The Herald Sun Aria Competition, formerly known as The Sun Aria (because it was sponsored by The Sun News-Pictorial

The Sun News-Pictorial

The Sun News-Pictorial, commonly known as The Sun, was a morning daily tabloid newspaper in Melbourne, Australia established in 1922 and closed in 1990.It was part of The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd stable of Melbourne newspapers...

) is a vocal competition held in Ballarat, Victoria

Ballarat, Victoria

Ballarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...

 and Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Australia, each year.
The competition forms the aria section of the Royal South Street Eisteddfod, Australia's oldest and largest eisteddfod.

Two of the most famous past winners of the Aria competition are Dames Malvina Major

Malvina Major

Dame Malvina Lorraine Major, GNZM, DBE is a New Zealand opera singer. She was born in Hamilton, New Zealand into a large musical family. As a child she performed at various concerts, singing mainly country and western pop and music from the shows. She received her first classical training in 1955,...

 (1965) and Kiri te Kanawa

Kiri Te Kanawa

Dame Kiri Jeanette Te Kanawa, ONZ, DBE, AC is a New Zealand / Māori soprano who has had a highly successful international opera career since 1968. Acclaimed as one of the most beloved sopranos in both the United States and Britain she possesses a warm full lyric soprano voice, singing a wide array...

 in 1966.

In its 83rd year, the heats (generally two) of the competition are held annually in Ballarat in September at Her Majesty's Theatre, and the final is held at Hamer Hall

The Arts Centre (Melbourne)

The Victorian Arts Centre is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the inner Melbourne suburb of Southbank in Victoria, Australia....

 (formerly the Melbourne Concert Hall) in early November. Finalists are accompanied by Orchestra Victoria

Orchestra Victoria

Orchestra Victoria is an orchestra based in Victoria, Australia. In addition to its own concert and education events, it is the performance partner of the following major performing arts companies: The Australian Ballet, Opera Australia and Victorian Opera...

, conducted by Maestro Richard Divall.

The competition has a panel of three adjudicators, and Richard Divall has been a panel member since 2001. The other adjudicators in 2007 are Anson Austin OBE and Suzanne Johnston.

Contestants, who are aged 32 years or under, are required to submit 4 arias from grand opera prior to the competition, and choose one of these to sing in the heat.

Sixteen semi-finalists are selected from those singing in the heats to appear on the evening following the second heat, again at Her Majesty's in Ballarat, and sing another aria, this time chosen from their list by the panel of adjudicators.

Six finalists are then chosen to compete in the final at Hamer Hall.