Director David McVicar Claims Sydney Opera House Conditions are 'Extreme' to Stage DON GIOVANNI

David McVicar, who is directing a new staging of Don Giovanni, says that the Sydney Opera House's main theatre is inadequate to rehearse. He said: "I think they thought about the outside before they thought about the inside. The problems of the Joan Sutherland [Opera Theatre] are extreme. It's a very quirky space, it is inadequate for opera, it just simply is."

Don Giovanni is set to play 25 July through 30 August.

McVicar isn't the only one to think that the Sydney Opera House is inadquate. Stage designer Brian Thomson was frustrated by the "miniscule" wings and muffled sound, and subsequently sought a new venue.

The Opera House has already started spending $13.7 million in government funding for its "decade of renewal".

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The Opera Theatre was officially renamed the Joan Sutherland Theatre in October 2012 as a lasting tribute to one of Australia's and the world's greatest artists. Pavarotti described Dame Joan Sutherland as having the 'voice of the century', and an adoring public named her 'La Stupenda' for the sheer beauty of her voice. Set beneath the smaller of Sydney Opera House's two graceful sails, this proscenium arch lyric theatre is the building's second largest interior venue. It has become a key performance space for Opera Australia and The Australia Ballet - a place of impressive proportions yet equally where you can hear a pin drop between arias, the squeak of shoes in a pas de deux.

The traditional theatre seating is made of white birch timber with red woollen upholstery, and the stage boasts an impressive and extensive fly system and flexible staging, creating a state-of-the-art experience for performers, crews and audiences alike. Up to 70 musicians can be accommodated in the orchestra pit, which supports both intimate vocals and large-scale musical renditions.

Booked out for much of the year for opera, ballet and contemporary dance performances, the Joan Sutherland Theatre is exclusive but never elitist, drawing a broad spectrum of audiences who down the years have risen to thousands of standing ovations. Little wonder, then, that when the greatest performers take centre stage, the Joan Sutherland Theatre is so often where they want to be.