Opera Australia has been forced to postpone the Brisbane premiere of its Ring Cycle for the second year running due to the latest COVID-19 outbreak.

The production, which is the world’s first fully digital Ring Cycle, was originally programmed for 2020 and was rescheduled to open at Queensland Performing Arts Centre on Oct. 29, 2021.

However with a hard border closure currently in place, to protect the State from the current crisis that has taken hold in NSW and VIC, the performers and crew, as well as 80% of total ticket holders, will be unable to travel to Queensland for the production.

In a statement, Opera Australia Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini said, “As desperately disappointing as this news is, we understand that the safety and well-being of not only our performing Company, but the entire community is the absolute number one priority. I really want to thank the tireless efforts and enduring patience of everyone at Opera Australia but also our key partners in this project, Leanne Coddington and her team at Tourism and Events Queensland and John Kotzas from QPAC.

Opera Australia has announced that it will reschedule the Brisbane season to bring the Ring Cycle and the co-production of Aida to the stage in the future.