Members may be interested in the promising career progress being made by a couple of our younger soloists.

Baritone Alexander Knight has sung with us on a few occasions: in Handel’s Messiah in the Sydney Town Hall and Saul; and most notably in the title role of Mendelssohn’s Paulus. He has made a fine impression with his cultivated voice production and artistry, an impression underlined by an outstanding performance of Schumann’s song cycle, Dichterliebe, in a recent Sydney recital at the Pitt Street Uniting Church.

Alexander’s career takes a step up at 6.30 pm on Tuesday 5 May, at the City Recital Hall, when, with the support of the SSO Sinfonia conducted by Richard Gill, he performs Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer, one of the iconic orchestral song cycles. It will be fascinating to see how Alexander rises to this challenge. Appearances suggest it will be a breeze for him.

Anna Dowsley and Christopher Bowen

Another favourite young soloist of the Choir’s is mezzo Anna Dowsley, who was honourably mentioned in the Joan Carden Award in 2012, sang in our Vivaldi and Zelenka concert in December 2013 and most memorably in our Town Hall performance of the Verdi Requiem in April of that year. As a young artist with Opera Australia, Anna has sung some small roles and will do so again in Elijah Moshinsky’s new production of Verdi’s great Don Carlos in July – August this year.

A big moment for Anna comes in August, when she takes the role of ‘Cherubino’ in The Marriage of Figaro, one of the major characters created in Mozart’s partnership with Lorenzo da Ponte. Anna sings the role in all performances except those on 14, 21, 23, 27 and 29 August.

It should also be mentioned that Eva Kong, who as Jinhee Uhm won the Joan Carden Award in 2008 and sang in the Choir’s performance of the Saint-Saëns Requiem in August of that year, is also singing regularly with Opera Australia. She has, for example, sung the role of ‘Pamina’ in The Magic Flute, and will sing ‘Barbarina’ in the upcoming Marriage of Figaro.

Our relationship with each of these young singers has largely developed through the Joan Carden Award, which we sponsor, and they have played a significant role in the Choir’s musical success in recent years.

John Bowan