Internationally acclaimed interpreter Rachelle Durkin will be the lead soprano in the premiere season of Opera Queensland‘s piece, Tosca.
Durkin’s last success was in her performance of Haydn’s Armida, which earned her a Helpmann Nomination for Best Female Performer in an Opera. The artist began her career by winning the top three vocal competitions in Australia in 2000 – The Herald Sun Aria Competition, The Marianne Mathy Scholarship and The Metropolitan Opera Award.
Rachelle Durkin was also a recipient of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and was excepted into the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program from 2001 to 2004. She went on to being an established artist at the Met, singing and covering leading roles for years to come. Most notably, Norina in Don Pasquale, Lisa in La Sonnambula, Clorinda in La Cenerentola, and Miss Schlesin in Phillip Glass’s Satyagraha.
A highly adept interpreter of a wide range of repertoire spanning from the baroque to modern masterpieces, the artist’s other great successes include the role of Kumudha in John Adams’ A Flowering Tree for Perth’s International Arts Festival; for Opera Australia she sang the title roles Alcina, as well as Angelica Orlando for which she became a Helpmann Award nominee for her outstanding performance in each production.
Durkin’s role in Tosca will see her re-imagining one of the art form’s greatest heroine.
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