Grand opera in all its glory could soon come to Canberra: exploding castles; erupting volcanoes; coronations of guilty tsars; shipwrecks, sea battles, and burning fleets; cavalry charges; tenors riding on elephants; ice-skating religious fanatics; riot, rebellion, and revolution; massacres and mob uprisings; avalanches, floods, and fire; aerial battles between angels and demons; apocalypse and cataclysm; balrogs and barrow-wights, giant spiders, walking forests, and heroic last stands; processions of hundreds of comprimarios on horseback and glittering with armour; funeral cortèges with thousands of crowd members; and ensembles “written with electric fluid, by a gigantic galvanic pile … accompanied by thunderclaps and sung by tempests”.
The ACT Government has signed a $317 million contract to build Canberra’s long-planned lyric theatre, clearing the way for construction to begin early next year.
The new venue will be purpose-built to host large-scale productions, including opera, ballet, musicals, and international touring acts that at present cannot come to Canberra due to size constraints at the Canberra Theatre Centre.
Minister for the Arts and Creative Industries Michael Pettersson said signing the contract marked a significant milestone.
“We are another step closer to delivering a new performance space that will inspire creativity, support local talent and attract audiences from across the country,” he said.
Designed to seat up to 2,000 people, the theatre will feature a large proscenium stage, fly tower, modern orchestra pit and enhanced acoustics, bringing it into line with venues such as the Sydney Lyric Theatre and Melbourne’s Princess Theatre. The government says the increased capacity will make large productions financially viable in the ACT.
The venue will include three seating levels, accessible seating and lifts, hospitality facilities, ticketing and merchandise areas, and a fully electric, Green Star–rated design. It will also incorporate features recognising First Nations connection to Country.
Completion is scheduled for 2028. Multiplex will construct the theatre. The design team includes Cox Architecture in collaboration with Yerrabingin, theatre specialists Charcoalblue, acoustic consultants and Arcadia Landscape Architecture. The design reflects feedback gathered through community consultation over the past two years.
The National Capital Authority granted works approval in November following public exhibition earlier this year.
Existing venues at the Canberra Theatre Centre — the Canberra Theatre, Playhouse and Courtyard Theatre — will remain open during construction.
The lyric theatre forms part of a broader transformation of the city centre, alongside light rail expansion, new active transport links, commercial development, public spaces, a new university campus and thousands of new homes.
The ACT Government estimates that by its fifth year of operation, the lyric theatre will contribute $33.7 million annually in direct expenditure, equating to about 111,000 visitor nights.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the project would strengthen Canberra’s cultural identity and visitor economy.
“The new theatre will be a major driver of Canberra’s cultural and tourism economies, creating hundreds of jobs during the construction and operational phases,” he said.
“It will support the night-time economy, bringing thousands of people into the city centre over the hundreds of nights it will be used each year.”
