Sydney Opera House Presents
Contemporary culture beneath the sails
The Opera House’s own presenting arm, Sydney Opera House Presents, was founded more than 15 years ago to complement the work of its resident companies. It delivers a bold and inspiring annual contemporary program that reflects the work and stories of artists from diverse backgrounds and lived experiences.
Led by Brenna Hobson, working closely with a skilled in-house team of genre experts and in collaboration with the vibrant Australian and international arts community, Sydney Opera House Presents programs almost 800 performances a year attended by more than 400,000 people. The program presents exceptional contemporary performances and cultural events in the areas of Contemporary Music; Contemporary Performance; Contemporary Art; First Nations; Talks & Ideas; Children, Families & Creative Learning; Classical Music; Artist & Sector Development; as well as the Screen program, enabling Sydney Opera House to reach beyond the site to a global audience.
Sydney Opera House Presents hosts flagship festivals All About Women, a vibrant day of discussion about gender, justice and equality, held annually to mark International Women’s Day, Vivid LIVE, a contemporary music takeover of iconic and ambitious artists every winter, and biennial event DanceRites, Australia’s only national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance competition and a celebration of the world’s oldest living culture.
Contemporary Music
The Opera House’s year-round contemporary music program features a dynamic line-up of emerging and established talents curated by Head of Contemporary Music Ben Marshall. Recent highlights include Solange, The National, Paul Kelly, Lizzo, Iggy Pop, Wu-Tang Clan, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, Khruangbin, Kurt Vile, Sharon Van Etten and Arlo Parks, plus Forecourt performances by Vance Joy and Ngaiire with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Contemporary Performance
Contemporary Performance presents ambitious world-class music theatre, cabaret, circus, magic, contemporary dance, theatre, comedy, immersive theatre and site-specific work from Australia and the world.
Contemporary Art
With an emphasis on commissioning and exhibiting the artists of today, the Sydney Opera House is situated as a catalyst for visual artists to stage open-ended exhibitions, installations and projects that offer insights into the most pressing cultural, political and social questions of our society.
Children, Families & Creative Learning
The Opera House’s Children, Families and Creative Learning program engages the community online and on site with events and experiences that encourage creativity and nurture life-long learning. It encompasses a program from the best Australian and international theatremakers, educational experiences for primary and secondary students and Creative Leadership in Learning, an innovative three-year program that embeds creativity into schools. The Centre for Creativity expands the breadth of year-round participatory performances, workshops and installations to engage people of all ages.
Classical Music
The passion for opera and orchestral music that inspired the creation of the Opera House continues today with a year-round classical music program featuring some of the world’s greatest talents. Our performance spaces provide inspiring platforms for musical experiences both intimate and grand.
Screen
For more than a decade, the Opera House’s Screen program has engaged tens of millions of people around the world. Central to the program is the delivery of Digital Creative Learning to schools and educators around the country, offering free programs of livestreams, interactive workshops, author talks and original content.
First Nations
The Sydney Opera House’s First Nations program continues the traditions of Bennelong Point, known to its traditional custodians as Tubowgule, a Gadigal meeting place for tens of thousands of years. The year-round program celebrates the richness of First Nations cultures by presenting works that address urgent contemporary issues, revive forgotten stories and revitalise ancient cultural practice.
Talks & Ideas
The Sydney Opera House’s Talks and Ideas program underpins our reputation as a home to ideas, debate and imaginative thinking, offering panel discussions and conversations on pressing issues to large-scale events featuring celebrated writers, thinkers and social commentators.
Brenna Hobson - Director, Programming
Brenna Hobson is an experienced arts administrator and producer. She was the Executive Director of the National Theatre of Scotland from 2017-2024.
Prior to this she was the Executive Director and co-Chief Executive for Belvoir in Sydney, Australia’s fourth largest theatre company. During Brenna’s tenure Belvoir established an international presence with productions at BAM and on Broadway in New York, the International Ibsen Festival, Theater Der Welt, the Barbican Centre, Southbank Centre, the Holland Festival, Weiner Festwochen, the Taegu International Musical Festival in Korea and Bharat Rang Mahotsav International festival in India among other appearances. The company prioritised equal representation of artists under her leadership, achieving gender parity in directing and writing and making inroads into the promotion of the work of culturally diverse artists, most notably First Nations artists.
Before Belvoir she was the General Manager of Jigsaw Theatre, a children’s theatre in Canberra, and Production Manager for Bangarra Dance Theatre, Australia’s premier indigenous performing arts organisation. Her career began at Belvoir in 1994 when she started out as an Assistant Stage Manager, rising to Head of Production
While in the UK Brenna was a Trustee of UK Theatre (2017-2021), Live Theatre Newcastle (2018-2024), Stellar Quines (2020-2024) and a member of the Steering Committee of Culture Counts.
In Australia Brenna’s previous board roles include company secretary of the Belvoir St Theatre Limited Board, membership of the Company B Ltd and Arts on Tour boards as well as a membership of the Seymour Centre’s artistic advisory panel and the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct steering committee in Sydney.
Brenna holds a Masters of Management (Arts Administration) from the University of Technology, Sydney. She served on the Sydney Opera House Trust from January 2014 to May 2017 where she was on the Audit and Risk Committee.
