Opera Awards (Australia)
Encyclopedia
The Opera Awards is a singing competition, open to professional Australian opera singers. Held annually in Australia, the Opera Awards was established in 1986, its purpose is to assist and develop professional Australian opera singers by providing overseas study and travel opportunities. This is achieved through programs of study with selected international educational institutions, engagements with professional opera companies as well as introduction, networking and educational opportunities with prominent members of the international operatic community. The Opera Awards consists of a group of awards including the YMF Australia Award and the Armstrong-Martin Scholarship, amongst others (see below, History).
In recent years, major sponsors and supporters have included YMF Australia, the Armstrong-Martin Estate, Haas Foundation, The Glyndebourne Festival (UK), The Royal Over-Seas League (UK) and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust
.
The Opera Awards provides cash prizes, scholarships and career opportunities to professional Australian opera singers to allow the study of grand opera and related music studies overseas and is a well-recognised and respected award within the Australian and international operatic community. Since 2007, the primary award within the Opera Awards is the YMF Australia Award, sponsored by YMF Australia. The recipient of the 'Opera Awards' actually receives a group of awards, scholarships and opportunities which include the YMF Australia Award, the Armstrong-Martin Scholarship, the Haas Foundation Award and the Editorial Resources Prize. 'Runners up' can receive prizes and opportunities which include (in 2011) The Royal Over-Seas League (UK) Music Bursary, the Britten-Pears Young Artists Programme, the Glyndebourne Festival Prize, and the 4MBS Classic FM Award.
The recipient of the Opera Awards (Australia) is acknowledged and invited to perform at the Finals Concert of the Australian Singing Competition
.
! Year
! Opera Awards Recipient*
! Category
! Adjudicators (Chair)
|-
| 1986
| Francesco Fabris
| baritone
| Jenifer Eddy
|-
| 1987
| Helen Adams
| soprano
| Elizabeth Fretwell
OBE
|-
| 1988
| Stephen Ibbotsen
| tenor
| Ronald Maconaghie AM, Margreta Elkins
AM
|-
| 1989
| Lucas de Jong
| baritone
| Margreta Elkins
AM
|-
| 1990
| Akiko Nakajima
| soprano
| Joseph Ward
|-
| 1991
| not awarded
|
|
|-
| 1992
| Elisa Wilson
| soprano
| Joseph Ward OBE
|-
| 1993
| Douglas McNichol
| baritone
| Joseph Ward OBE
|-
| 1994
| Fiona Campbell
| soprano
| Stephen Barlow
|-
| 1995
| Ingrid Silveus
| soprano
| Myer Fredman
|-
| 1996
| Amelia Farrugia
| soprano
| Myer Fredman
|-
| 1997
| Donna-Marie Dunlop
| soprano
| Myer Fredman
|-
| 1998
| Jamie Allen
| tenor
| Myer Fredman
|-
| 1999
| Adrian McEniery
| tenor
| Roderick Brydon
|-
| 2000
| Han Lim
| baritone
| Andrew Greene
|-
| 2001
| Nicole Youl
| soprano
| Myer Fredman
|-
| 2002
| Hyeseoung Kwon
| soprano
| Vladimir Kamirsky
|-
| 2003
| not held
|
|
|-
| 2004
| José Carbó
| baritone
| Richard Bonynge
|-
| 2005
| Tamsyn Stock-Stafford
| soprano
| Patrick Thomas
|-
| 2006
| Amy Wilkinson
| soprano
| Imre Pallo
|-
| 2007
| James Homann
| baritone
| Vladimir Kamirsky
|-
| 2008
| Shane Lowrencev
| bass
| Richard Bonynge
AO CBE
|-
| 2009
| Emma Pearson
| soprano
| Jonathan Darlington
|-
| 2010
| Lorina Gore
| soprano
| Richard Bonynge
AO CBE
|}
In recent years, major sponsors and supporters have included YMF Australia, the Armstrong-Martin Estate, Haas Foundation, The Glyndebourne Festival (UK), The Royal Over-Seas League (UK) and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust
Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust
The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust was set up in September 1954 under the guidance of H. C. ‘Nugget’ Coombs, Governor of the Commonwealth Bank, Sir Charles Moses General Manager, Australian Broadcasting Commission and John Douglas Pringle, Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald. It aimed to...
.
History
In 1986/87 Music & Opera Singers Trust Limited (MOST) created the 'Opera Awards' as a competition within the Australian SInging Competition, and then as a separate, stand-alone competition in 2001.The Opera Awards provides cash prizes, scholarships and career opportunities to professional Australian opera singers to allow the study of grand opera and related music studies overseas and is a well-recognised and respected award within the Australian and international operatic community. Since 2007, the primary award within the Opera Awards is the YMF Australia Award, sponsored by YMF Australia. The recipient of the 'Opera Awards' actually receives a group of awards, scholarships and opportunities which include the YMF Australia Award, the Armstrong-Martin Scholarship, the Haas Foundation Award and the Editorial Resources Prize. 'Runners up' can receive prizes and opportunities which include (in 2011) The Royal Over-Seas League (UK) Music Bursary, the Britten-Pears Young Artists Programme, the Glyndebourne Festival Prize, and the 4MBS Classic FM Award.
The recipient of the Opera Awards (Australia) is acknowledged and invited to perform at the Finals Concert of the Australian Singing Competition
Australian Singing Competition
The Australian Singing Competition evolved from the Marianne Mathy Scholarship, established in 1982 through a bequest made in the will of Marianne Mathy-Frisdane, a coloratura soprano opera singer and distinguished teacher of opera and classical singing....
.
Opera Awards (Australia) Recipients
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3"! Year
! Opera Awards Recipient*
! Category
! Adjudicators (Chair)
|-
| 1986
| Francesco Fabris
| baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
| Jenifer Eddy
|-
| 1987
| Helen Adams
| soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
| Elizabeth Fretwell
Elizabeth Fretwell
Elizabeth Fretwell OBE was an Australian soprano. She was the prima donna at London's Sadler's Wells Opera through much of the 1950s and 1960s.- Early life and career :...
OBE
|-
| 1988
| Stephen Ibbotsen
| tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
| Ronald Maconaghie AM, Margreta Elkins
Margreta Elkins
Margreta Elkins AM was an Australian mezzo-soprano of great renown. She sang at Covent Garden and with Opera Australia and other companies, but turned down offers to sing at the Metropolitan Opera, Bayreuth and Glyndebourne...
AM
|-
| 1989
| Lucas de Jong
| baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
| Margreta Elkins
Margreta Elkins
Margreta Elkins AM was an Australian mezzo-soprano of great renown. She sang at Covent Garden and with Opera Australia and other companies, but turned down offers to sing at the Metropolitan Opera, Bayreuth and Glyndebourne...
AM
|-
| 1990
| Akiko Nakajima
| soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
| Joseph Ward
|-
| 1991
| not awarded
|
|
|-
| 1992
| Elisa Wilson
| soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
| Joseph Ward OBE
|-
| 1993
| Douglas McNichol
| baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
| Joseph Ward OBE
|-
| 1994
| Fiona Campbell
| soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
| Stephen Barlow
|-
| 1995
| Ingrid Silveus
| soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
| Myer Fredman
Myer Fredman
Myer Fredman is a British-Australian conductor.He studied at Dartington Hall and in London with Peter Gellhorn, Vilém Tauský, Sir Adrian Boult, and was assistant conductor to Otto Klemperer, Vittorio Gui, Sir John Pritchard and Sir Charles Mackerras.He was conductor at the Glyndebourne Festival...
|-
| 1996
| Amelia Farrugia
| soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
| Myer Fredman
Myer Fredman
Myer Fredman is a British-Australian conductor.He studied at Dartington Hall and in London with Peter Gellhorn, Vilém Tauský, Sir Adrian Boult, and was assistant conductor to Otto Klemperer, Vittorio Gui, Sir John Pritchard and Sir Charles Mackerras.He was conductor at the Glyndebourne Festival...
|-
| 1997
| Donna-Marie Dunlop
| soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
| Myer Fredman
Myer Fredman
Myer Fredman is a British-Australian conductor.He studied at Dartington Hall and in London with Peter Gellhorn, Vilém Tauský, Sir Adrian Boult, and was assistant conductor to Otto Klemperer, Vittorio Gui, Sir John Pritchard and Sir Charles Mackerras.He was conductor at the Glyndebourne Festival...
|-
| 1998
| Jamie Allen
| tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
| Myer Fredman
Myer Fredman
Myer Fredman is a British-Australian conductor.He studied at Dartington Hall and in London with Peter Gellhorn, Vilém Tauský, Sir Adrian Boult, and was assistant conductor to Otto Klemperer, Vittorio Gui, Sir John Pritchard and Sir Charles Mackerras.He was conductor at the Glyndebourne Festival...
|-
| 1999
| Adrian McEniery
| tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
| Roderick Brydon
|-
| 2000
| Han Lim
| baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
| Andrew Greene
|-
| 2001
| Nicole Youl
| soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
| Myer Fredman
Myer Fredman
Myer Fredman is a British-Australian conductor.He studied at Dartington Hall and in London with Peter Gellhorn, Vilém Tauský, Sir Adrian Boult, and was assistant conductor to Otto Klemperer, Vittorio Gui, Sir John Pritchard and Sir Charles Mackerras.He was conductor at the Glyndebourne Festival...
|-
| 2002
| Hyeseoung Kwon
| soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
| Vladimir Kamirsky
|-
| 2003
| not held
|
|
|-
| 2004
| José Carbó
| baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
| Richard Bonynge
Richard Bonynge
Richard Alan Bonynge, AO, CBE is an Australian conductor and pianist.Bonynge was born in Sydney and educated at Sydney Boys High School before studying piano at the Royal College of Music in London. He gave up his music scholarship, continuing his private piano studies, and became a coach for...
|-
| 2005
| Tamsyn Stock-Stafford
| soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
| Patrick Thomas
Patrick Thomas (conductor)
Patrick Thomas MBE is an Australian conductor.For a period of almost 35 years he conducted hundreds of performances across Australia in just about every centre where the various state symphony orchestras ventured, and introduced music to virtually a whole generation of young Australians through...
|-
| 2006
| Amy Wilkinson
| soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
| Imre Pallo
|-
| 2007
| James Homann
| baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
| Vladimir Kamirsky
|-
| 2008
| Shane Lowrencev
| bass
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
| Richard Bonynge
Richard Bonynge
Richard Alan Bonynge, AO, CBE is an Australian conductor and pianist.Bonynge was born in Sydney and educated at Sydney Boys High School before studying piano at the Royal College of Music in London. He gave up his music scholarship, continuing his private piano studies, and became a coach for...
AO CBE
|-
| 2009
| Emma Pearson
| soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
| Jonathan Darlington
Jonathan Darlington
Jonathan Darlington is a British conductor and the Music Director of the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra and Vancouver Opera...
|-
| 2010
| Lorina Gore
| soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
| Richard Bonynge
Richard Bonynge
Richard Alan Bonynge, AO, CBE is an Australian conductor and pianist.Bonynge was born in Sydney and educated at Sydney Boys High School before studying piano at the Royal College of Music in London. He gave up his music scholarship, continuing his private piano studies, and became a coach for...
AO CBE
|}
- The Opera Awards Recipient is defined as the individual who has received the 'major award' within the Opera Awards. This has changed over the years: 1986-1997 (Armstrong-Martin Scholarship); 1998-2001 (Handa Scholarship and the Armstrong-Martin Scholarship); 2002 - 2006 (Armstrong-Martin Scholarship with the Australian Elizabeth Theatre Trust); 2007 - 2011 (YMF Australia Award and the Armstrong-Martin Scholarship).