Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s Chief Conductor, Simone Young has previously held the posts of General Manager and Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and Music Director of the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg, Music Director of Opera Australia, Chief Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of both the Gulbenkian Orchestra, Lisbon and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra. Her appointment as Chief Conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra has recently been extended through until the end of 2029.

An acknowledged interpreter of the operas of Wagner and Strauss, she has conducted complete cycles of Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival, Vienna Staatsoper, Berlin Staatsoper, Hamburg Staatsoper and, in 2026, La Scala Milan.

Simone Young has an extensive and celebrated recording catalogue. Her first performance as Chief Conductor in Sydney, featuring Mahler’s Symphony No.2 Resurrection and the world premiere of William Barton’s Of the Earth was released worldwide on Deutsche Grammophon, and performances of Elgar & Vaughan Williams, Das Rheingold and Gurrelieder have been filmed for Sydney Symphony On Demand. Her Hamburg recordings include the Ring Cycle, Mathis der Maler (Hindemith), Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln (Schmidt) and symphonies of Bruckner, Brahms and Mahler. She has also recorded Benjamin Britten Folksongs and songs of Richard Strauss with Steve Davislim, and songs by Wagner and Strauss with Lisa Gasteen.

Simone Young’s return invitations to the great orchestras of the world in 2026 will include the Suisse Romande, the Orchestre nationale de Lyon, West German Radio Orchestra Cologne, Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France Paris, National Symphony Orchestra Washington, Los Angeles Philharmonic, the San Francisco and Montreal Symphony Orchestras, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, London and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Manchester. She also returns to ANAM, Melbourne to lead their orchestra in a 30th birthday celebration Gala performance.

Firmly established as one of the world’s leading opera conductors, 2026 will see Simone Young return to the Berlin Staatsoper (Lohengrin and Nabucco), La Scala Milan (the Ring cycle and a new work by Luca Francesconi) and Götterdämmerung, completing Sydney Symphony’s Ring Cycle.

The presentation of Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s Ring Cycle in concert, commencing in 2023, has played to sold out audiences, standing ovations and 5-star reviews. A second, feature-length documentary film, Knowing the Score, showcasing Simone Young and her career was also internationally released in 2023.

In 2025 Simone Young was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Sydney. Her many accolades also include the 2024 Conductor of the year (British Opera magazine), Honorary Member (Ehrenmitglied) of the Vienna State Opera, the 2019 European Cultural Prize Vienna, a Professorship at the Musikhochschule in Hamburg, Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Western Australia and New South Wales, Griffith University and Monash University, the Sir Bernard Heinze Award, the Goethe Institute Medal, the 2013 Helpmann Award for Best Individual Classical Music Performance and the Officère de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from France.

Australian/British soprano Samantha Clarke was the winner of the 2019 Guildhall Gold Medal and prize winner in the 2019 Grange International Festival Singing Competition. Samantha studied at the Royal Northern College of Music, as a Sir John Fisher Foundation and Independent Opera Scholar, under the tutelage of Mary Plazas. She is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama Opera School as a Baroness de Turckheim Scholar, Help Musicians, Tait Memorial and Countess of Munster Trust Scholar and studied with Yvonne Kenny.

In addition to the 2019 Guildhall Gold Medal, Samantha is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Leverhulme Royal Northern College of Music Award, the Dame Eva Turner Award and the Michael and Joyce Kennedy Award for the singing of Strauss.

In the 2025/26 season Samantha returns to Opera Australia as Euridice (Orfeo ed Euridice), and is Artist in Residence with the West Australian Opera where she will make role debuts as Juliette (Roméo et Juliette) and Tatyana (Eugene Onegin). Her concert engagements include The Creation with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra/Eivind Aadland and on tour with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment/Václav Luks, Waldvogel in concert performances of Siegfried with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra/Simone Young, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra/Nicholas Carter and Messiah with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra/Sofi Jeannin. Later in 2026, she performs Mozart’s Requiem, Mendelssohn's Elijah and Woglinde (Götterdämmerung) in concert with Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Her operatic roles include: Violetta (La traviata), Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte), Helena (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Countess (Le Nozze di Figaro), Anne Trulove (The Rake’s Progress), The Governess (The Turn of the Screw) and the title role in Theodora.

Recent and future engagements include Countess (Le nozze di Figaro) at Garsington, Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte) with English National Opera, the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy in Japan, Grange Festival and Opera Queensland, Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare) and Theodora for Pinchgut Opera, Woglinde (Das Rheingold), Marzelline (Fidelio) and Mendelssohn’s (Midsummer Night’s Dream) with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Simone Young, Violetta (La traviata) with The Grange Festival, Opera Australia and West Australian Opera, a US tour with the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra, Messiah and War Requiem with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 in Tasmania and Britten’s Les Illuminations with Western Australia Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Edward Gardner.

Samantha features on the Resonus label’s recording Samuel Barber: The Complete Songs with accompanist Dylan Perez.

British-Australian mezzo-soprano Deborah Humble is known internationally for her commanding performances of the dramatic and Wagnerian repertoire. In 2025, she sings Verdi’s Requiem with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Her extensive appearances in Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen include Erda and Waltraute in three full cycles with Melbourne Opera—roles also performed in multiple productions for Opera Australia, alongside her recent role debut as Fricka. She sang Erda in Siegfried (Boston Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Halle Opera), Erda in Das Rheingold (Hong Kong Philharmonic, Saffron Opera Group), and Wellgunde in Götterdämmerung (Saffron Opera Group), with further complete cycles in Bari and Ludwigshafen. For Hamburg State Opera, she sang Erda, Waltraute and Schwertleite. She also performed Waltraute in Die Walküre with Sydney Symphony.

Deborah’s Australian roles include Amneris in Aida and Brigitta in Die tote Stadt (Opera Australia), and Dalila in Samson et Dalila and Magdalena in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Melbourne Opera). In concert, she sang the Princess in Suor Angelica with Melbourne Opera and performed Clairon in Capriccio and Clytemnestra in Elektra with Victorian Opera. Internationally, she has appeared as Mary in Der fliegende Holländer (Opéra de Lille and Hamburg); Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, Olga in Eugene Onegin (Hamburg); and Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor (Hamburg and Teatro Mario del Monaco). She sang Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde with the Mexico City Symphony and Brigitta in Die tote Stadt with the Auckland Symphony Orchestra.

A frequent concert soloist, Deborah's performances include Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with Sydney Symphony under Simone Young, celebrating the reopening of the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall (broadcast live on ABC TV and recorded for Deutsche Grammophon), and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with West Australian Symphony and at Singapore's Esplanade Theatre. She has sung Schoenberg’s Gurre-Lieder (Sydney Symphony), Verdi’s Requiem (Sage Concert Hall, UK and Orchestra Wellington), Elgar’s The Kingdom (Melbourne Bach Choir), Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 (Queensland Symphony), Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra), Handel’s Messiah (New Zealand Symphony Orchestra), and the Wesendonck Lieder (Orchestra Wellington).

Her recordings include The Love for Three Oranges with Opera Australia (Chandos, cond. Richard Hickox); and Der Ring des Nibelungen with Staatsoper Hamburg (Oehms, cond. Simone Young) and Hong Kong Philharmonic (Naxos, cond. Jaap van Zweden).

Deborah received critical acclaim and a Green Room Award nomination for her performances as Clytemnestra (Elektra, Victorian Opera) and as Erda and Waltraute in Der Ring des Nibelungen (Melbourne Opera).

Tenor Shanul Sharma made his operatic debut in 2014 with Opera Australia as Don Ramiro in Rossini’s La Cenerentola, followed by the Madman in Berg’s Wozzeck (2019) and the roles of Il Conte di Libenskof in Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims and The Student in Reimann’s The Ghost Sonata, to critical acclaim in both Sydney and Melbourne. Shanul has also appeared in concert with the Opera Australia Orchestra for Mazda Opera in the Domain which was broadcast live on ABC Classic.

Shanul will make two significant debuts this year: for the Opera national de Paris in their new production of Satyagraha and for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Simone Young conducting, as Obadiah and Ahab in Mendelssohn’s Elijah. He will also return to Opera Australia as Don Ottavio in the national tour of Don Giovanni.

Last year he began the year by singing the Indian National Anthem, unaccompanied, in front of a sell-out crowd at the Pink Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground and ended the year by singing the Australian National Anthem at the Boxing Day test in Melbourne.  Further performances included the role of Almaviva (The Barber of Seville) for Opera Australia in both their Sydney and Melbourne seasons; Opera by the Lakes; Arnold (Guillaume Tell) and the tenor solos in Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle for Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, and a Victorian regional tour of A Night at the Opera.

Most recently Shanul has performed the roles of Tamino (The Magic Flute), Gandhi (Satyagraha), and Almaviva (The Barber of Seville) on the national tour, all for Opera Australia; the role of Cardinale Francesco Barberini in the world premiere of Richard Mills’ new opera, Galileo, for Victorian Opera; Opera Queensland's Bel Canto festival, and his Perth Festival debut in the festival’s opening night concert, Music of the Spheres. Shanul also returned to Germany to perform the role of Gandhi in an extended season of Satyagraha (Glass) with Hannover State Opera. 

With other companies Shanul has most notably appeared as Il Conte di Libenskof for the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia in Moscow (2020 & 2019) and the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Italy (2018); in the title role of Mozart’s Mitridate, Re di Ponto at Teatro Olimpico for Festival Vicenza in Lirica (Sept 2021); Almaviva for Teatro del Giglio in Lucca, Italy (2018); and Ernesto in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale in Pavia, Italy (2017). Shanul  also represented the Rossini Opera Festival at the LaVerdi Auditorium in Milan as the tenor soloist in Rossini’s Stabat Mater and at the Norwegian National Opera in Oslo in 2018, and has performed the roles of Florville in Rossini’s Il Signor Bruschino, the title role in Massenet’s Werther and the tenor soloist in Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah.

Shanul regularly appears in festivals and features at gala performances in Australia as well as in Italy and the United Kingdom, also performing in Christopher Tin’s Grammy Award winning composition Calling All Dawns at the Llangollen Festival in Wales in 2017.

Shanul holds an MA in Advanced Vocal Studies from the Wales International Academy of Voice in Cardiff, UK and is a winner of the 2017 Canto Lirico discipline and the Rossini International Award from Pesaro, Italy. He remains the only artist to have won both the awards in the same calendar year. In 2019, he was awarded Broadway World Sydney’s Best Male Performer in an Opera for his performance as The Student in The Ghost Sonata for Opera Australia and was a part of the company's Moffatt Oxenbould Young Artist Program from 2018-2021.

James Clayton is one of Australia’s most commanding dramatic baritones, celebrated on local and international operatic and concert stages for his rich, expansive vocal colour and profound dramatic intensity.

As a former professional French horn player whose musicianship informs every performance, he launched his vocal career as a Young Artist with West Australian Opera and has since established a distinguished reputation as a premier dramatic baritone of the Australasian region.

Renowned for his technical mastery of the most demanding heroic and title roles in the baritone repertoire, he regularly Performs with Opera Australia, New Zealand Opera, State Opera South Australia, Opera Queensland, West Australian Opera and Victorian Opera. His powerful artistry and arresting stage presence have won him widespread international acclaim for his interpretations of opera's most complex characters including the title roles in Verdi’s Macbeth, Rigoletto, and Falstaff. He has also cemented his reputation with powerhouse interpretations of Iago Otello, Count di Luna Il Trovatore, and Giorgio Germont La Traviata, alongside his performances as The King Aida and his milestone Opera Australia debut as Baron Douphol La Traviata for the spectacular Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour, a performance which had him invited to return as Escamillo Carmen for the following year’s Sydney Harbour performance.

His extensive operatic performance experience highlights a massive stylistic versatility across Bel Canto, Verismo, 20th-century drama, and classical style. His international house and festival credits include Captain Balstrode Peter Grimes, The Four Villains The Tales of Hoffmann, Enrico Lucia di Lammermoor, Escamillo Carmen, Marcello La Bohème, Tonio Pagliacci, Alfio Cavalleria Rusticana, Judge Turpin Sweeney Todd, the title roles in both The Mikado and The Pirates of Penzance, The Forester The Cunning Little Vixen, Sharpless Madama Butterfly, Demetrius A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Peter Hansel and Gretel, and Scarpia Tosca as well as the title roles in both Le Nozze di Figaro and Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Leporello Don Giovanni and Don Alfonso Così fan Tutte – which marked his acclaimed Japanese debut for Biwako Hall.

On the concert platform, he has established himself as a highly sought-after international soloist who regularly collaborates with the region’s leading orchestras, commanding the highest tier of sacred music and oratorio repertoire. His landmark concert achievements have seen him partner with world-class ensembles including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Wellington, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and include works such as Verdi’s Requiem, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and Symphony No. 9, Mozart’s Requiem and Mass in C Minor, Bach’s Easter Oratorio, Handel’s Messiah, Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Haydn’s Mass in Time of War and Puccini’s Messa di Gloria.

Recent highlights of his packed schedule include headlining the season for New Zealand Opera as the title character in Verdi’s Rigoletto and Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, as well as a celebrated return to his home company, West Australian Opera, to star as Germont La Traviata and Count di Luna Il Trovatore.

Looking to his future performances, his international momentum continues on the major concert stage. He returns to Opera Australia to star as a featured soloist The Wagner Gala Concert at the Arts Centre Melbourne, celebrating the grand reopening of the Ian Potter State Theatre under the baton of Michael Güttler alongside Orchestra Victoria.

His upcoming concert engagements also feature him as an international guest soloist with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra as well as appearances with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Symphony Orchestra and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs is Australia’s premier choral organisation. Since it was founded in 1920, SPC has brought people together through music, and for over five decades, it has been the heartbeat of choral performance at the Sydney Opera House.

Led by Artistic and Music Director Brett Weymark OAM and Associate Music Director Dr Elizabeth Scott, and with more than 2,000 singers across six ensembles, SPC brings the full power of the human voice to dynamic music making. From blockbuster choral classics like Carmina Burana or the Verdi Requiem, to the soaring soundtracks of films such as Gladiator, heartwarming musical theatre, and world premieres by leading Australian composers.

Each year, SPC performs approximately 50 performances across Sydney and beyond, collaborating with top-tier orchestras, soloists and conductors, performing regularly with many of Australia’s most prominent arts companies and festivals. SPC has performed in the Sydney Opera House, Hamer Hall Melbourne, the Singapore National Football Stadium, Westminster Abbey, the Tokyo Dome and the Royal Albert Hall. Highlights over the years have included the opening of the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney and Nagano Olympic Games and being the first Australian choir to perform at the BBC Proms. SPC is also proud to have been the choir of choice for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra since 1936.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs concerts celebrate diversity – of voices, of stories, and of sound – with programs that allow singers and audiences to connect with an exhilarating range of music in languages from English to Gadigal, keeping things fresh with premieres, commissions and new interpretations of beloved classics.