The State Opera of South Australia has a new CEO at the helm after sixteen years of leadership from Stephen Phillips. Phillips who came to the Company in 1989 as Production Manager, succeeded Bill Gillespie as CEO in 1995, building the Company into what he called ‘Australia’s boutique opera company’, focusing on new contemporary works not mounted by the other companies.
Timothy Sexton, SOSA’s New CEO.
Timothy Sexton, well known Adelaide conductor, composer, previous chorus master of SOSA and one time chorus member has just been appointed to the role of CEO, as was officially announced on Wednesday 18 May. He brings a unique perspective to the role, having spent many years within the company onstage and in the pit. Having worked in and around music and performance in Adelaide for thirty years, he also brings with him a wealth of strong relationships within the South Australian arts community.
This augers well for Sexton’s vision for the company. SOSA’s ranking as a resident specialist company, garnered via its focus on the mounting of new and unique works, attracts joint federal and state government funding. Sexton hopes not only to continue this practice, but also to build on the wealth of local talent and expertise to develop and build more new productions that can, in addition to local staging, be exported interstate and internationally.
Developing Relevant Opera Experiences
In interview on 20 May, Sexton came back constantly to the notion of development – artistic, educational, and audience base. In an era with a surfeit of ‘easy’ entertainment opera, along with other forms of live, classical art forms, struggles to compete against blockbuster movies, pay TV, commercial musicals and big sporting events.
Sexton sees a need to make opera relevant for today’s audiences. The company will continue to produce the well loved standard repertoire – Verdi, Puccini, Bizet, etc – both to service the established audience and because they are magnificent works to do, musically and theatrically. But, historically, these are works that are the basis for many of the negative stereotypes that people hold about opera.
Developing further chamber operas, operas in different venues – not just the main stage of Adelaide’s Festival Centre – exploring different ways of taking opera further out into the community without committing to the prohibitive costs of touring the whole company, and structured marketing and education programs are all on Sexton’s list of things to do as he takes on the next stage of the Company’s development.
Making Opera Competitive
Arts funding in Australia is becoming increasingly competitive. Lacking, as we do, a culture of patronage as can be found in the United States and Europe, the sponsorship and government funded dollar is a highly prized commodity, chased by more and more companies and arts bodies. Sexton says that companies need to be smarter these days, and have to work harder to be head and shoulders above the rest to guarantee continuation of the funding necessary to continue to grow.
But, they also need to start looking at ways to collaborate more and share the funding so as to not lose opportunities through excessive competition with each other. Having worked with all the major performance companies in South Australia over the last three decades, he is keen to pursue options to work together more in order to further build South Australia as a creative arts hub within the national scene. That South Australian companies, and SOSA in particular, become companies that ‘create, not re-create’.
Sexton wants to bridge the transitional gap between opera and other forms of music theatre so that opera comes to be seen as part of a spectrum of music theatre options, not something separate and elitist. Dialogue between the different companies needs, he says, to focus on what SOSA can offer them and vice versa in terms of shared expertise, resources and facilities.
SOSA Next Five Years
Opera planning has gone from being in three to five year blocks, so Sexton is now heading into a busy period of discussions with the Company board, sponsors and other companies to unfold his vision for the future of the State Opera of South Australia. Given Sexton’s drive that has seen him achieve this position, it will be a very busy and creative period for all concerned.
The highlight of Sexton’s first year in the CEO and Artistic Director’s chair will be conducting the world premier of Jake Hegge’s Moby Dick, opening 27 August 2011, a five way, international collaboration between SOSA, Dallas Opera, San Diego Opera, San Francisco Opera and Calgary Opera. For details of this and other productions throughout the year visit the company website.
Karen Finch - Karen is a Sydney based freelance writer, artist and musician. To learn more, click on her name to read her profile.
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