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 Wilson in Eugene Onegin – and we’ve also heard them tackle some of the trickiest repertoire around.

Wilson recently impressed us in Britten’s Tenor, his even tone and mastery at parlando once again put to good use here as he assumes the role of Tom Rakewell for Always the Quarry and the duet My tale shall be told from Stravinsky’s The Rakes Progress with Vitogiannis as Nick Shadow.

It’s reassuring to see a young tenor like Wilson know what repertoire suits him best and run with it.

Elias Wilson and Leon Vitogiannis in OA’s Young Artists in Concert. Photo © Justin Mclean

Burns has successfully tackled Poulenc’s incredibly challenging and exhausting La Voix humaine, and here she makes light work of Mozart’s Che soave i zeffiretti (a.k.a. The Letter Duet) from The Marriage of Figaro, taking on the role of the Countess alongside soprano Lana Kains from the 2026/27 Young Artist Program who takes dictation as the maid Susanna.

Currently touring as Donna Elivra in OA’s national tour of Don Giovanni, Burns reprises the role here in the trio Ah, taci, ingiusto core. She is joined by Vitogiannis in the title role and baritone Jake Lyle (also from the incoming cohort) as Leporello who, disguised as the Don, lip-syncs while his master sings behind him.

This is followed by the Don’s Deh, vieni alla finestra, and it is Vitogiannis’s turn to shine, his star quality immediately apparent. It is matched by his technical prowess and control of the passagio, which makes Mozart’s canzonetta sound effortless.

Vitogiannis is rejoined by Lyle in the second half of the program for an equally entertaining rendition of Agony from Sondheim’s Into the Woods, in which the ease of their delivery belies its technical complexity.

Recovering from a bout of illness, Ringdahl’s Werther! Werther! is disappointingly cut from the program. We are advised she will mark her way through the rest of the concert, but you’d hardly know it.

In Pur ti miro, pur ti godo from Monteverdi’s Coronation of Poppea, her warm, honeyed voice is beautifully coupled with the mellifluous mezzo-soprano of Sidra Nissen from the incoming cohort.

Sidra Nissen and Shikara Ringdahl in OA’s Young Artists in Concert. Photo © Justin Mclean

Then, as the Ghost of Antonia’s Mother, Ringdahl still manages to dominate the climactic Chère enfant que j’appelle from Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann, conjured here by Vitogiannis’s Dr Evil to drive her daughter (performed by Burns) to her death. It’s thrilling stuff.

After the interval, Lyle resumes proceedings with a fine rendition of Bob’s aria When the Air Sings of Summer from Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief. Amplified, his dynamic control was already impressive in The Phantom of the Opera; heard here acoustically, his decrescendo on the final sustained F is breathtaking.

Much of the second half of the program is dedicated to 20th-century American opera, performed here by the participants in the 2026/27 Young Artist program.

Nissen returns for a delightful Things Change, Jo from Mark Adamo’s Little Women, and she is joined by the rest of the cohort for The Promise of Living from Copland’s The Tender Land.

It’s too soon to pass judgment on these young singers, as they have yet to benefit from the expertise of Greep, Hennessy and their team. It is, however, fair to say Christopher Whalley boasts a resonant tenor and a robust upper register, while bass-baritone Daniel Kramer proves an appropriately ominous presence as the abusive Reverend Olin Blitch in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah.

Lana Kains in OA’s Young Artists in Concert. Photo © Justin Mclean

It is, however, Lana Kains who delivers the standout performance of the evening with Susannah’s Appalachian folk ballad-inspired aria The Trees on the Mountains. Her portrayal of the desolate young woman branded a seductress for bathing naked is a brilliant example of the way opera heightens the dramatic stakes through a seamless blend of acting and vocal delivery.

Sensitively accompanied on piano by incoming Young Artist répétiteur Isobel Archer, Kains’ grasp of the moment never wavers, not even in more complex passages. Her voice possesses a natural chiaroscuro that allows her to pivot seamlessly from plaintive delicacy to moments of thrilling dramatic power, capped by an impeccably controlled upper register.

Directorial duties are shared by outgoing Young Artist participant Claudia Osborne and the incoming Edwina Strobl. Dramatic moments, like the scene from Susannah, are finely handled, but attempts at humour are more hit and miss. There are some nice dollops of fun in the excerpts from Don Giovanni and Into the Woods, but comedy is hard to get right, and other moments fall flat.

Putting that aside, there is plenty to celebrate as last year’s cohort of OA Young Artists continues in its professional pursuits and the next generation steps up to the plate. Despite her brief tenure, former Artistic Director Jo Davies deserves full credit for reviving the program, and with performers of this calibre keeping the art form alive, it’s hard to imagine a better legacy.

More information on the Opera Australia Young Artist Program is available here.