2009
Katja Webb
(Soprano WA)
Katja recently completed her studies at the National Opera in London after winning Opera Foundation Australia's 2007
Covent Garden Award. In 2009 she will perform the role of Leïla in
the West Australian Opera Company’s production of Bizet’s
‘Les Pêcheurs de Perles’ as well as covering the roles of
Kumudha in Adams’ ‘The Flowering Tree’ and Susanna in Mozart’s ‘Le Nozze
di Figaro’. Katja was one of the West Australian Opera Company’s Young artists for 2007, and sang the role of Eurydice in Offenbach’s ‘Orpheus in the Underworld’.
With the WA Opera Company she has also performed the Page and covered Gilda in Verdi’s ‘Rigoletto’ and appeared as the first Spirit in Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’ as well as singing in the chorus for the 2004-2006 seasons.
In 2006 Katja came 2nd in the OFA’s New York Study Award and achieved finalist positions in both the the German Operatic Award and Barilla Italian Opera Award.
Katja gained a Bachelor of Science and a Diploma of Modern Languages (German) in 2001. She went on to study and complete her Advanced Diploma of Performing Arts in Classical Voice at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 2004, apearing as Proserpina in the Academy’s production of Monteverdi’s ‘L’Orfeo’, Anna Maurrant in Weill’s ‘Street Scene’ and Cunegonde in Bernstein’s ‘Candide’.
As a soloist, Katja has performed with choirs in Australia (Perth), Germany and the UK. Her repertoire includes Faure’s ‘Requiem’, Bach’s ‘Magnificat in D’, ‘Christmas Oratorio’, ‘Mass in B Minor’ and ‘Mass in F’, Vivaldi’s ‘Dixit Dominus’ and ‘Gloria’, Handel’s ‘Messiah’, ‘Israel in Egypt’ and ‘Acis and Galatea’, Mozart’s ‘Requiem’, ‘Vesperae solennes de Confessore’, ‘Coronation Mass’ and ‘Exsultate, Jubilate’, Haydn’s ‘Nelson Mass’, Dvorák’s ‘Mass in D’ and Rossini’s ‘Petite Messe Solenelle’.
2008
Maxine Montgomery
(Soprano Vic)
Maxine Montgomery is the 2009 recipient of the Opera Foundation Australia Vienna State Opera Award. She studied at the Conservatorium of Music, University of Melbourne (BMus) and the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University (GradDipMus in Opera Performance).
In 2004, she was the recipient of the Opera Foundation Australia Covent Garden National Opera Studio Scholarship, including the Robert and Betty Salzer Award.
Performances include Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor for Melbourne City Opera, Musetta in La Boheme, Sister Genevieve in Suor Angelica and Micaela in Carmen (Melbourne Opera), Mme. Herz in The Impresario and Constanza in The Abduction from the Seraglio (Lyric Opera of Melbourne), Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus (In Good Company), Pitti-Sing in Hot Mikado (Centre Stage), Clown in Sid the Serpent Who Wanted To Sing (OzOpera Schools Company), Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd (BLOC), Mrs Chase in Stella and Gianetta in Giovanni (both for University of Melbourne Historic Opera Project) and Manuela in Christopher Columbus (Ballarat Opera Festival).
A four-time finalist in the Melbourne Herald-Sun Aria, Maxine has also sung in the chorus for Opera Australia, Opera Queensland and Victorian Opera.
2007
Jessica Pratt
(Soprano NSW)
British-born soprano Jessica Pratt has lived in Australia since 1991.
In 2003 she was the winner of the Australian Singing Competition's
Marianne Mathy Scholarship. The same year, she also received the Nelly
Apt Scholarship, Symphony Australia Young Vocalist Award, Foster Award
(by audience vote) and the David Harper Award. In 2001, 2003 and 2005
she was placed in the top three for the New York Metropolitan Opera
Young Artist Study Award.
By invitation from Renata Scotto
Jessica has appeared on Radio Italia and New York Television in
interviews and documentaries. Last year Jessica was selected for the
second time to compete in the final rounds of Operalia in Valencia,
Spain. In 2005 she was selected for the final rounds of the Neue Stimmen
International Competition held in Gütersloh, Germany where she was
invited to return for the 2006 masterclass with Gustav Kuhn and
Siegfried Jerusalem.
Jessica has been the recipient of
scholarships to both national and international summer courses,
including the Israel Vocal Arts Institute, Tel Aviv, le Stage d’or,
France, L’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rome and the Renata
Scotto Opera Academy, New York. She has participated in public
masterclasses with Joan Dornemann, Yvonne Minton, Gabriel Bacquier,
Jonathan Summers, Sir Donald McIntyre, Dame Joan Sutherland and Renata
Scotto.
In 2005 Jessica Pratt spent six months in Italy training
with the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome under the invitation and guidance of
Maestro Gianluigi Gelmetti, artistic director and chief conductor of
both the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Since this time she has remained based in Italy and studies with Renata
Scotto and Cesare Scarton.
Roles performed in 2006 include Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Aminta (Il Re Pastore), Bianca, Gabriella (La Rondine).
Other engagements for 2006 included performances with the Sydney
Symphony Orchestra, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and the
Auckland Philharmonic, New Zealand. She has made a number of national
radio broadcasts in both Australia and Italy.
In 2007 Jessica made her debut with the orchestra and chorus of l’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in the role of Anitra in Peer Gynt under the direction of Vladimir Ashkenazy followed by the role of Sofia in Il Signor Bruschino
under the direction of Daniele Abbado and Carlo Rizzari. In September
she returned to Italy to perform the title role of Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor with As.Li.Co.
Jessica
with commence with the Venna State Opera early January 2008, and in
2009 she will make her American debut at the Chicago Opera Theatre as
Elcia in Mose in Egitto.
2006
Caroline Wenborne
(Soprano NSW)
Sydney soprano Caroline Wenborne has completed a Bachelor of Music in Voice and a Diploma of Opera at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
She has been a finalist in many of Australia’s leading singing competitions including the Covent Garden Scholarship, The City of Sydney McDonalds Operatic Aria, The Metropolitan Award, The German Award and the 2002 Australian Singing Competition, where she was the winner of the 2003 International Opera Plus Summer School Scholarship held in Belgium.
Caroline has performed the roles of; La Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro, Euterpe in Gluck’s Il Parnaso Confuso, The Seamstress in The Happy Prince, Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte and excerpts of the role Helena in A Midsummer Nights’ Dream. Caroline has also performed the soprano solo in Ein Deutsches Requiem by Brahms and Les Noces by Stravinsky with the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Orchestra and Choir.
In the first half of 2004 Caroline received a Helpmann Foundation Scholarship and a Ian potter Cultural Trust Scholarship to undertake intensive language studies in Italy. Caroline’s professional experience in Australia includes Extra Chorus work with Opera Australia and recordings and national Broadcasts with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
In 2005/06 Caroline was under contract with Oper Koeln in Germany as a member of the Opera Studio. She has performed the roles of Diana in Orpheus in der Unterwelt, Die Katze and Eichhörnchen in Das Kind und der Zauberspuk, Hahn and Eichelhäher in Das Schlaues Füchslein, Ein Sklave in Salome and Curra in La Forza Del Destino.
In 2006, Caroline was awarded the Vienna State Opera Award from Opera Foundation Australia. Currently in Vienna, Caroline sung her Vienna State Opera Debut as Giannetta on the 21st of Februrary 2007, followed by Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro and Ein Junges Maedchen in Moses und Aron.
Caroline has been offered a contract and will join the ensemble of the Vienna State Opera next season in September 2007.
2002
Tiffany Speight
(Soprano VIC)
Tiffany
Speight was a graduate of Victorian College of the Arts, was awarded
the Dame Mabel Kent Scholarship for singing, and since then has been
awarded several scholarships including a Queen’s Trust Award and the
Kitty Fisher Gift, awarded at the Mathy Singing Competition. Tiffany was
a Vocal finalist for the ABC Young Performers Award and also the
recipient of the 2002 Vienna State Opera Award. This allowed her to
spend the first part of 2003 in Vienna where she made her European debut
at the Vienna Staatsoper, in the role of Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto. She currently studies with Nance Grant.
Tiffany made her opera debut as Cupid in Semele with the Victorian State Opera and was a Young Artist with the VSO, where she sang Despina in Così fan tutte and Dienerin in Die Frau ohne Schatten at the Melbourne Festival. She also took part in Opera Australia's Young Artist Program, performing Juliet in the MODD (Music Opera Dance Drama) production of Roméo and Juliet. As well as giving numerous recitals in Sydney and Melbourne; other roles during this time included Zerlina in Don Giovanni for the VSO Education Program, Frasquita in Carmen, the Maid in My Fair Lady and Lillian in Kurt Weill's Happy End. She also performed the title roles in Patience, Gigi and The Merry Widow.
In recent years she has given performances at Opera Under the Stars in Broome, the Castlemaine State Festival and Opera By George, as well as at the Prime Minister's Olympic Dinner and a gala farewell with the Seoul Symphony Orchestra. Tiffany has also toured throughout Victoria for an Opera Australia production of Sid the Serpent, appeared with the Australian Pops Orchestra in a series of 7 concerts in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide and performed in concerts such as The Best of British, and The Gilbert and Sullivan Show (The Production Company) in Melbourne.
Tiffany’s many roles for Opera Australia include Phyllis in Iolanthe, Barbarina, Cherubino and Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Johanna in Sweeney Todd, (which she also sang for Opera Queensland in 2003), Giannetta in The Gondoliers, Tebaldo in Don Carlo, Ida in Die Fledermaus, the 2nd Niece in Peter Grimes, Papagena and Pamina in The Magic Flute, Micaëla and Frasquita in Carmen, Valencienne in The Merry Widow (for which she received a Green Room award), Yum Yum in The Mikado, Josephine in HMS Pinafore (now available on DVD and recently on ABC television) and Gretel in Hansel and Gretel. She sang the role of Alice in Boojum! for Opera Australia’s Centenary of Federation Concert and her roles for OzOpera include Mimi in La bohème, and Angelica in Orlando, She also sang Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro for Opera Queensland. 2006 engagements included a Sidney Myer Music Bowl Concert and Gershwin Concerts with Melbourne Symphony and Opera at Brookfield with Brisbane Festival, as well as the roles of Ellen in Lakmé and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and the Fiftieth Anniversary Gala for Opera Australia, Despina in Cosi fan tutte for Victorian Opera and Pamina in The Magic Flute for NBR New Zealand Opera.
In 2007 Tiffany sang Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and Zerlina in Don Giovanni for Opera Australia, Sister Rose in Dead Man Walking for Andrew McManus Productions and concerts with Orchestra Victoria, The Australian Pops Orchestra and Sydney Symphony.
In 2008 her engagements include the role of Micäela in Carmen for Opera Australia, Victorian Opera’s Puccini Gala concert , Musetta (La boheme) for NBR New Zealand Opera, the title role in L’Incoronazione di Poppea for Victorian Opera, Poulenc Stabat Mater for Sydney Philharmonia and a Handel Gala with Orchestra Victoria, Melbourne.
