Semi-finalists
Semi-finalists for the 2016 Mietta Song Competition are:
David Greco
A truly international singer, Australian baritone David Greco has been based in the Netherlands and Germany for the last 7 years. David has sung throughout Europe’s finest concert halls, from Théâtre des Champs Elysées to the Vienna Konzerthaus, last year making his debut at the Royal Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.
He has been engaged by some of the most exceptional ensembles, most recently appearing at Festival Aix-en Provence with Freiburg Barokorchester, and at Glyndebourne Festival Opera with Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. He has toured throughout Europe extensively with orchestras The Academy of Ancient Music under Richard Egarr and Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra under Ton Koopman.
Since first appearing with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra in 2003, David has been engaged frequently as a soloist with the nation’s flagship orchestras and ensembles, including the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and Pinchgut Opera. In 2015 David was given the honour of being the first singer to work with the Australia’s all period classical orchestra, the Australian Haydn Ensemble.
In April last year, he was invited to perform Aaneas in Purcell’s Dido & Aaneas in Leo Schofield’s newly formed Brisbane Baroque Festival. This year he has been invited back to the festival to sing King Arthur of Purcell. Whilst in the UK David was bass Lay Clark at Westminster Abbey Choir, and was given the privilege to sing with the Sistine Chapel Choir in Rome throughout 2014. Recent engagements include Wagner in Gounod’s Faust in a co-production with Lyric Opera Chicago in the Macau International Music Festival and concerts tours throughout Switzerland, Germany, Holland and France.
2016 sees David’s debut as a principle artist with Opera Australia in Prokopiev’s The Love of Three Oranges & The Eighth Wonder. He will also feature in concerts with Sydney Symphony, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and the Sydney Chamber Choir In May David will perform Pergoloesi’s La Serva Padrona and Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle for Canberra International Music Festival. David’s Naxos Recording debut was recently released ‘Poems of Love & War’, featuring arias by the late New Zealand composer, Jack Body.
Michael Curtain
Michael Curtain is a repetiteur at Opera Australia, and is the musical director for their touring schools program which, in 2016, will present Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel to thousands of primary school children across NSW.
Michael has performed with the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony Fellowship, Sinfonia and Sinfonietta, the SydneyPhilharmonia Choirs, and the Strelitzia Ensemble. He has performed in concert with many of Australia’s leading singers, including Cheryl Barker, Amelia Farrugia, Lorina Gore, and Natalie Aroyan.
Michael has been an official accompanist for the McDonald’s Sydney Eisteddfod and the Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Foundation.
Michael studied piano performance and accompaniment with David Miller AM, Clem Leske, and Natalia Ricci at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Program
Semifinal
Schubert
Vom Mitleiden Maria, D.632
Am Bach im Früling, D. 361
Maj Der Zwerg, D. 771
Glanville-Hicks
Come Sleep
Britten
Little Sir William (Vol 1 Folk song arrangements)
Britten
Evening Hymn (H. Prucell arrangement)
Final
Berg
Jugendlieder (1904-08)
Erster Verlust
Die Flötenspielerin
Regen
Ich liebe dich!
Duparc
L’invitation au voyage
Faure Clair de lune op. 46, no.2
Chausson
Hébé (Sept melodies) Op.2, no.6
Schubert
Die Gebüsche, D.646
Der Schiffer D.536
Nachtstück D.672
Auf der Bruck D.853
Douglas Kelly
Douglas Kelly is a young tenor who already has extensive experience in opera, oratorio and as a recitalist. In his final year at the Queensland Conservatorium, Douglas performed the full cycle of Schumann’s Dichterliebe in a public recital to a sold-out audience. While studying, Douglas was the recipient of The Margaret Nickson Prize for best partnership between a vocalist and accompanist both in 2010 and 2013.
As an opera performer Douglas has performed roles such as: Basilio in Mozart’s Le Nozze Di Figaro, Sellem in Stravinsky’s The Rakes Progress, Gherardo in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Hajny in Dvorak’s Rusalka and most recently the title role of Aeneas in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. Since relocating to Melbourne, Douglas’ performance credits include singing the Tenor Solo in Handel’s Messiah with the Heidelberg Choral Society, as well as soloist engagements with Gloriana, XL Arts and Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Society. His other oratorio credits include: the Tenor role in Berlioz’ L’Enfance Du Christ, Britten’s War Requiem, Monteverdi’s Vespro Della Beata Virgine and Bach’s Cantata BWV 21.
As a recitalist he has performed for 3MBS’ The Talent live-performance series and Morning Melodies in Winchelsea. On stage, Douglas has worked with singers such as Liane Keegan and Lisa Gasteen, and conductors Nicholas Braithwaite and Benjamin Northey. In 2016, Douglas is creating a unique recital series to explore his love of song performance, including premiering a song cycle written specifically for him.
Tristan Lee
Tristan Lee is an Australian pianist rapidly gaining international recognition for his distinctive style and musicianship. Recent highlights have included performances of concertos by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Grieg and Rachmaninoff; and solo recitals throughout UK, Italy, Lithuania, France, the Netherlands, Cuba, China and Australia. Widely sought as a chamber musician and collaborative artist he has appeared twice at the Wigmore Hall to critical acclaim. Tristan Lee completed his postgraduate study at the Royal Northern College of Music following undergraduate study at the University of Melbourne. He has won many notable prizes and scholarships including the Geoffrey Parsons Trust 2012 and the Ian Potter Cultural Trust 2010. Between 2012 and 2013 he undertook a period of study with renowned French pianist, François-Frédéric Guy in Paris.
Program
Semifinal
Wolf
Ganymed
Ireland
The Trellis
Glanville-Hicks
Frollic
Schubert
Erlkonig
Final
Beethoven
An Die Ferne Geliebte
Britten
Winter Words (Selections)
Laura King
Australian born soprano, Laura commenced her music studies in piano, at age 4. Employment as a child singer with Opera Australia instilled in her a passion for singing and operatic performance. Laura has her LmusA in voice (distinction), CmusA in piano, and a BFA, College Of Fine Arts, UNSW.
2016 is an exciting year for Laura, her most notable performances this year include: Annina in La Traviata with Opera Projects Sydney, Eleonora in Prima la musica e poi le parole (Salieri) with Peanut Gallery Opera, Dvořák’s Stabat Mater with Illawarra Choral Society, and in September she will make her Sydney Opera House debut as a principal artist in Pecan Summer with Short Black Opera.
Previously Laura has been a Young Artist with Pacific Opera in 2013 and 2015. In 2015 she performed the roles of The Rooster and The Woodpecker, and was the cover for the title role in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, conducted by Alexander Briger, produced by Pacific Opera. Other Major performances last year included Mrs Nolan in Menotti’s The Medium with Opera Prometheus and The Messiah, Handel with Illawarra Choral Society, Wollongong Town Hall. A Highlight of the year was performing as a solo artist at the international gala of Turkey In Music at the Capitol Theatre Sydney.
Recent competition success in 2015 are: semi-finalist in the MacDonald Operatic Aria Sydney Eisteddfod adjudicated by Rosamund Illing and John Boltan -Wood, AM, and Finalist in Opera Awards Sydney Eisteddfod. In 2014 Laura won 2nd place in Lieder at Sydney Eisteddfod and was a reserve for The Mietta Song Competition 2014.
Jonathan Wilson
Pianist Jonathan Wilson has recently returned to Australia after being awarded a Doctorate of Music (Piano Performance) by the University of Montreal, under the tutelage of Marc Durand and Paul Stewart. During the past ten years, Jonathan performed regularly throughout Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Estonia and France. Highlights include solo performances at such prestigious venues as Wigmore Hall, St James Piccadilly in London, Australia House London (in the presence of the Governor General of Australia), the Jacqueline du Pre Hall in Oxford, the National Library of Estonia in Tallinn, the Glaaspaleis in Heerlen (Netherlands), the Birmingham Town Hall, and the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall.
Jonathan Wilson particularly enjoys collaborating with singers and instrumentalists. His concerto performances include Mozart Concerto K414 with the European Union Chamber Orchestra (Bromsgrove Festival), Liszt Concerto no.1 with the Sussex Concert Orchestra, Tchaikovsky Concerto no.1 with Finchley Chamber Orchestra (London) and with the Sussex Concert Orchestra. Jonathan’s recitals have been broadcast nationally on ABC Classic FM.
Jonathan completed a Bachelor of Arts (Music) at the University of Sydney before relocating to London in 2006. His studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama were generously supported by the Australian Music Foundation, the Tait Memorial Trust, the Marion MacAulay Bequest Scholarship (Sydney University), and the Guildhall’s Sergei Rachmaninov Award, Phyllis Simmons Award and Dennis & Sylvia Forbes Award. Jonathan graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Bachelor of Music and Master in Performance degrees. Jonathan went on to hold a prestigious Guildhall Junior Fellowship during 2010 – 2011 before moving to Montreal for his doctoral studies.
Jonathan Wilson has won numerous competitions including first prize in the Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition, second prize in the Australian National Piano Award and third prize and highest placed pianist in the Bromsgrove Young Artists Platform. Jonathan’s past teachers include Joan Havill and Anne Queffélec. He has participated in masterclasses with such well known pianists as Leon Fleisher, John Lill and Ferenc Rados.
Program
Semifinal
Duparc
Chanson
Triste
De Falla
Siete canciones populares Españolas
No. 1 – El Paño moruno
Walton
Through Gilded Trellises
Schubert
Gesang aus "Wilhelm Meister", D 877 no. 3
Lied der Mignon (III): So Lasst mich scheinen
Wolf
Mignon (Kennst du das land)
Final
Berg
From Sieben Frühe Lieder
No. 1 – Nacht
No. 3 – Die Nachtigall
Ravel
Chanson écossaise
Beath
Yunggamurra
Duparc
L’Invitation au Voyage
Ives
The Cage
Ann St
Barber
4 Songs op. 13
No. 3 – Sure On This Shining Night
Rachmaninoff
6 Songs op. 38 no. 5 – Сон
no. 6 – Ay
Max Riebl
Countertenor Max Riebl began his stage career as a boy soprano and has since performed in operas and oratorios with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, the Victorian and Vienna Chamber Orchestras, the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic as well as a host of baroque ensembles throughout Europe and Australia. He has sung in venues such as the the Dutch National Opera and Ballet, the Vienna Konzerthaus, and Musikverein, the Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Recital Center and Hamer Hall.
He has performed works including Handel’s Orlando, Messiah and Dixit Dominus, John Blow’s Venus and Adonis and Purcell’s Fairy Queen, Bach’s Johannes Passion, Magnificat and B-minor Mass, Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater, Gloria and Nisi Dominus, Mozart’s Requiem and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater.
He has received top prizes in some of Australia’s most prestigious vocal competitions including the IFAC Australian Singing Competition, Herald Sun Aria and the Royal Philharmonic Arias.
Rosalie Riebl
Born in Melbourne, Rosie began her Piano studies at age five. Six years later she was accepted to study under Professor Frank Wibaut, then director of the Australian National Academy of Music. At 14 Rosie moved to Vienna to study at the Universität Darstellende Kunst Wien. During this time she gave a series of public performances including solo and chamber shows in Salzburg and Vienna. In addition to this she participated in a number of Master courses notably those given by Professor Karl.H Kämmerling in Lindau and Bückeburg.
Following her return to Australia, Rosie continued performing, competing and studying at the Australian National Academy of Music. During her two years at ANAM, she participated in master classes with an exciting array of international artists including Gary Graffman, Pascal Rogé, Boris Berman and Imogen Cooper.
After two years at ANAM Rosie spent some time in New York and eventually moved to London. It was during this time that her current interest in composing and music for theatre, television and film began to emerge. After her time abroad she moved to Sydney where she received a first class Honours from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Rosie is currently performing and accompanying, as well as composing for solo performance and moving picture with a focus on contemporary classical music.
Program
Semifinal
Purcell
Sweeter than Roses
Brahms
In Stiller Nacht
Britten (folk)
Sally Gardens
Percy Grainger
the Love Song of Har Dyal
Schubert
Ave Maria (German Version)
Final
Haydn
The Spirit Song
Brahms
von ewige liebe
Scarlatti
Qual farfalletta amante
Giordani
Caro mio ben
Schubert
An Mignon
Britten (Folk)
Corpus Christie Carol
Meagan Gaffney
Born in Melbourne, Meagan holds a Bachelor of Education and a Master of Music from the University of Melbourne, graduating from both degrees with Honours in Music Performance. Meagan’s early tuition was with Miss Joan Arnold at the Melba Conservatorium, and she has also studied with Bettine McCaughan, Merlyn Quaife and Ghillian Sullivan.
Meagan is an experienced recitalist, having a special interest in the works of Schubert, Fauré, Strauss and Wolf as well as the folk music of Australia, Ireland and England. In addition to recording for ABC Classic FM, Meagan has been the recipient of scholarships and awards from the Joan Sutherland Society, the Opera and Arts Support Group and the Robert Stolz Society, which has enabled her to undertake periods of study in Germany and England.
Meagan has performed as a principal artist for Opera Australia, Opera Hunter and Rockdale Opera in Sydney, and her roles include Juliette in Romeo and Juliette, Amina in La Sonnambula, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and Konstanze in Die Entführung as dem Serail. Meagan has also appeared as a concert artist with various regional orchestras and ensembles, including the Wollongong Symphony Orchestra and the Central Coast Symphony Orchestra.
In 2015, Meagan completed the Juris Doctor degree at the University of Melbourne Law School, and is currently undertaking articles in order to be admitted to practice as a lawyer in Victoria. As a single parent of three teenage boys, one with autism, Meagan has a particular interest in both Family Law and Disability Human Rights law.
Jodie Lockyer
Jodie Lockyer is a graduate of The Victorian College of the Arts where she studied piano with Michael Kieran Harvey. In 1991, she was the winner of the Bill Burrell Memorial Trust scholarship which enabled her to study accompaniment with Margaret Schoefield.
In 1996, Jodie travelled to England where she was a student of the Royal Northern College of Music, majoring in accompaniment with John Wilson and Carole Pressland.
In 1997 she was the winner of the Margaret Tudor Evans Prize for piano accompaniment and was a finalist in The Royal Overseas League competition.
Jodie has been an accompanist for the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Society, The Melbourne University Choral Society and has recently taught at Loreto Mandeville Hall and Westbourne Grammar. She is currently an accompanist for The Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne and Monash universities and is a regular performer at the RACV club.
Jodie has also worked extensively for Opera Australia in the role of pianist for the Victorian Schools Company Education program and in 2006 toured with Oz Opera through NSW and SA as orchestral pianist for Carmen.
Jodie has appeared in masterclasses with Victor Morris Malcolm Martineau, Geoffrey Parsons, Anne Howells and Ronald Farren Price. She has also recorded CDs with the RNCM Wind Orchestra available on the Chandos label.
Program
Semifinal
Fauré
Notre Amour Après un rêve
Strauss
Ich wollt ein Sträusslein binden Allerseelen
Copland
When they come back
Why do they shut me out of heaven
Arlen
Clancy of the Overflow
Final
Schubert
Seligkeit
Im Frühling
Rastlose Liebe
Duparc
L’invitation au voyage
Le manoir de Rosemonde
Wolf
In dem Schatten meiner Locken
Das verlassene Mägdlein
Mausfallen - Sprüchlein
Britten
The Ash Grove
Oliver Cromwell
Dring
Song of a Nightclub Proprietress
Michael Butchard
Michael Butchard holds a Bachelor of Arts (Music and Germanic Studies) degree from the University of Sydney and an Advanced Diploma of Opera from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where he studied with Dr Rowena Cowley. In 2013 he graduated with Master of Performance (Vocal Performance) from the Royal College of Music, London (RCM), where he studied Justin Lavender and was the recipient of the Vivian Prins Award. Michael’s studies were further aided by bursaries from the Opera and Arts Support Group, the NSW Music Teachers Association and the Royal School of Church Music NSW branch.
After graduating, Michael was active as a freelance singer with companies across the UK such as English Touring Opera, London Voices, the Philharmonia Chorus and Garsington Opera and continued his vocal studies in London with Raymond Connell. Once more based in Sydney, he continues to work with Glenn Winslade.
In demand on the concert platform, his recent concert performances include the Evangelist in Bach’s St Matthew Passion, Tenor Soloist in Bach’s St John Passion, Messiah, and gala concerts with Pacific Opera and Willoughby Symphony Orchestra.
Michael’s recent operatic roles include Alfredo in La Traviata (Opera New England), Frank Wild and Thoralf Sorlle in the contemporary opera Shackleton’s Cat (English Touring Opera), Tamino in Die Zauberflöte (Woodhouse Opera Festival), Pasek (cover) in The Cunning Little Vixen (Garsington Festival Opera), Ferrando in Così Fan Tutte (Focus Opera), Ernesto in Don Pasquale (Pavilion Opera), Remendado in Carmen (Woodhouse Opera Festival), Rodolfo in La Boheme (Opera at Bearwood) and 2nd Soldier in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea (RCM International Opera School/English Touring Opera).
Future engagements include several roles in the contemporary opera Pecan Summer with Short Black Opera at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall (September 2016), Elvino in La Sonnambula for Operantics/Penrith Symphony Orchestra (September 2016) and Lensky in Eugene Onegin for Co-Opera (December 2016).
Michael Curtain
Michael Curtain is a repetiteur at Opera Australia, and is the musical director for their touring schools program which, in 2016, will present Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel to thousands of primary school children across NSW.
Michael has performed with the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony Fellowship, Sinfonia and Sinfonietta, the SydneyPhilharmonia Choirs, and the Strelitzia Ensemble. He has performed in concert with many of Australia’s leading singers, including Cheryl Barker, Amelia Farrugia, Lorina Gore, and Natalie Aroyan.
Michael has been an official accompanist for the McDonald’s Sydney Eisteddfod and the Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Foundation.
Michael studied piano performance and accompaniment with David Miller AM, Clem Leske, and Natalia Ricci at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Program
Semifinal
Gurney
Sleep
Duparc
Chanson Triste
Mozart
Abendempfindung KV523
Schubert
An die
Laute Tosti
La Serenata
Glanville-Hicks
Come Sleep
Final
Faure
Poëme d’un Jour (Op. 21)
1. Rencontre
2. Toujours
3. Adieu
Britten
From The Holy Sonnets of John Donne Op.353.
O might those sighes and teares
6. Since she whom I loved
7. At the round earth’s imagined corners
De Falla
Siete Canciones Populares Españolas
1. El paño moruno
2. Seguidilla murciana
3. Asturiana
4. Jota
5. Nana
6. Canción
7. Polo
Zoe Drummond
Zoe Drummond is the proud recipient of the 2016 Dame Nellie Melba Scholarship and Patrick & Vivian Gordon Award with the Melba Opera Trust. In 2015 Zoe was granted the Trusts RJ Hamer Opera Scholarship and The Sydney Opera House Opera Award.
Zoe recently completed a Bachelor of Music Performance (Voice) with First Class Honours at The Sydney Conservatorium of Music. During her degree, Zoe was awarded numerous scholarships for academic and musical excellence. Zoe was selected to represent the Conservatorium at the inaugural Estivo Chamber Music Festival in Verona, Italy.
Operatic highlights include Monica in Menotti’s ‘The Medium’ with Opera Prometheus, Papagena in Pacific Opera’s ‘The Magic Flute’, ‘Flora’ in Britten’s ‘The Turn Of The Screw’ with Victorian Opera and ‘Lucy’ in Menotti’s ‘The Telephone’ with Penrith Symphony Orchestra.
Zoe has performed extensively as a soprano soloist: in Mendelssohn’s Elijah; Gounod’s St Cecilia Mass; Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem; Mozart’s Coronation Mass; Peterson’s Shadows and Light; Mozart’s Vespers K339; Haydn’s Theresa Mass; Schubert’s Magnificat; Handel’s Messiah; and Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb.
Zoe also performs nationally and internationally with The Seven Sopranos and Voci Stupende.
Benjamin Burton
Benjamin Burton is a talented young pianist with a passion for accompanying vocal and instrumental performances. In 2014, Ben did an internship with Opera Australia, and travelled on full scholarship to Munich, Germany as repetiteur for the Bel Canto Summer Program. In his role as accompanist, Ben has performed all over the country, and in 2016 will be continuing to perform with Voci Stupende, be an official accompanist for the Sydney and Shoalhaven Eisteddfods, and for the third time be pianist-in-residence for the 2016 Moorambilla Voices Festival. 2016 also sees Ben giving recitals with Susannah Lawergren, Hannah Fraser and Andrew O’Connor of The Song Company, and performing as first pianist in Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle.
Ben studied Piano Performance with an accompaniment focus at the Sydney Conservatorium with David Miller and Bernadette Harvey, and has also studied with David Howie and Stephen Mould. In 2012 and 2013 he won won the Mollie Neale award for highest marks in accompaniment he has also participated in masterclasses with Yvonne Kenny, Glenn Winslade, Fiona Janes, Bernadette Cullen, Carlo Barricello, Sue Newsome, Dr. Michael Halliwell, Maree Ryan and Ole Bohn.
Program
Semifinal
Schumann
From 6 Gesänge, Op. 89.
Röselein, Röselein
Strauss
From 6 Lieder aus ‘Lotosblätter’, Op. 19.
Wie sollten wir geheim
Strauss
From 4 Lieder ‘des Knaben Wunderhorn’, Op. 36.
Hat gesagt-bleibt’s nichts dabei
Keats
Love’s Secret
Australian Song
Bridge
Come to Me in My Dreams
Poulenc
From Deux Poèmes de Louis Aragon.
I. C
II. Fêtes Galantes
Final
Obradors
Canciones clàsics españolas
I: La mi sola, Laureola
II: Al Amore
IV: El majo celoso
Messiaen
Harawi
X. Amour oiseau D’Etoile
Grieg
Sechs Lieder, Op. 48
V: Zum Rosenzeit
VI: Ein Traum
Debussy
Quatre Chansons de Jeunesse
I: Pantomime
II Clair de Lune
III: PierrotI
V: Apparition