Stellar opportunity for rising operatic star

A New Zealand School of Music student will perform at the Sydney Opera House as a finalist in the 2011 IFAC Australian Singing Competition.

Bryony Williams' steelar opportunity comes at the end of October, accompanied by the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra as one of five finalists in the competition, vying for a share of prizes, career opportunities and scholarships worth more than A$220,000.

"I am absolutely thrilled," says Bryony. "Just 10 people were selected for the semi finals, which consisted of a private audition, an interview with the judging panel and a public concert held in North Sydney. Now I am focused on the Opera House final on 30 October"

She will be singing two arias – Piangea cantando (the willow song), Desdemona's aria from Verdi's Otello, and Cäcilie by Richard Strauss.

Bryony is currently studying for a Postgraduate Diploma at the New Zealand School of Music (NZSM) with Classical Performance Programme Leader Jenny Wollerman, also an operatic soprano with extensive international experience.

"This is a fabulous opportunity for Bryony", NZSM Director Professor Elizabeth Hudson says. "The prizes are open to all of the finalists. The main prize, the Mathy Scholarship, is given to the person considered the winner, but other awards include scholarships for study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, and the International Vocal Arts Institute in Israel."

The 22-year old singer is familiar to Wellington audiences. She performed the role of Helena in the NZSM’s August production of Benjamin Britten's A Midsummmer Night's Dream, and was a member of the Chapman Tripp Opera Chorus in NBR NZ Opera's recent Cav and Pag season. She was also one of the guest performers at the Victoria University of Wellington's December graduation ceremonies in 2010.

Bryony also won the 2010 Dame Malvina Major Foundation Wellington Aria Competition and the Classical mélodie section of the inaugural Alliance Française Concours de la Chanson. She was also a finalist in the 2010 Waiariki Institute of Technology New Zealand Aria competition, singing with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.

The IFAC Australian Singing Competition evolved from the Marianne Mathy Scholarship, established through a bequest made by Marianne Mathy-Frisdane, a distinguished teacher of opera and classical singing. The competition is now entering its third decade discovering, rewarding and providing career opportunities to emerging Australasian opera and classical singers under the age of 26. It has been won by New Zealanders just twice before: Nicola Waite was the inaugural winner in 1982 and bass baritone Paul Whelan won the award in 1987.