BY SYLVIE WOODS, LEAD WRITER (NSW)
A competition where every finalist receives a 60-minute massage voucher? Yes please.
Each year, the IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition (ASC) attracts competitors for its various scholarships, at the centre of which is the coveted Marianne Mathy scholarship. Affectionately known as “The Mathy”, this “suite of valuable cash prizes and opportunities” has enabled classical singers from Australia and New Zealand to gain ground here and internationally since the 1980s.
While the winner of The Mathy receives such opulent attentions as a portrait painting in concert dress, a taped interview to be stored by oral historian Diana Ritch in the National Library of Australia, and an audition prize with the Lyric Opera of Chicago (as well as cash, of course), the other awards in the competition are not peripheral. Considerable cash and opportunity await finalists, with PR assistance, professional engagements with our national orchestras, and flights and fees for international study giving a much-needed platform to our deserving local talent.
Opportunity is the name of the game this year for soprano Georgia Melville, who has been selected as a semi-finalist for the ASC. The recipient of myriad scholarships at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, performance student Georgia has the fortune of possessing a categorically phenomenal instrument, but, like many classical singers, is reliant on such competitions as the ASC to recognise and nurture it. We talk to Georgia, who performs this week in the semi-finals of the ASC, about the audition and realising her international goals.
Congratulations on your selection as a semi-finalist, Georgia. Tell us about your audition.
First of all, thank you! I honestly did not expect to advance to the semi-finals, this being my first time entering a competition of this scale. Heats are held all around Australia, New Zealand, and in London. I’m not sure how many people entered exactly, but there were two full days of auditions in Sydney – and there were some brilliant sounds coming from that audition room!
Georgia, at 22 years old, you are one of the younger finalists to secure a place this year (the youngest of the lot being 21). How do you reconcile the limits of a developing voice with the maturity required to sing (a lot of) classical music for soprano voice?
Mozart. Lots of Mozart! But seriously, he really knew what he was doing when it comes to the soprano voice.
I’m trying to stick to the earlier composers of opera for now – I have performed a few roles in Baroque operas (Handel, Purcell, and the like), and at the moment I’m covering Zerlina in Don Giovanni.
As a naturally ambitious person, I am so cautious of ‘pushing’ my voice or trying to sing repertoire that is beyond my capabilities as a young singer. This may sound like a bit of a contradiction, but I’ve worked hard to get to the point where the actual singing part is no longer a difficult physical task but a relaxing, almost effortless one. So, in getting through to the semi-finals of the ASC, it seems like going with my instincts and taking things one step at a time vocally is starting to pay off!
What is your speciality or particular interest within classical voice? What do you really love?
I know that I want to pursue a career in opera. To me, it’s the most visceral and emotive artform to communicate what words alone can’t – with powerful voices, an orchestra, the set, the costumes – it’s so full of life and potential. It’s artistically rewarding, intellectually stimulating, and emotionally stirring.
As to what roles I will perform, it’s a little too early to say. Right now, I’m loving Mozart and bel canto opera, which is reflected in my program for the Mathy. But in the future, I’d love to perform later Romantic repertoire from Massenet, Strauss, Dvorak…we’ll just have to wait and see!
I also have an interest in more modern music – I was in a production of Poulenc’s opera Les Mamelles de Tirésias in May, and I’ve always felt a thrill tackling challenging contemporary works.
What would you like an audience to take from your performance in this competition?
I want them to forget that it’s a competition and simply come on a musical journey with me. With this in mind, I’ve chosen a virtuosic Haydn aria with lots of exciting coloratura passages and soaring high notes to really thrill the people listening, and a gorgeous, lush Debussy song, which is quite moving.
In the grander scheme of your things, your ambitions, and your life, what are your goals? And have these changed, or always stayed the same?
I wouldn’t say it has always been my goal to have an international career in opera, but I’ve always known that my life would have to be centred around music.
Like many young people in this field, I’ve had so many moments of uncertainty in terms of taking the plunge to turn my passion for music into my livelihood. But so far, it’s been worth it!
Opera and classical singing have already taken me to some amazing places: last year, a scholarship from the Sydney Conservatorium took me to fair Verona in Italy to study singing for two weeks (once you’ve been there during the height of Italian summer, you can really understand how it is the birthplace of opera!); and in February of this year, I was in New York studying with coaches from the Met.
I’ve had a small taste of how rewarding this career can be, and I feel as though I’m on the cusp of taking my development further. All I need now is the opportunity.
You can see Georgia compete in the IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition semi-finals concert at the Eugene Goossens Hall, ABC Studio, Ultimo at 4.30pm August 11.
Good luck to all semi-finalists!
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