State Opera South Australia returns to a newly renovated Her Majesty’s Theatre in November with its production of Richard Mills and Peter Goldsworthy’s operatic take on Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. The 1996 opera – based on Ray Lawler’s iconic play set in 1950s Melbourne – will receive its third ever staging as part of SOSA’s Lost Operas of Oz initiative, which showcases Australian operas.

Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. Photo courtesy of State Opera South Australia

According to SOSA, there are a number of factors – a cast of seven singers, a small orchestral ensemble, and that it’s a new production – that make the season possible in spite of the current travel restrictions, international logistics, and work health safety considerations.

“We are fortunate that the creative flexibility in our new production of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll means that we can go ahead and present it as scheduled, in the glorious new Her Majesty’s Theatre,” said SOSA Artistic Director Stuart Maunder. “Doll holds such a special place in the collective heart of so many of us that it seems a fitting tribute to the Australian creative spirit that...