Talented Teens Win Opera Scholarships and Chance to Perform at Opera Australia

Young singers from NSW, ACT and Tasmania have won the 2017 Opera Australia Regional Student Scholarships. The four school students will fly to Sydney in January for a week-long first-hand experience with the national opera company. Performing for Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini is enough to make even the most seasoned opera singer feel a flutter of nerves. This year's scholarship winners will be doing exactly that, as well as gaining exclusive backstage access to witness the working life of an opera singer.

The 2017 Opera Australia Regional Student Scholarship winners are; Jeremy Boulton (Mount Ousley, NSW), Lisette Bolton (Kooringal, NSW), Katrina Wiseman (Hackett, ACT) and Isobel Latimer (Mount Nelson, TAS).

The four teenagers were selected from more than 50 finalists who auditioned during the 2016 regional tour of The Marriage of Figaro. The winners will receive professional training from artistic, music, language and drama coaches at Opera Australia during January 2017, as well as spending time backstage at the Sydney Opera House, gaining insights into a professional operatic career.

Launched in 2014, the Regional Student Scholarship expands Opera Australia's regional tour community engagement activities. Together with Opera Australia's Regional Children's Chorus and Education Workshops, Opera Australia presents a range of ways for students and families from remote and regional Australia to connect with opera, both as participants and as audiences.

"There is an enormous amount of talent in this country, and after the success of last year's scholarship program, we were looking forward to seeing the new round of winners in Sydney," said Opera Australia's Artistic Director, Lyndon Terracini.

"The Regional Student Scholarship is a really exciting initiative. We already develop young singers through our Young Artist Program but the Regional Student Scholarship allows us to work with a younger group - senior secondary students - who might be considering a career in opera. It is important for us to nurture and support these talented individuals with their journey into the music industry."

Auditions for the scholarships took place while the Regional Tour of The Marriage of Figaro travelled through Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

Applicants were short listed by Children's Chorus Master Joshua van Konkelenberg, with the winners selected by Lyndon Terracini and Associate Music Director Anthony Legge.