Opera in the Domain presented by

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of ...

is an open-air concert held in the Phillip Precinct of the

Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney is a heritage-listed major botanical garden, event venue and public recreation area located at Farm Cove on the eastern fringe of the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government a ...

. Every January, thousands of Sydneysiders flock to The Domain for a night of free opera. The event itself has been running since 2000 and since 2005 has been sponsored by

Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...

Australia, adopting its new name ''Mazda Opera in the Domain''. Former MP

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...

described the event as "One of the most popular open-air events in Australia", and former Prime Minister

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...

earlier this year said "Opera in the Domain is such a loved and enduring part of Australia's cultural landscape". In 2011, Opera Australia for the first time presented the crowd favorite ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' which attracted over 40,000 people, almost bringing the Phillip Precinct to capacity. "Opera in the Domain" was preceded by "Opera in the Park" which commenced in 1982 with ''

La Traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'' starring Dame Joan Surtherland. Sutherland also sang the next five Operas in the Park, ensuring massive crowds.

List of Performances

Festivals in Sydney Music festivals in Australia {{music-festival-stub