Opera Australia has announced two outdoor spectaculars for 2022. Not only will Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour return in March, but another Sydney Harbour opera event will open on Cockatoo Island in November.

Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini has revealed that the show taking to the Sydney Harbour stage in 2022 will be Andrew Lloyd Webber’s blockbuster musical The Phantom of the Opera, in a brand new production directed by Simon Phillips and designed by Gabriela Tylesova.

Opera on Cockatoo Island

A render of the design for the inaugural Opera on Cockatoo Island, Carmen. Image courtesy of Opera Australia

In a new venture, OA will stage Carmen in the industrial surrounds of Cockatoo Island, in a bespoke production directed by Liesel Badorrek, who was Assistant Director on West Side Story on Sydney Harbour. Tickets will be available for seats on the island as well as for people on private boats at special moorings.

The HOSH announcement means that OA will be presenting two productions of The Phantom of the Opera in 2022. Cameron Mackintosh’s new staging, starring Josh Piterman in the title role, was scheduled to open...