Opera Australia announced it will return to the State Theatre in May 2021, with two major productions, when Arts Centre Melbourne returns live performance to its stages after a year of closure due to COVID-19 and completion of the $40m replacement of the State Theatre Flying System.


The critically acclaimed production of Aida by director Davide Livermore will have its premiere on 6 May, marking the first of OA’s digital productions to be staged in Melbourne. It will be followed by one of Verdi’s rarely performed works, Ernani, a co-production with Teatro alla Scala, that will also be a Melbourne premiere.