MISSION

The FLUXUS Opera Lab aims to:

Foster creativity and innovation in opera.
Provide a comprehensive support system for emerging and established creatives.
Provide resources to develop new Australian repertoire
Provide much-needed work for established Australian singers and valuable experience for emerging talent.
Create space for people from diverse backgrounds and creatives who consider opera an ‘othered’ experience.

At its core, the FLUXUS Opera Lab is about creating space—both literal and artistic—for innovation. By offering tailored support to composers, librettists, and interdisciplinary artists, the program is designed to foster the creation of original operatic works that resonate with contemporary audiences. Whether it's a chamber opera exploring urgent social themes or a reimagining of traditional forms through cutting-edge staging and technology, FLUXUS champions risk-taking and experimentation.

By focusing on process as much as product, FLUXUS aims to shift the culture of opera-making in Australia. Rather than rushing to premiere, artists are encouraged to take the time to explore the form, push boundaries, and question conventions. In doing so, FLUXUS seeks to make opera a living, evolving art form—one that reflects the complexity, diversity, and immediacy of contemporary life.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The FLUXUS Opera Lab is designed to nurture and develop new opera works through a structured process of mentorship, collaboration, and creative space. We will seek submissions from writers and composers of all genres and levels of experience.

The FLUXUS Opera Lab is a space:

to foster new creative talent and explore what opera can be.
to workshop ideas and play with musical and vocal textures and styles.
to facilitate work and stage experience for emerging artists, allowing them to work with experienced professionals, and to participate in the creative process.
be a space for diverse creative Australians to tell their stories, see themselves represented and explore what it means to be a storyteller in an operatic space.

The initiative includes a range of opportunities for artists at various stages of their careers. This includes grants for writers and composers to begin the development of new works, one-on-one and group mentoring with experienced creatives from across the performing arts, and intensive live workshops where artists can test and refine their ideas in collaboration with performers and directors. These workshops are not only about craft—they are about building community and dialogue across disciplines, generations, and genres.

MISSION

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

PARTNERSHIPS

FLUXUS is all about collaboration, and we will partner with venues for developments and workshops/seminars. We will also form relationships with educational institutions to ensure emerging artists have the opportunity to be a part of the development of new work and be active in the creative process.

PRESENTING PARTNERS: Opera Australia, Opera Queensland, Canberra Theatre, Victorian Opera (TBC)

INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS: (VCA/Melb Con TBC) / Opera Scholars Australia (TBC)

KEY COMPONENTS

A yearly program will call for submissions from all over the country (including Australian creatives living overseas). The program will be divided into three main components:

KEY COMPONENTS

MENTORSHIP

The most common outcome from the first submission is initial mentorship. Based on panel feedback, creatives/teams can reapply for further development in subsequent cycles.

Seminars with Q&A sessions will be offered for under $20, or in some cases, free to anyone interested in learning more about Opera. They will be offered soon after the program's launch each year.

What's the score? A public conversation with composers of multiple forms, including opera, and writer/librettists. They will discuss what the difference is with an operatic score, give examples of the variation of size and textures with modern examples as well as demonstrating the different kinds of Libretto that have traditionally been offered as well as some modern examples. These seminars will be offered FREE.
Seen/Work. A live show where two opera directors take emerging singers through modern Australian work to explore a contemporary approach to opera interpretation and stagecraft in a digital age.

Successful applicants will be offered mentor sessions.

These will be one or two three-hour one-on-one sessions with an experienced mentor who will help expand an idea, solve a problem, or assist in taking the idea to the next development step.

Mentors will be paid a competetive rate for their time. Doing these in person are preferred (space for this in Melbourne can be arranged) or in some cases this can be done via zoom or similar

If creatives come to us with an idea but are looking for other creatives to partner with, we can assist with this process, suggesting possible collaborators and facilitating meet-ups.

This could be:

a writer comes to us with an idea but needs a composer to work with
a composer comes with an idea and needs a writer
a writer needs a dramaturg
a songwriter is wanting to collaborate with a more experienced composer of orchestral/classic forms

SPACE TO CREATE

The FLUXUS Opera Lab will partner with (presenting partner TBC), providing physical space for teams to workshop ideas. Where applicable, out-of-town residencies may also be offered.

Up to $5000 for the creative team to develop a two-page document outlining narrative and musical sketches with the view of further development mid-year or in the next submission cycle.

PROOF OF CONCEPT
(launching in late 2026)

A Proof of concept showing is contingent on the panel's approval of the initial narrative outline and creative team. (This may be after completion of Mentorship and/or Space to Create.)