Soprano Emma Pearson graduated from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance, and with Honours from the Australian Opera Studio.               

Emma has been a member of many theatre arts groups in Australia. She enjoyed being a part of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of W.A., where she played roles such as Yum-Yum (the Mikado), Phyllis (Iolanthe) and Mabel (Pirates of Penzance excerpts) as well as other theatre companies and choirs. Emma created and directed her own cabaret group which performed in the Downstairs at the Maj Series for Perth’s His Majesty’s Theatre. She was one of four Australians accepted by the University of Cincinnati for the Opera Theatre and Music Festival in Lucca, Italy.

Emma’s operatic performances began with Lauretta in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi followed by Fiordiligi in Così fan Tutte (Mozart), the Governess in Turn of the Screw (Britten), Servillia in  La Clemenza di Tito (Mozart), the comic role of Gilda in Iain Grandage and David Britton’s children’s opera Dryblower and the Water Girl, Romilda in Xerxes (Handel), Amenaide Tancredi (Rossini), Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel (Humperdinck), Adele in Die Fledermaus (Strauss II) and the title role in Handel’s Alcina, which toured throughout Western Australia.  In 2004 she was  engaged by NBR New Zealand Opera, to perform Fiordiligi for their regional tour of Così fan tutte around New Zealand, and Frasquita for their Wellington and Auckland productions of Carmen.

Performance highlights include concerts with the English Chamber Orchestra in London, conducted by Robin Stapleton, and in Tokyo with the Royal Philharmonic under the baton of Roderick Brydon. In 2003 she performed in recital in Tokyo and in Beijing for the Chinese National Opera. Other soloist concert engagements have included Dixit Dominus (Handel), Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (UWACS), and more recently Emma performed the soprano solo in Beethoven’s 9^th Symphony with the New Tokyo Philharmonic which was broadcast throughout Japan.

Shortly after winning the Marianne Mathy Scholarship, Emma was awarded the German-Australia Opera Grant which led to a 12 month contract at the Hessisches Staatstheater, Wiesbaden. Having performed numerous roles in her first year with the company, Emma has had her contract extended for a further two years. In the meantime she returns briefly to Perth to sing Queen of the Night.