Opera Australia
Young Artist Program
The Opera Australia Young Artist Program is an 18-month intensive, full-time training program based both at The Opera Centre in Sydney and overseas.
About the program
Applications are NOW OPEN for the second cohort of the newly revitalised Opera Australia Young Artist Program (OAYAP). Generously supported by Principal Patron, Maureen Wheeler AO, Opera Australia’s new Young Artist Program redefines the way we discover and nurture emerging talent.
The Opera Australia Young Artist Program is an 18-month intensive, full-time training program based both at The Opera Centre in Sydney and overseas.
Up to seven (7) young artists (4-5 singers, 1 répétiteur and 1 director) will reside in Sydney (moving allowance available) and be paid a full-time salary enabling them to fully engage with the program and their career development.
Ideal candidates possess exceptional talent and demonstrate creativity, adaptability, and a passion for pushing the boundaries of our art form.
Our young artists receive vocal and dramatic coaching, language classes and career guidance combined with assistant and cover roles, event performances and mainstage work as they are ready.
Opera remains deeply relevant and exciting for today’s audiences. Through the OAYAP, we’re nurturing artists who can balance tradition with innovation, address contemporary issues, and connect with diverse communities.
To aspiring opera singers, directors, and répétiteurs; if you dream of a career in opera and are ready to dedicate yourself to this exhilarating art form, we want to hear from you. The OAYAP could be your pathway to a brilliant future in the world of opera.
“The ability to solely focus on my craft every day has been monumental, and it has allowed me to progress more than I ever imagined.” – Chelsea Burns, Opera Australia Young Artist Soprano 2025/26
See Opera Australia Young Artist Program for more information on eligibility and application criteria.
Application Summary
• Round One – APPLICATION FORM online
• Round Two – Live audition/presentation
• Round Three – Finalist Workshop, Sydney (travel and accommodation covered)
Applications close:
- Repetiteur & Director: 20 October 2025, 9AM AEDT
- Singers: 1 December 2025, 9AM AEDT
You will be advised via email if you have been successful in Round #1.
For any enquiries about this role please contact youngartistprogram@opera.org.au
About Opera Australia
Opera Australia is one of the world’s most celebrated opera companies with a commitment to develop and nurture new generations of Australian talent on and off the stage. Opera Australia is the largest and busiest performing arts organisation in Australia, with over 800 opera performances a year, including opera seasons in Sydney and Melbourne, Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour, musical theatre, opera concerts and a range of other activities. Opera performances are broadcast and distributed nationally and internationally.
The Company manages the Opera Australia Orchestra and also works in partnership with Orchestra Victoria. Opera Australia works with leading directors and designers and employs a large number of highly skilled people in the areas of scenic construction and painting, wardrobe and wig-making, stage production, management and administration. Overall, OA plays a vital role in developing and sustaining a specialist skills base in this unique area of the performing arts.
For more about OA please refer to our website: opera.org.au/
Opera Australia is committed to advancing, cultivating and preserving a culture of diversity, inclusion and belonging. The Opera Australia Young Artist Program recognizes and celebrates the diversity of the Australian performing community, and we seek to foster a more realistic and more creative representation of 21st century Australia in our programs and on our stages.
The multiple perspectives and lived experiences of our people assist us to share great stories through music and song with a broad audience. We strongly encourage submissions from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and performers of various experience, perspective, education, identity, expression and circumstance, including those of cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
