Opera Australia’s Artistic Director Jo Davies Resigns After Nine Months

Unresolvable conflicts between Opera Australia’s executive management and the company’s artistic director, Jo Davies, have resulted in her departure just nine months into the role.

Although Davies’ departure announcement seemed sudden on Friday, sources within the company told Guardian Australia that personal conflicts between Davies and OA’s chief executive, Fiona Allan, necessitated third-party mediation earlier this year.

Ultimately, the board sided with Allan. The company released a statement mentioning that Davies’ departure stemmed from “differences of opinion about how Opera Australia should successfully balance artistic innovation, audience development, and commercial imperatives moving forward.”

The chair of the OA board, Rod Sims, mentioned that Davies’ contract was severed prematurely by mutual agreement. Sims also said that the mediation attempt—which he referred to as a single “coaching” session—was “not a relevant issue” to Friday’s announcement.

“There’s a whole range of issues here, and we just all sensibly came to the view that our opinions differ on these, and so it was best to part ways, in everybody’s interest,” he said. While it seems abrupt from the outside, the discussions have been ongoing for some time,” he stated.

Davies’ departure marks the third high-profile resignation of a female artistic director leading a flagship cultural organization this month.

In early August, Queensland Ballet’s Leanne Benjamin resigned just a few months into the role, citing funding constraints. That same week, Adelaide Festival’s Ruth Mackenzie abruptly resigned midway through her three-year contract.

Guardian Australia understands there were disagreements over the use of Australian artists in OA productions. Welsh-born Davies was keen to use her experience to attract more overseas singers, and her absence during crucial programming decision-making fueled dissatisfaction within the board.

In July, the board called for an independent review of artistic management and planning processes to inform future decisions on artistic management and roles. The review has not yet reported its findings.

Davies told Guardian Australia that, in her nine months at the company, she had taken 10 days of sick leave, 10 days of annual leave, and attended conferences in Vienna and Los Angeles. Both trips were approved by the board, she said.

“I can’t comment on mediation,” she added. “When you’ve got people passionate about the art form and the sector, each expressing their own opinions … there were differences of opinion … there was a lot of compromise.”

Davies declined to comment on whether she felt the board had failed to support her artistic vision for the company or whether the board had asked for her resignation.

“In my opinion, the artistic director needs to know they can hold the responsibility of the artistic identity of a company,” she said.

“Especially at the moment, when the sector is so challenged, you have to know that in steering your way out of those challenges and fulfilling your cultural responsibility, you’re really aligned on that balance between artistic innovation and commercial imperatives. And I think that’s the key. We weren’t aligned on those points.”

OA posted a $4.9m operating loss for the 2023 season, nearly double the loss incurred in 2022 as the company struggled with the aftermath of Covid-19, when it received a $21m lifeline from state and federal governments.

Sims said the company expects to post another operating loss for 2024.

“Obviously any artistic director wants free rein to spend whatever they want and do whatever they want, and that must always go through a financial filter, in any arts company,” he noted.

“But it all must come together in what’s the financial outcome for the company because you have to be self-sustaining, particularly when 70% of your revenue comes from the box office.”

One source who asked to remain anonymous told the Guardian that they felt Davies was “hopelessly out of her depth.”

“Opera Australia needs an artistic leader who understands the art form as it is practiced in this part of the world,” they added.

Responding to that comment, Davies said it was “always part of the understanding” that it would take time for her “to get to know a new cultural landscape.”

“But I don’t feel that at all. I certainly would refute that,” she said.

Davies was scheduled to direct just one OA production in 2025, the musical Guys and Dolls. She conceded that an artistic director being engaged to direct just one production in a 12-month season was “unusual” but said she was satisfied this decision had opened up opportunities for Australian directors.

Guardian Australia has requested comment from Allan, who praised Davies in a written statement on Friday.

“Jo’s engagement of three young directors for the three short operas that comprise Il Trittico was a brilliant idea and demonstrated huge commitment to the next generation of Australian talent,” Allan said, adding that Davies’ staging of Tosca at the Margaret Court Arena was “a milestone achievement for OA.”

The 2025 season, set to be announced on 17 September, will demonstrate Davies’ “unwavering commitment to ensuring the relevance of our art form for today’s audiences,” Allan said.

Source: The Guardian, Kirstie Young