Opera Australia’s artistic director Lyndon Terracini announced on Oct. 6, 2022, that he is immediately stepping down from his role after 13 years to “get on with the next phase of my life, to pursue new adventures and enable the transition of my successor,” Terracini told The Sydney Morning Herald.

Terracini’s contract was due to expire next year, but according to The Herald, he decided now was the time to move on, and the decision was “agreed by all.” While his departure was a shock, Opera Australia has experienced storminess of late.

Melbourne opera fans felt they got short shrift when the 2023 season lineup was announced and heavily criticized the company for leaving Melbourne with zero operas. Meanwhile, Sydney audiences will get productions of “Aïda,” “Rigoletto,” “La Bohème,” and “Madam Butterfly.”

Earlier this year, a blow-up occurred between Terracini and one of the leads in “Phantom of the Opera.” This is on top of a revolving door of executives and a leaked internal survey that put the company in an unflattering light regarding bullying and harassment.

Chief executive Fiona Allan—who’s been on the job for a year—told The Herald, “This is my fourth role as chief executive and, yes, I think it’s been my most difficult landing but we’re nowhere near in crisis – all I see is opportunity.”

Terracini had the second-longest tenure in the company’s 65-year history. His official goodbye will be on Oct. 29 at the Sydney Opera House—the opening night of Verdi’s “Attila.”