By Nick Galvin
Opera Australia, the nation’s biggest performing arts company, is in turmoil following the shock departure of artistic director Jo Davies barely 18 months after she took up the high-profile role.
Staff were only informed of the development on Friday morning, with Davies due to clear her desk by the end of the day.
The departure of the woman in Opera Australia’s most senior artistic role comes at a crucial time for the company, which, after reports of bullying and harassment and the sudden exit of its former artistic director, had started to rebuild its critical and commercial reputation.
On the outer: Artistic director Jo Davies is abruptly leaving Opera Australia.Credit: Daniel Boud
The precise reasons behind the abrupt decision are unclear, however, there has been widespread speculation in the Sydney arts community of a deepening personal and professional rift between award-winning director Davies and OA chief executive Fiona Allan.
A veiled statement from OA said Davies’ departure followed “differences of opinion about how Opera Australia should successfully balance artistic innovation, audience development and commercial imperatives”.
Board chairman and former ACCC chair Rod Sims denied the company was in crisis.
“These things happen in organisations all the time,” he said. “It doesn’t mean we are right, it doesn’t mean she is right it just means we come at things in a different way.”
He also sought to downplay the importance of the role of artistic director.
“We’ve got a team in place, we don’t rely on one person,” he said.
Highlighting the unusual nature and timing of the departure, Davies was due to do a round of media interviews next week ahead of the announcement of her summer season on September 17. She was also to direct next year’s Opera on the Harbour production, Guys and Dolls. Slated for March and April, Opera on the Harbour is a major money spinner for Opera Australia.
Opera Australia Chairman Rod Sims has denied the company is in crisis.Credit: Jamila Toderas
“It has been a really challenging time,” said Davies, the first woman to be appointed artistic director in the history of the company. “I’m leaving because there is a real difference of opinion on how OA should balance its artistic ambitions with its commercial imperative.”
Details of the settlement reached between OA and Davies are being kept under wraps and she would not say whether she had signed a confidentiality agreement as part of the deal, saying only that was “a question for OA”.
On the question of a personal rift between her and Allan she would say only that there “were differences of opinion, certainly”, adding, “I can’t really say any more than that”.
Davies’ unexpected departure comes as OA wraps up her critically acclaimed inaugural winter season. The centrepiece was Brett Dean’s award-winning Hamlet, along with new productions of Il Trittico and Tosca and Neil Armfield’s production of Joseph Twist’s Watershed.
Brett Dean’s Hamlet has been a critical success for the company this season.Credit: James Brickwood
Davies’ appointment as artistic director was announced with much fanfare in December 2022 and presented as a fresh chapter following the sudden departure of veteran Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini, who quit 15 months before his scheduled departure date.
At the time, Allan told this masthead the appointment was emblematic of a “generational change”.
“We recognised we needed to be more reflective of 21st century Australia,” she said. “And two women at the helm is real generational change at Opera Australia. We hope this appointment will herald a new era of renewal for the company.”
Davies’ appointment came at a particularly difficult time for Opera Australia. Battered by COVID cancellations and the forced sale of its vast Alexandria warehouse, the company was then hit by a series of high-profile departures followed by allegations of bullying.
In April 2022, a leaked internal report found that one in three staff believed bullying and harassment were a problem at the company.
“We need to make our workplace safe and supportive for all who are here – there is no place for bullying, harassment or other poor behaviours,” Allan said to staff at the time in an internal memo. “We need to create a culture where people feel able to speak up without fear of retribution. I am committed to working with you all to make change.”
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