Natalie Aroyan Wins 2019 Harding Miller Foundation Opera Scholarship

Natalie Aroyan, soprano and Principal Artist with Opera Australia has been awarded the prestigious Harding Miller Foundation Opera Scholarship 2019, receiving the sum of $30,000 over two years to support study and travel in Australia or overseas.

Opera lovers will be familiar with Aroyan’s engaging performances which include the title role in Aida, Desdemona in Otello, Mimi in La Bohéme, Marguerite in Faust, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra and Micaela in Carmen. In 2008 she won both The Opera Foundation New York Competition and the Herald Sun Aria Competition.

On receiving the scholarship Aroyan said: ‘I am tremendously honoured and grateful to the Australia Council for the Arts for awarding me with the Harding Miller Foundation Opera Scholarship. I know it must have been a tough decision as there are many gifted female operatic artists in Australia who are just as deserving, so I am truly thankful for this opportunity and look forward to making my trip overseas with this very generous financial contribution to broaden my horizons in the Opera world and making my dreams a reality of becoming an internationally acclaimed Soprano… who still calls Australia home.’

The Harding Miller Foundation was founded by Kim Harding and Irene Miller in 2012. It funds projects that support women, education, the arts and the environment. Currently, the Foundation primarily invests in projects in Australia that improve the educational opportunities and achievement of girls and women. This investment is designed to elevate the recipients and empower them to take on roles of leadership and excellence in their chosen field. This Harding Miller Operatic Scholarship aligns with the Foundation’s objective of providing educational opportunities for women.