In 1956, the Australian Opera Company was formed in Sydney under the auspices of the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust. By 1957, it changed its name to the Elizabethan Theatre Trust Opera Company, and in 1970, the company became known as The Australian Opera. In 1996 Opera Australia was formed by the merger of the Australian Opera and the Victoria State Opera (VSO) companies. [Please refer to the separate PROMPT files access material relating to each iteration of the organisation under its different name: Australian Opera Company, 1956-57; Elizabethan Theatre Trust Opera Company, 1957-70; the Australian Opera, 1970-96; Opera Australia, 1996 onwards]