Albury-born Thomas Strong wins the prestigious Lady Fairfax Scholarship. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Emma Matthews takes on the nation's biggest orchestra for the Best Classical Album ARIA.

Emma Matthews, Cate Blanchett and Richard Roxburgh among names getting the Helpmann nod.

Some fine singing in this new production, but too little dramatic light shines amidst the gloom. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The main strike against this CD is that it lasts barely 45 minutes. A pity, as the performances are very fine.

Being born in the home of opera buffa has its advantages but, as the titular hero of The Turk in Italy found, a laugh’s a laugh in any language Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

For the last twenty years soprano Emma Matthews has been an invaluable asset to Opera Australia, her miraculously reliable vocal abilities elevating many potentially mundane evenings into memorable occasions. With a captivating, vivacious stage presence whether playing sweet ingénue, saucy minx, ditzy maid or femme fatale (her Lulu was an unexpected tour-de-force) one felt secure knowing the musical values would always get their full due. Her virtues of beautiful silvery tone with tight but attractive vibrato and her impeccable technique allied with rock solid intonation are showcased here with this collection of Mozart arias. Opening with Lieve sono al par del vento one hears the artist’s virtues in a nutshell; beauty and virtuosity in abundance but never for the sake of empty display. Ruhe sanft, mein holdes leben is radiantly sung with the ends of phrases hanging in the air like silk on a breeze and Ach, ich fühls is sung with chaste purity and refreshing simplicity. She certainly has the pipes to deal with the concert arias; four of which are offered here and are the highlights of the recital. These are notoriously tricky works with many stratospheric passages; the coloratura demands are ramped up due to their function as insertion…

Young tenor wins place at the Royal Opera but first needs to raise some dough: enter Matthews, Carbó and Humble.

Australia’s top coloratura sings Mozart and talks training, top notes, bel canto, bosoms and Bonynge. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Australia’s leading coloratura talks about her new Mozart CD and how she gets to the top (and stays there). Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Rossini's six characters in search of an author find one, plus a first-rate director and production to boot.

When you see it from the air, it’s a lot smaller than you expect. More cratery and corroded. More mound than monolith. But when I finally make it to the foot of Ayers Rock, I feel like one of those gorillas in 2001: A Space Odyssey, staring up in dumb simian wonder at a phenomenon far beyond my understanding. Whoa… So that’s why Ayers Rock is one of Australia’s icons – because it’s really, really big and impressive.   I’m in Australia’s red centre on a junket kindly arranged by Northern Territory Tourism. And a very nice junket it is so far, with shuttle buses, chilled water, indigenous dancing and handicrafts, hors-d’oeuvres sculpted from local flora and fauna, and lots of smiley people wearing lanyards. But I must admit to feeling like something of a fraud in their midst. I’m not really here for the touristy stuff – but for the music. Tonight at 7pm will be the first symphony concert ever held at Ayers Rock. The band: the Darwin Symphony; the music: a Verdi gala conducted by Matthew Wood; the soloists: soprano Emma Matthews and tenor James Egglestone.   It’s an evening of firsts for me as well. It’s…