If this semi-staged concert proves one thing, it is how vital the Opera Australia Young Artist Program is, and how indispensable its teachers, Program Head Francis Greep and Young Artist Producer Jane Hennessy are.

The first half of the concert is largely dominated by the outgoing cohort of Young Artists, including soprano Chelsea Burns, mezzo-soprano Shikara Ringdahl, tenor Elias Wilson and baritone Leon Vitogiannis with répétiteur Jem Herbert on piano.

Leon Vitogiannis, Chelsea Burns and Jake Lyle in OA’s Young Artists in Concert. Photo © Justin Mclean

Over the past year we’ve watched them grow in leaps and bounds. Of course, they were naturally gifted to begin with, but through the program, their talent is now grounded in technique, discipline and an innate stagecraft that allows them to inhabit every imaginable role with assuredness.

Oh, and let’s not forget a healthy work ethic. No sooner have Ringdahl, Vitogiannis and Wilson taken their bows than they’re off to perform in that evening’s Great Opera Hits – on a Sunday, no less.

All four have already made their OA mainstage debuts – Burns and Vitogiannis in Madama Butterfly, Ringdahl in Hänsel & Gretel, and...