Costume Design for Aida on the Beach after Giuseppe Verdi, produced by Opera Australia

Abstract

A body of research exists that suggests Australia’s contemporary arts audiences are seeking experiences that engage participants in an atypical manner and arts organisations are responding to this. In its usual form, Aida by Giuseppe Verdi is an oft-produced opera with particular appeal; conversely, Aida on the Beach is an outreach endeavour initiated by Australia’s national opera company, Opera Australia (OA), and Griffith University which seeks to engage a broader audience by means of repositioning the canonical piece and its production process in an innovative and original light. Aida on the Beach is epically presented on the foreshore of Coolangatta and expands on the knowledge gained ..