Live from the Sydney Opera House, hear Simone Young conduct the Sydney Symphony in music by Richard Strauss, also featuring pianist Andrea Lam. 8pm, Friday September 5.<\/p>\n
There are hundreds more Aussies doing great things around the world. Enough to form an entire orchestra, the Australian World Orchestra. Their members are drawn from far-flung places including Berlin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, London and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Luckily for us, many of these musicians regularly perform in Australia. The Australian World orchestra is coming together this week for performances in Sydney and Melbourne. \u00a0<\/p>\n
“It’s such an exciting time for Australian classical music with artists like Siobhan Stagg and Simone Young shining on the world stage and bringing that brilliance home,” says Alice Keath, presenter of ABC Classic’s What’s On, a guide to Australia’s best classical concerts and live performances.<\/p>\n
Opera singer Siobhan Stagg is another Australian who chose to hone her craft on European stages for over a decade. She recently made her debut with Opera Australia to much acclaim.<\/p>\n
Siobhan Stagg living the dream of being an opera singer<\/p>\n
Mildura-born soprano Siobhan Stagg built her operatic career in Europe’s opera houses, but visits Australia regularly. (Supplied: Jakob Tillmann)<\/p>\n
Many people dream of singing in an opera, but few manage to realise it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Becoming an opera singer requires superb vocal technique and an affinity for acting. It also involves constant hard work, rigorous training and finding someone willing to give you a chance to prove yourself.<\/p>\n
Stagg made her dream a reality.<\/p>\n
Originally from the regional Victorian town of Mildura, Stagg proves that you don’t have to be Taylor Swift or own a private jet to make the world your stage.<\/p>\n
“She’s already notched up performances at many of the major [opera] houses in Germany, France, Holland, Chicago and Ireland,” says ABC Classic Legends presenter Mairi Nicolson<\/a>. Not to mention major festivals in Edinburgh, Adelaide, Aix en Provence and the BBC Proms.<\/p>\n Stagg has made a home and a name in Berlin, where she has been living since 2013. But she regularly visits Australia.<\/p>\n Recently finishing her debut run with Opera Australia as Susanna in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, Stagg is making a brief visit to Berlin before flying back for another extended stay in Australia.<\/p>\n Stagg has appeared on numerous international stages and at many major festivals. (Siobhan Stagg: Samantha Meuleman)<\/p>\n With new operas and symphony concerts written especially for her, Stagg is expanding her repertoire.<\/p>\n Earlier this year she starred in a brand new opera, The Dark Side of the Moon, by Berlin-based composer Unsuk Chin. Stagg played the lover of a 1930s fictional quantum physicist with a slowly fragmenting mind.<\/p>\n “They share a special connection, but their love story is never quite realised,” Stagg says.<\/p>\n After a concert with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in September and making a debut with State Opera of South Australia as Juliette in October, Stagg will perform a brand-new symphonic concert piece written especially for her.\u00a0<\/p>\n Simone Young at the height of her power<\/p>\n If you don’t know Young from the concert stage, you might recognise her from Knowing The Score, a documentary charting her meteoric rise to become one of the world’s top conductors.<\/p>\n With more than 40 years of conducting under her belt, Young is at the height of her power. She’s regularly on the podium in Europe’s leading opera houses and concert stages in New York, New Zealand and Sydney.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n