Young Aussie soprano is ray of light in a generally bleak year for Australian opera.

Australian soprano Nicole Car has been nominated for Best Young Singer in the annual International Awards as announced today. In a rather dispiriting list from a purely local perspective, Car (who thrilled audiences in Sydney and Melbourne last year in Kasper Holten’s production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and Sir David McVicar’s production of Don Giovanni) is the main Australian nominee in a fairly Eurocentric collection of singers, companies and recordings. On a brighter note, Opera Australia are nominated for the second year running for Accesibility and Barrie Kosky’s Komische Oper Berlin is up for Best Company.

“It’s an unexpected honour – a lovely surprise to wake up to!” Car told Limelight. “The International Opera Awards tend to focus on European and American talent so it’s exciting to see Australian singers represented.” Guillaume Tourniaire, who worked with Car first on Eugene Onegin and is now conducting her in Faust for Opera Australia (opening February) was keen to highlight what makes her so unique. “The sweetness of her character, the sweetness of her voice and the flexibility of her voice all make Nicole special as an...