West Side Story is returning to Sydney Harbour, in the latest instalment from Handa Opera.
The smash hit musical sold a record 65,000 tickets when it last played on the harbour in 2019, making it Opera Australia's most successful Handa production so far.
“West Side Story is a theatrical phenomenon, as is Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour," said Opera Australia chief executive Fiona Allan.
"This combination has proved winning before and we highly anticipate that it will again.”
Opera Australia is no doubt dreaming that Somehow, Someday, Somewhere the box office hit will help the company return to budget surplus in 2024, following its post-COVID worst-ever operating loss of $22.6 million in 2021.
The company's sideline in musical theatre has seen some recent box-office wins, with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom Of The Opera and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella both proving popular with audiences.
Adding fireworks and an Opera House background to the tale of the Sharks and the Jets worked last time, and there's nothing musical theatre loves more than a reprise.
Yet Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s musical masterpiece sits firmly in the genre of musical theatre, which will likely prompt some side-eye from opera purists.
Ms Allan has said more musicals are an obvious fresh income stream for the national opera company, but she has also promised they won't come at the expense of its opera program.
The production will be directed by Francesca Zambello and the limited four-week season will run in 2024.
