Pinchgut Opera has announced bass-baritone Freddy Shaw as the next recipient of the Humanity Foundation Taryn Fiebig Scholarship. The program, named in honour of the late Australian soprano Taryn Fiebig, nurtures emerging Australian artists and focuses on the unique dramatic, expressive, and musical qualities that Taryn embodied.

At just 20 years old, Shaw already has a substantial body of work to his name. He first performed with Pinchgut as boy soprano, creating the role of Joas in the 2018 production of Handel’s Athalia. Earlier this year, he performed, as a bass-baritone in Pinchgut’s acclaimed production of Dido and Aeneas.

Andrew O’Connor, Jack Jordan, Louis Hurley and Freddy Shaw in Pinchgut’s Dido and Aeneas, 2024. Photo © Cassandra Hannagan

Erin Helyard, Pinchgut Opera’s Artistic Director, said that Shaw has matured into a first-rate bass-baritone “of considerable confidence and power, with an appealing copper-burnished timbre.”

“Freddy has great expressive and theatrical potential, and I’m excited to work with him as he hones his skills and talents,” Helyard added.

Chosen every two years, previous Taryn Fiebig Scholars include tenor Louis Hurley and sopranos Olivia Payne and...