Operantics Returns to Its First Opera: 'Così fan tutte' in 2027

By Daniel Okafor

Operantics will stage Mozart's "Così fan tutte" at Hayes Theatre Co in Sydney from Aug. 13 to Sept. 4, 2027. Matthew Barclay directs. Dr. Philip Eames conducts. It's a homecoming, twelve years in the making.

The company made its debut in 2015 at Sydney's Independent Theatre with this very opera, back when it was a grassroots collective. Now it returns to "Così" as part of Hayes Theatre Co's 2027 season, with Lyric Arts as presenting partner and the Australian Institute of Music as education partner.

What will the staging look like?

The production leans on the opera's own subtitle: "La scuola degli amanti," or "The School for Lovers." That framing treats Mozart's experiment in swapped affections as a curriculum, which suits a chamber production (a small-scale staging with reduced forces) rather well.

The venue does half the work. Hayes Theatre Co seats 111 people, and Operantics plans to use that intimacy to put audiences close to the singers and musicians. At that range, there's nowhere for a faked high note to hide.

Why does this production matter for the company?

The booking closes a circle. Operantics began in 2015 with "Così fan tutte" at the Independent Theatre, before growing into the company that now commands a slot in Hayes Theatre Co's official 2027 season.

Returning to a debut work is a statement of confidence for a small company, and doing it in a 111-seat house with named partners attached signals that Operantics now operates with institutional backing rather than grassroots improvisation. Sydney audiences can check the arithmetic in August 2027.