Five young singers have been selected as finalists for the 2026 IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition following a competitive semi-final concert at Sydney’s Independent Theatre on Sunday 16 August.

The competition is open to opera and classical singers aged under 26 and offers a range of career-building awards.

Top row: Emily Davis; Middle row (l-r): Leyland Jones, Hannah Burton; Bottom row (l-r): Sky Kim, Donna Balson (National Adjudicator) and Aylish Rya.

The finalists are NSW sopranos Hannah Burton, 25, and Sky Kim, 25; WA soprano Emily Davis, 24; Victorian bass Leyland Jones, 23; and Queensland mezzo-soprano Aylish Ryan, 23.

The singers were selected by national adjudicator Donna Balson, an Australian international singer, pianist and pedagogue, with fellow adjudicators Dr Francis Greep, Dr Anke Hoeppner-Ryan, Prof Dr Caitlin Tomaschitz Hulcup and Glenn Winslade.

The competition’s semi-final prize winners included Ciaran McChord, who received the Andrea Catzel Prize; Bridget Power, who won the Goethe-Institut Prize; and Kate Pengelly, who received the Jane Ede Prize and the Tinkler Encouragement Award.

Leyland Jones won the Istituto Italiano di Cultura Award, while Samuel Claxton, Chloe James and Pengelly received awards for French tuition, art song and mentoring respectively.

All 10 semi-finalists also took part in an educational workshop led by Balson and psychologist Una Reynolds, exploring the challenges and opportunities associated with the competition process.

The finalists will perform at the competition’s Finals Concert at The Concourse in Chatswood on Thursday, 8 October. Each singer will perform two works with the Opera Australia Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Milton.

The Handa IFAC Australian Singing Competition finals take place on 8 October at the Concourse, Chatswood.