25 Year Old Soprano Zoe Drummond Wins 2018 IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition

On Saturday 8 September at Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, five classical and opera singers battled it out for almost $200,000 in prizes & opportunities in the IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition.

This year's winner of the Australian Singing Competition was Zoe Drummond, a 25-year-old soprano from Victoria. Zoe's winning performance included Nel grave tormento

Mitridate, Re di Ponto by Mozart and Sul fil d'un soffio etesio (with recit...Ninfe, elfi) Falstaff by Verdi. After graduating University with first class honours Zoe was accepted into the Melba Opera Trust program from 2015 to 2017. She is currently studying her masters on full scholarship at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. In November 2019, Zoe will appear with Opera Australia in the role of Giroflé/ Girofla in the operetta 'Two Weddings, One Bride' at the Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne.

In addition to the Marianne Mathy Scholarship valued at $30,000 Zoe also received a professional engagement to perform with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra.

The four other singers competing on Saturday night were 24-year-old soprano Katherine McIndoe and 21-year-old soprano Pasquale Orchard from New Zealand, 24-year-old

baritone Tristan Entwistle from NSW and 23-year-old soprano Cleo Lee-McGowan from Victoria.

The Opera Australia Orchestra conducted by Dr Nicholas Milton AM accompanied the finalists and the Compere for the evening was ABC Classic FM's Genevieve Lang.

Special Guest performer on the night was 2017 Opera Awards Winner Adrian Tamburini. The National Adjudicator was Linnhe Robertson who was joined by fellow judges

Noëmi Nadelmann, Raff Wilson, Michael Halliwell and Anthony Hunt.

The ASC is Australasia's richest competition featuring the Marianne Mathy Scholarship, 'The Mathy', which is regarded as the most prestigious award given to a young opera singer.

Since 1982 the IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition has awarded more than $3 million in prizes received by over 3,000 singers.