Joan Sutherland Theatre
The home of Opera Australia, the Australian Ballet and Bangarra Dance Theatre, the Joan Sutherland Theatre is the second largest indoor venue in the Opera House.
This theatre is not available for commercial hire as it is booked for Resident Companies and Sydney Opera House Presents year round.
Venue information
Location and access
The Joan Sutherland Theatre is located at the northern side of the foyer, to the left hand side of the stairs leading to the Concert Hall. Best accessed through the covered concourse. All Sydney Opera House foyers are accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators).
Upcoming events
Rusalka
1 – 11 Aug 2025
A water nymph longs to live and love as a human and will sacrifice everything to get there. Superstar Australian soprano Nicole Car plays Rusalka. Rusalka longs for light, love and life on the surface. She’ll sacrifice anything to get it. But the water nymph can’t imagine what she’s giving up … or if the man she loves is worth it. Nicole Car is one of the most successful Australian sopranos in decades. Don’t miss her return home in her role debut as Rusalka.
Carmen
7 Aug – 19 Sep 2025
Take an adrenaline-pumping ride through lust, jealousy and spectacle in this bold new production of an opera classic. When Carmen meets Don José, sparks fly. She won’t give up her freedom, and Don José won’t give up his girl. Their smouldering passion sets the stage for tragedy. This visceral opera is thrilling from the moment the curtain rises and the orchestra races away with the overture. It features the famous Toreador song, the Habanera and moving Flower song.
The Marriage of Figaro
31 Jul – 27 Aug 2025
A chaotic whirlwind of mistaken identities makes the wedding day of Figaro and Susanna a lesson in hilarity. With a witty, fast-moving libretto and hum-along melodies, Mozart’s classic is a lesson in hilarity. It’s Figaro and Susanna’s wedding day, but Count Almaviva is determined to win Susanna for himself. In one crazy day of disguises, duplicity, desire and utter madness, the fiancés must foil the philandering noble’s seductive advances.
