Music & Opera Singers Trust has announced the five young singers chosen as the finalists for the 2025 IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition.

They are soprano Sophie Blades (24, NSW), baritone Aidan Hodder (25, VIC), mezzo soprano Sidra Nissen (23, VIC), mezzo soprano Brittney Northcott (24, VIC) and tenor Wesley Haotian Yu (23, NSW).

The finals will take place on 25 September at the The Concourse, Chatswood.  Led by National Adjudicator Jeffrey Black, this year’s fellow adjudicators are Joanne Goodman, Kate Johnson, Simon Lobelson, Siobhan Stagg and Francis Greep.

Clockwise from left: Aidan Hodder, Wesley Haotian Yu, Sidra Nissen, Sophie Blades and Brittney Northcott. Photo supplied

Sophie Blades‘ upcoming engagements include performances at the Mediterranean Opera Festival and the role of Eurydice in the Sydney Conservatorium and NIDA joint production of Orpheus in the Underworld directed by Constantine Costi. Currently undertaking her Masters at the Sydney Con, she has been the recipient of both the Patricia Lucas Music Achievement Scholarship and the Bud Brown Memorial Scholarship.

Cutting her teeth in the Victorian Opera Youth Chorus Ensemble, Sidra Nissen made her professional debut in Victorian Opera’s 2022 production of Il Mago di...