Mark Taylor, State Opera SA
From the Principal’s Office to the Opera Studio
Mark is an experienced arts leader and administrator with over 15 years of experience in the field of opera. He brings together his leadership skills honed during his time as a school principal with formal education including a Master of Leadership and Management.
In September 2022, Mark moved to Adelaide to commence his role as the Executive Director of State Opera South Australia. This role sees Mark leading a major South Australian performing arts organisation (which is a Statutory Authority under the Department of Premier and the Cabinet). State Opera will celebrate its Golden Jubilee in 2026.
Positioning the company for a positive future, Mark led the development of a new Strategic Plan and oversaw the recruitment of Dane Lam, esteemed international conductor as the company’s new Artistic Director in 2023.
In July 2024, Mark represented State Opera and the Australian opera industry as an official delegate and presenter at the World Opera Forum in Los Angeles. Mark was one of two Australians to be invited as a delegate and joined 55 other leaders representing 36 countries across 6 continents. The Forum was attended by over 700 opera administrators, artistic directors, artists, and creatives.
Before his move to Adelaide, Mark spent 12 years at Opera Queensland. In his role as Director of Learning, Regional and Community, Mark oversaw the company's education, community, regional touring, commercial and corporate work.
Mark led the production, Are you Lonesome Tonight, a new work celebrating opera and country music. The production opened at Beef Australia in Rockhampton and toured to 32 locations across Queensland performing to over 7,000 people. Mark also oversaw the creation of The Festival of Outback Opera which has become a key event on the Outback Queensland tourism calendar.
In 2014, Mark led Project Puccini, a world-first initiative by Opera Queensland, in collaboration with eight regional Queensland cities. The scale of this endeavour had never been attempted before and gave hundreds of everyday people the opportunity to perform in the chorus of a new, professionally staged production of La bohème.
Subsequently Mark delivered similar projects with productions of The Barber of Seville and
Ruddigore. Mark presented an abstract on this initiative at the 2015 International Arts Health
Conference, subsequently being presented with an award for Excellence in Arts Health in Regional Australia.
Mark has held several elected positions throughout his career including the Chair of the Australia Council Education Forum in 2012-2013 and is a Board Director for Crossroad Arts, an inclusive Arts organisation based in Mackay, North Queensland.