The IFAC Australian Singing Competition has announced the ten gifted singers who will progress to the semi-finals of this prestigious annual competition. Following heats around Australia, in Auckland and in London, sopranos Sarah Ampil, Morgan Balfour, Zoe Drummond and Sarah Wang, all from NSW, mezzo-sopranos Anastasia Bickel (QLD) and Fleuranne Brockway (WA), soprano Eliza…
A few informal conversations with emerging young professionals revealed to me that one of the most important aspects of their career path was ‘on-the-job’ experience whilst in the workforce. Be it corporate life, a trade or medicine, ‘hands-on’ professional training is critical. But what of the performing arts -in particular, opera? How is a singer…
ElektraSydney Symphony OrchestraSydney Opera House, Concert HallFebruary 24 As a cathartic experience the Monday evening performance of Richard Strauss’s Elektra by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra would be difficult to surpass. Such was the emotional tension generated by the waves of sheer orchestral power and a dramatic soprano who is nothing short of a vocal phenomenon…