pártos’ Concertino for Strings alongside Haydn’s Sinfonia Concertante and Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, and the second featuring Schubert’s Rosamunde Overture along with Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé Suite No 2 and Schubert’s Ninth Symphony. It has been ten years since the IPO last toured to Australia, though Mehta was here conducting the Australian World Orchestra more recently. The scheduled concerts were to be part of the orchestra’s global farewell tour with Mehta, marking the culmination of his 50-year tenure with the orchestra before passing the baton to Lahav Shani.

According to the Sydney Opera House tickets will be automatically refunded to all customers. “There is no action required for a refund to be completed but patrons can contact our customer...