West Australian Opera (WAO) is the principal opera company of Western Australia and is a resident company at His Majesty's Theatre, Perth.
The company formed in 1967 and works in close association with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. It presents three main stage productions each year as well as the annual free event, City of Perth's Opera in the Park. The company draws from the principal canon of operatic repertoire and increasingly is involved in the commissioning and development of new operas. It has a strong education program and is involved with many concerts and community events in metropolitan and regional Western Australia. In July 2012 Joseph Colaneri was appointed Artistic Director[1] and succeeded Richard Mills, who had previously held the post since 1997. Colaneri left the company ahead of its 2015 season, and Brad Cohen was subsequently appointed as artistic director.[2]
The current Artistic Director, since 2019, is Christopher van Tuinen.[3] The current chairman is Terry Bowen and the principal partner of the company is Wesfarmers Arts.