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 Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France.

Klaus Florian Vogt is one of the finest Wagner tenors of our time. His repertoire covers mostly dramatic roles such as Lohengrin, Parsifal, Tannhäuser, Stolzing, Siegmund and Siegfried but also Florestan (Fidelio), Paul (Die tote Stadt) and Hoffmann (Les Contes d’Hoffmann). It extends furthermore to lyric-dramatic roles such as Erik (Der fliegende Holländer), Andrej (Chowanschtschina), Prinz (Rusalka), Bacchus (Ariadne auf Naxos) and Faust (La Damnation de Faust).

Klaus Florian Vogt is a much sought after guest at all major opera houses and at the Bayreuth and Salzburg Festivals. His career led him amongst others to Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, London, Barcelona, Vienna, Madrid, Milan, Toulouse, Helsinki, New York and Tokyo. 2005 saw his debut in Japan as Hoffmann (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), in 2006 he debuted as Lohengrin at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and in 2007 he sang for the first time at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan (Lohengrin), where he later returned as Florestan (Fidelio). He enjoyed great success as Lohengrin in a new production at the Vienna State Opera and could also be seen in the same production at the Zurich Opera House. In 2015 he sang an outstanding Paul in a new production of Die tote Stadt at Hamburg State Opera. 

In 2017 he added the role of Tannhäuser to his repertoire, starring in a new production at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. In 2007 Klaus Florian Vogt gave a triumphal debut as Walther von Stolzing at the Bayreuth Festival in a new staging by Katharina Wagner of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. From 2011 to 2015 he achieved further notable success as Lohengrin in the staging by Hans Neuenfels. In 2016 the audience saw him in the title role of a new production of Parsifal under the baton of Hartmut Haenchen. In 2017, 2018 and 2019 he performed Stolzing in another new Bayreuth production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, directed by Barrie Kosky and conducted by Philippe Jordan. In 2019, 2021 and 2022 he also sung Lohengrin at the Bayreuth Festival. In 2022 he was Siegmund in the new Ring Cyle directed by Valetin Schwarz, 2023 he sang Tannhäuser for the first time at the festival. 2023 he made his acclaimed debut as Siegfried in Siegfried and Götterdämmerung at the Zurich Opera House. 

Klaus Florian Vogt’s Lohengrin takes him to the most important stages all over the world. Currently no other tenor is as successful in the role of Wagner’s Knight of the Grail. As Lohengrin he has set artistic standards. He performed the role amongst others at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Metropolitan Opera New York, Vienna State Opera Zurich Opera, New National Theatre Tokyo, Munich State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Hamburg State Opera, the Easter Festival Baden-Baden and at the Bayreuth Festival.

The tenor has established his reputation also as a concert singer and a fine interpreter of Lied. His international recital career took him many times to Vienna, New York, London, Athens, Berlin, Leipzig as well as the Tanglewood Festival, the Grafenegg Festival the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival and the Salzburg Festival.

His concert repertoire covers works by Mozart, Beethoven, Mahler, Verdi, Flotow und Wagner. He achieved great success in 2019 with the premiere of a chamber music version of Franz Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin at the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie. He regularly appears with renowned orchestras such as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam and works with famous conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Andris Nelsons, Mariss Jansons, Simone Young, Antonio Pappano and Kent Nagano.

Born in Holstein, in the North of Germany, Klaus Florian Vogt studied horn and played for several years with the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg. Later he studied at the Conservatory in Lübeck and gave up his position as a horn player in the orchestra to become a tenor. He made his debut in Flensburg and then became a member of the company at the Opera in Dresden. Since 2003 he has been a freelance artist.

Klaus Florian Vogt has a comprehensive discography. Three solo CDs have been published at SONY Classical: Heroes (2012, Orchestra Deutsche Oper Berlin, Peter Schneider), Wagner (2013, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Jonathan Nott) and Favorites (2014, Munich Radio Orchestra, Gerrit Prießnitz). In addition, the tenor has presented amongst others a recording of Korngold’s Die tote Stadt (Frankfurt Opera, Sebastian Weigle), a CD und DVD with hits from Berlin to Broadway co-starring Renée Fleming under the musical direction of Christian Thielemann and a complete recording of Lohengrin with the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin under Marek Janowski. The recording of Franz Schmidt’s Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln with the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra and Simone Young was released in January 2016. In 2017 followed another complete recording of Lohengrin with the Concertgebouw Orkest Amsterdam and Sir Mark Elder and a DVD of the Parsifal production from the Bayreuth Festival 2016. In 2018 the Bayreuth production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg directed by Barrie Kosky was released on DVD and awarded an OPUS Klassik award in 2019.  In 2023 he released a CD with Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin in a chamber music version. In 2012 Klaus Florian Vogt has been awarded the ECHO Klassik as artist of the year, 2025 he has been honoured Best Singer at the Oper! Awards in Brussels. In 2019 the Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg honours Klaus Florian Vogt with the title Hamburger Kammersänger. 

German soprano Anja Kampe is one of today‘s most important singers. Her portrayals of significant roles have set the standard for other performers, including her Brünnhilde in the new Ring des Nibelungen (Tcherniakov/Thielemann) at Berlin State Opera, Kundry at Wiener Staatsoper and at Operá de Paris, Sieglinde at Bayreuth Festival, Isolde at Berlin and Munich State Opera, Katerina Ismailova and Minnie (La Fanciulla del West) at Bayerische Staatsoper München, Brünnhilde (Die Walküre) at the Salzburg Easter Festival, and most recently her role debut as Marie (Wozzeck) at Vienna State Opera. 

Anja Kampe opened the 2024/25 season as Isolde in a new production at San Francisco Opera with Eun Sun Kim conducting. She will then appear as Brünnhilde in concert performances of Die Walküre with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Simone Young. She will sing the title role of Ariadne auf Naxos at Hamburg State Opera in a new production directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov. At Semperoper Dresden, Kampe will take on Ortrud in Lohengrin, having appeared before in concert as Isolde with the Dresden Philharmonic under Marek Janowski and in Monte-Carlo under Philippe Jordan. As Kundry, Ortrud and Brünnhilde she returns to Vienna State Opera in three of the most important roles of her repertoire, before ending the season as Ortrud at the Munich Opera Festival.

Among the most important engagements of recent seasons are Giorgetta in a new production of Il Trittico in Vienna, her debut at the Metropolitan Opera New York as Senta in The Flying Dutchman, new productions of Fanciulla del West with Antonio Pappano and Tristan und Isolde with Daniel Barenboim at the Berlin State Opera, the new production of Parsifal conducted by Philippe Jordan at the Opéra National de Paris, and Sieglinde at both the Bayreuth Festival and the Munich Opera Festival under Kirill Petrenko.

Kampe achieved her international breakthrough as Sieglinde, at the side of Placido Domingo, at Washington National Opera. She has performed this same role in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Munich, Berlin, Barcelona, ​​Paris, London and Bayreuth. Senta has also become a central role of Kampe’s, and she has sung it in New York, Munich, Hamburg, Dresden, Vienna, Zurich, Milan, Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Brussels, London, Tokyo and Dallas.

Kampe has worked with conductors including Claudio Abbado, Semyon Bychkov, James Conlon, Mark Elder, Adam Fischer, Daniele Gatti, Valery Gergiev, Daniel Harding, Marek Janowski, Simone Young, Vladimir Jurowski, Jesùs López-Cobos, Fabio Luisi, Nicola Luisotti, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Kent Nagano, Andris Nelsons, Kazushi Ono, Donald Runnicles, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Sebastian Weigle and Franz Welser-Möst.

Some of the most prestigious productions in which Kampe has performed are also available on DVD, including Die Walküre from the Salzburg Easter Festival, Der fliegende Holländer from Zürich and Parsifal from the Staatsoper Berlin. Additionally, recordings of Tristan und Isolde and Fidelio featuring Ms. Kampe were released by the Glyndebourne Festival, as was Die Gezeichneten from Los Angeles. Ms. Kampe’s recording of Die Walküre conducted by Valery Gergiev was awarded the Echo Klassik as the best opera recording of the year in 2013.

Falk Struckmann, one of the world's leading bass-baritones of our time, has now also devoted himself to the bass repertoire and has already enjoyed international success here as well, most recently with his role debut as the Doctor in Wozzeck at the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse. He sang this role with comparable success at the Opéra de Paris, where he also distinguished himself as Klingsor in Parsifal. His performances as Pizarro in concert performances of Fidelio at the Gstaad Festival and at the Grafenegg Festival under the baton of Jaap van Zweden became a personal triumph. Parts such as Pizarro, Rocco, Klingsor, Alberich, Hagen, Hunding or Fafner will continue to be the focus of his singing activities in the future.

Falk Struckmann begins the 2023/24 season with the role of the Grande Inquisitore in Verdi's Don Carlo at the Berlin State Opera. He will then appear in Tokyo in Eisler's Deutscher Sinfonie conducted by Sebastian Weigle and will take on the role of Hunding in concert performances of Act I Walküre under the baton of Jaap van Zweden in Seoul.

Born in Heilbronn Mr. Struckmann began his career in Kiel and Basel, and from there he quickly went to all the important opera houses and festivals around the world. He regularly works with the world’s leading conductors, including Daniel Barenboim,  Christian Thielemann, Kirill Petrenko, Riccardo Muti, Simone Young and Bertrand de Billy.  Mr. Struckmann has been named “Kammersänger” by both the Wiener and the Berliner  Staatsoper. He has performed in all major opera houses, including the Metropolitan  Opera New York, the Teatro alla Scala Milano, the Royal Opera House London, the Opéra  National de Paris, the Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, the San Francisco Opera, the Lyric  Opera Chicago and the Semperoper Dresden. He made his debut at the Bayreuth Festival  in 1993 as Kurwenal in a production by Heiner Müller under the baton of Daniel  Barenboim. This was followed by productions of the Ring under James Levine and  Christian Thielemann and Parsifal. He appeared at the Salzburg Festival in Tristan und  Isolde and in Bluebeard’s Castle. He sang Don Pizarro at the Lucerne Festival conducted  by Claudio Abbado. Essentially all of his roles have been published on CD or DVD. 

Samuel Dundas’ performance experience encompasses opera, music theatre, oratorio and recital. He has sung in concert throughout Australia and New Zealand, including with the Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Tasmanian, Queensland and West Australian Symphony Orchestras, the Australian Youth Orchestra and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.

Major role debuts again feature prominently in Samuel Dundas’ calendar this year, as he takes on the title role in Eugen Onegin for West Australian Opera and Nerone (The Coronation of Poppea, Kats-Chernin) for Victorian Opera. He also returns to Opera Australia as Sharpless (Madama Butterfly), to the Sydney Symphony as Gunther (Die Götterdämmerung) and to Sydney Philharmonia Choirs as Christus (St. John Passion).

Samuel Dundas’ recent engagements include the role of Cave in Eucalyptus (Jonathan Mills) for Perth and Brisbane Festivals and for Victorian Opera; Figaro (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Horatio (Hamlet: Dean) and his role debut as Wolfram (Tannhäuser) for Opera Australia; Dandini (La Cenerentola) and Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor) for Opera Queensland; the Count (Capriccio) and the title role in Galileo (Richard Mills) for Victorian Opera; Marcello (La boheme) and Sharpless for West Australian Opera, Opera Queensland and New Zealand Opera; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Donner (Das Rheingold) for Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Simone Young conducting. On the concert platform he has also been heard as Dr Falke (Die Fledermaus), in Beethoven 9 and Faure’s Requiem with West Australian Symphony, Faure’s Requiem, Haydn’s Harmony Mass and the Christmas Gala concert for Tasmanian Symphony and in the opening concert of Perth Festival, Music of the Spheres.

Samuel has also appeared in the role of Aphron in The Golden Cockerel for Adelaide Festival, as Marcello and the title role in Voss for State Opera South Australia, Marcello also for Opera Australia, Carmina Burana for Festival of Voices, Hobart and Adelaide Symphony, Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol for Victorian Opera, and given recitals including The Wanderer’s Life in Burnie, for the Ten Days on the Island Festival, for Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and in the Chamber Landscapes series at Ukaria for Adelaide Festival.

Samuel joined Opera Australia as a member of the Moffatt Oxenbould Young Artist Program and subsequently became a principal artist with the company, where his many roles have included Marcello, Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Papageno and Priest (The Magic Flute), Dr Malatesta (Don Pasquale), Belcore (The Elixir of Love), Silvio (Pagliacci), Marquis (La Traviata), Prosdocimo (Il turco in Italia), Yamadori (Madama Butterfly), Masetto (Don Giovanni), Ceprano (Rigoletto), Pish Tush (The Mikado), Morales (Carmen), Gaoler (Tosca), Sid (Albert Herring), Fiorello, Ambrogio and Notary (The Barber of Seville), Doctor/Inquisitor/Judge/Stanislaus (Candide), Handsome (La Fanciulla del West), Cascada (The Merry Widow) and Starveling (A Midsummer Night’s Dream). He has also taken the title role in Opera Australia’s Regional Tour of Don Giovanni and the roles of the High Priest, Politician and The Reporter in Sydney Opera House: The Opera, celebrating Opera Australia’s 60th Anniversary Season on the steps of the Sydney Opera House.

Further opera engagements include the title role in Ned Kelly (Styles) commissioned by Lost & Found Opera and Perth Festival; Dancairo and Morales in Carmen for State Opera South Australia; Count Carl Magnus Malcolm in A Little Night Music for Victorian Opera; Papageno for New Zealand Opera; Marcello for Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour and in Hanoi, Vietnam; Enrico, Count Almaviva (The Marriage of Figaro) and Valentin (Faust) for West Australian Opera; Morales and Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet) in concert performances with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.

After making his operatic debut with Opera Queensland in 2005, Samuel went on to become a member of Victorian Opera’s Artist Development program. He has since performed the title role in Don Giovanni, Papageno, Golaud (Pelléas et Mélisande), Harasta (The Cunning Little Vixen), Guglielmo, Belcore, Harlequin (Ariadne auf Naxos), the Second Soldier (The Love of the Nightingale), Creon/The Messenger (Oedipus Rex) and Chief Clerk (Metamorphosis), as well as Schaunard in the Puccini: The Sacred and Profane gala concert for the company.

Further concert engagements have included Fauré’s Requiem with the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, Carmina Burana with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Brahms Requiem with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Opera Under the Stars, Broome, and the inaugural concert at the Melbourne Recital Centre in Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music.

Samuel Dundas is a graduate of the Melba Conservatorium of Music, winner of the Lady Fairfax New York Scholarship and was the proud recipient of the inaugural Dame Heather Begg Award. He is formerly a member of the vocal faculty at Hobart Conservatorium of Music.

Australian soprano Eleanor Lyons is known for her versatility, deep musicality and fresh interpretations. An international success, Eleanor has garnered global attention for her beautiful voice and virtuosic performances. Also known for her versatility, Eleanor passionately shapes every detail of opera, orchestral concerts, chamber music and solo recitals. Her talent and approach have resulted in on-going fruitful collaborations with various orchestras and conductors on a global level.

Most recent highlights include Eleanor’s phenomenally successful house debut at Dresden's Semperoper as Leonore in Beethoven’s Fidelio in the historical production by Christine Milietz from 1989. She took the same role to the stage with the Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España in Madrid under the direction of David Afkham. In addition, Eleanor appeared as a soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Orchestre des Champs-Elysées conducted by Philippe Herreweghe as part of a European tour.

Here in Australia Eleanor returned to the Queensland Symphony in two consecutive engagements under the baton of Umberto Clerici, first in Strauss’ Four Last Songs followed by Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Other Australian highlights included her debut with the Sydney Symphony as Freia in a stage production of Wagner’s Das Rheingold with Simone Young. She also sung Verdi’s Requiem at the Adelaide Festival with the Antwerp Symphony. Further afield, Eleanor made her critically acclaimed debut with the MDR Symphony Orchestra in Ralph Vaughan Williams' Sea Symphony under Dennis Russell Davies and celebrated her first appearance at the Vienna Musikverein in Bruckner's Psalm 150 with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Petr Popelka. At the 2022 Festival Les Chorégies d'Orange, she appeared as soloist in Beethoven's Missa Solemnis under John Nelson as part of the French Bastille Day celebrations.

2025 see Eleanor perform Britten's Les Illuminations together with selected Mozart concert arias with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, while she makes her debut at Turin's Teatro Regio as the soloist in Mahler's 2nd Symphony under Aziz Shokhakimov. Eleanor will also return to the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in Verdi’s Requiem

Eleanor maintains her special collaboration with Philippe Herreweghe and embarks on another prestigious European tour in March with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

Eleanor Lyons looks forward to making other debuts as a soloist in Dvořák's Stabat Mater with the Rundfunksinfonie-Orchester Berlin, in Poulenc's Stabat Mater with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (Kazuki Yamada), Mahler’s Symphony No.2 with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (Jaime Martín) and Rossini’s Stabat Mater with the Tasmania Symphony Orchestra (Valentia Peleggi).

Eleanor won first prize at the International Obraztsova Singing Competition, studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and the Mariinsky Academy of Young Singers, St. Petersburg and was awarded the Michael Byrne Vienna State Opera Award.

Helpmann Award-winning Australian baritone Warwick Fyfe is widely acclaimed for his powerful stage presence and vocal versatility across a diverse repertoire.

In 2023, he returned to Opera Australia as Amonasro (Aida) and Alberich (Der Ring des Nibelungen), and to Melbourne Opera as Wotan/The Wanderer in their landmark Ring Cycle. His 2024 engagements included Scarpia (Tosca) for Opera Australia, Vodnik (Rusalka) for West Australian Opera, and Schoenberg’s Gurre-Lieder with the Sydney Symphony. In 2025, he makes his role début as Hans Sachs (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) for Melbourne Opera, and performs Vodnik for Opera Australia, Ferrando (Il trovatore) for West Australian Opera, and Alberich (Siegfried) in concert with the Sydney Symphony.

Other notable appearances include Beckmesser (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Sancho Panza (Don Quichotte), Geronio (Il turco in Italia), Barone di Trombonok (Il viaggio a Reims), and Klingsor (Parsifal) for Opera Australia; Alberich (Das Rheingold) for the Japan Philharmonic and Tianjin Symphony; Athanaël (Thaïs) and Amonasro for Finnish National Opera; Bartolo (Il barbiere di Siviglia) for Victorian Opera; Peter (Hansel and Gretel) and Wotan (Die Walküre) in Singapore; Bottom (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) for the Adelaide Festival; and Pizarro (Fidelio) in Melbourne and Perth.

A long-standing principal artist with Opera Australia, Warwick’s past roles include the title roles in Rigoletto, Falstaff and Der fliegende Holländer, as well as Mandryka (Arabella), the Four Villains (The Tales of Hoffmann), Dr Schön (Lulu), Faninal (Der Rosenkavalier), Wolfram (Tannhäuser), Papageno (The Magic Flute), Germont (La traviata), Leporello (Don Giovanni), and Pizarro.

His extensive concert repertoire spans work with all major Australian symphony orchestras, as well as the Warsaw Symphony, Singapore Symphony, Orchestra of the Music Makers (Singapore), Orchestra Wellington and Auckland Philharmonia. Highlights include Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s St Matthew Passion and Mass in B Minor, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, and Mozart’s Requiem.

Warwick received a Helpmann Award in 2013 for his portrayal of Alberich in the Melbourne Ring Cycle and was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2015 to study Wagnerian technique in Germany, the UK and the USA.

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).

Currently residing in the UK, leading Australian mezzo soprano Catherine Carby performs with major opera companies including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, English National Opera, Scottish Opera, Opera Australia, Victoria State Opera, State Opera South Australia and Opera Queensland. As a board member of Swap’ra UK (Supporting Women and Parents in Opera), Catherine is committed to achieving gender and pay equality in the opera industry.

In Australia this year Catherine will be heard in the dual roles of the mother and the witch (Hansel and Gretel) for State Opera South Australia, as Juno in Pinchgut Opera’s production of Semele, as Wellgunde and Second Norn in the Sydney Symphony’s Götterdämmerung, and as the alto soloist in Sydney Philharmonia Choirs’ Messiah.

A regular guest artist at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Catherine’s engagements include Gertrude (Hansel and Gretel), Siegrune (Die Walküre), Emilia (Otello), Antonia’s mother (Tales of Hoffmann), Second Maid (Elektra), Minerva/Fortune (The Return of Ulysses), Sister Mathilde (Dialogue des Carmélites), Annina (La Traviata), Voice from Above (Die Frau ohne Schatten) and for the Royal Ballet, Katharina Schratt (Mayerling).

Further roles internationally include her La Scala Milan debut as Waltraute (Die Walküre), Brangäne (Tristan und Isolde) at the Teatro São Carlos, Lisbon and for Longborough Festival Opera; Waltraute (Die Götterdämmerung) and Genevieve (Pelleas et Melisande) for Longborough; Jade Bouchier (Dead Man Walking) for ENO; Marcellina (The Marriage of Figaro) for Opera North; Malcolm (La Donna del Lago) for Buxton International Festival; Gluck’s Iphigenie en Tauride (title role), Aurelio (Donizetti’s L’Assedio di Calais), Cornelia (Giulio Cesare), Idamante, Diana (La Calisto), and Rodrigo (Donizetti’s Pia di Tolomei) for English Touring Opera; Sara (Robert Devereux), Elcia (Mose in Egitto, Rossini) and Romeo (I Capuleti e I Montecchi) for Chelsea Opera Group; Ramiro (La finta giardiniera) and Prue in Malcolm Arnold’s The Dancing Master for Buxton International Festival (the Resonus Classics recording of which won BBC Music Magazine’s Best Opera Award 2021); and the title role in L’Orfeo for Opus 48, Oxford.

On the concert platform she has been heard as Nita (The Mountebanks) with the BBC Concert Orchestra; Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Ulster Orchestra; Haydn’s Paukenmesse with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; Das Lied von der Erde with the Gardner Chamber Orchestra Boston; Mozart’s Mass in C for the Polski Chór Kameralny Gdańsk; Karl Jenkins’ 75th birthday celebrations; and Haydn’s Arianna auf Naxos with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

In Australia Catherine has been a guest artist with all the major companies including a national tour of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Idamante (Idomeneo) for Victorian Opera, Sesto (La Clemenza di Tito) for National Opera Company, Canberra, the title role in Médée and Penelope (Il Ritorno d’Ulisse) for Pinchgut Opera. On the concert platform further recent engagements include Wellgunde (Das Rheingold) with the Sydney Symphony and chief conductor Simone Young, Handel’s Messiah (Sir Andrew Davis conducting) and Verdi’s Requiem with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (Chief Conductor Jaime Martín) and with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn at the Lisa Gasteen National Opera Program in Brisbane.

For Opera Australia Catherine has sung Gertrude (Hamlet: Dean), Octavian (Der Rosenkavalier, available on DVD), title role (Carmen), Arsace (Partenope, Green Room Award nomination), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Romeo (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Hippolyta (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Baba the Turk (The Rake’s Progress, Helpmann Award), Mallika (Lakmé), Ruth (The Pirates of Penzance), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Cornelia (Giulio Cesare, Green Room Award), Ruggiero (Alcina), Kristina (The Makropulos Affair), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Second Lady (Magic Flute) and Auntie (Peter Grimes).

Her recordings include The Mountebanks (with the BBC Singers for Dutton Epoch), Lampe’s The Dragon of Wantley for Resonus Classics, Satanella for Naxos CD, The Love for Three Oranges for Chandos CD, Les contes d’Hoffmann for Sony CD/Blu Ray, Der Rosenkavalier for Opera Australia CD/DVD/Blu Ray, and The Royal Opera’s Die Walküre (Siegrune) on Opus Arte Blu Ray/DVD which won the 2021 BBC Music Magazine’s DVD of the Year, and Mayerling.

Catherine Carby studied at the Canberra School of Music and the Royal College of Music, London, and was a Young Artist for both Victoria State Opera and Opera Australia. She was a finalist in several major competitions including the Kathleen Ferrier Award, the ABC Young Performers (Vocal finalist) and the Young Concert Artists Trust.

Australian mezzo-soprano Margaret Plummer was engaged as a principal artist at the Vienna State Opera for eight seasons. During this time Margaret performed a vast range of repertoire for the company including Hänsel (Hänsel and Gretel), Mercedes (Carmen), Waltraute (Die Walküre), Flosshilde (Das Rheingold and Gőtterdämmerung), Second Norn (Die Gőtterdämmerung), Blumenmädchen (Parsifal), Siebel (Faust), Varvara (Katya Kabanova), Tebaldo (Don Carlos), Page (Salome), Fenena (Nabucco), Meg Page (Falstaff, also for Hamburg State Opera), Tisbe (La Cenerentola), Hermia (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Wood Sprite (Rusalka) and Fjodor (Boris Godunov).

On her return to Opera Australia this year Margaret will star in the New Year’s Eve Gala and as Hansel in Hansel and Gretel in the Sydney Summer Season. She will then travel to Adelaide to appear in John Adams’ El Nino: Nativity Reconsidered for Adelaide Festival, before returning to Vienna where she will be heard as Waltraute and Second Norn in Die Walküre and Götterdämmerung, and Clover in Animal Farm at the Vienna State Opera. Later in the year she returns to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra to perform the roles of First Norn and Flosshilde in Götterdämmerung, Simone Young conducting.

Margaret’s most recent engagements include Prince Charming in Opera Australia’s Cinderella (Cendrillon). Her continuing association with the Vienna State Opera has also seen her undertake the roles of Adelaide (Arabella), Martha (Iolanta), Second Lady (Die Zauberflöte), Emilia (Otello), Annina (Der Rosenkavalier), Charlotte (Werther), Genevieve (Pelleas et Melisande) and Kitchen Boy (Rusalka).

Other significant engagements for Margaret have included her debuts at La Scala Milan as Auntie in Peter Grimes, and at the Bayreuth Festival as Blumenmädchen and Second Knappe (Esquire) in Parsifal. She has also been engaged as Carmen (title role) by Longborough Festival, Charlotte (Werther) and Marguerite (La damnation du Faust) for the Tiroler Landestheater, Innsbruck, in Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 with the Vienna Philharmonic and Haydn’s Theresienmesse with the Savaria Symphony Orchestra.

Prior to winning the 2014 Vienna State Opera Award, Margaret performed extensively with Opera Australia including performances in Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour as well as in regional touring productions. She was also heard as Hexe (Hansel and Gretel) with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, as Phoebe (Castor et Pollux) and Diane (Iphigenie en Tauride) for Pinchgut Opera, as Dorabella (Così fan tutte) for Pacific Opera and in Mozart’s Requiem with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.

Margaret holds a Bachelor of Music from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

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.

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.