Born
in Sydney, Fiona Janes is currently one of Australia’s leading Mezzo
sopranos having worked extensively throughout Australia and Europe. She
studied at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music and has been the
winner of numerous awards and singing competitions, most notably the 1983
Joan Sutherland Scholarship, 1986 Australian Singing Competition, winner of
the inaugural 1991 Remy Martin Scholarship and the 1995 Vienna State Opera
Award.
She joined
Opera Australia's Young Artist Programme in 1988 and since then has been a
regular Guest Principal Artist for the company performing all the major
mezzo repertoire including: ‘Dorabella,’ ‘Zerlina,’ ‘Cherubino,’ ‘Annio,’
‘Mercedes,’ ‘Lola,’ ‘Javotte,’ ‘Tessa,’ ‘Kate Pinkerton,’ ‘Sesto’ in both
Julius
Caesar & La Clemenza di Tito,
‘Angelina’ in La Cenerentola, ‘Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia,’
‘Isabella’ in
L'italiana
in Algieri,’
‘Composer’ in
Ariadne
auf Naxos,
‘Adalgisa’ in
Norma
and most recently ‘Mistress Quickly’ in Falstaff. For her
performances as ‘Angelina’ and ‘Adalgisa’ she received the Victorian Green
Room Award.
She has also performed ‘Siebel’ in Faust for Victoria State Opera &
Opera Queensland, ‘Nero’ in
Aggrippina
at the Buxton Festival, ‘Rosina’ for Netherlands Opera, English National
Opera & Welsh National Opera, ‘Second Lady’ in The Magic Flute for
English National Opera, ‘Sesto’ in La Clemenza di Tito for
Glyndebourne Touring Opera, ‘Idamante’ in Idomeneo for Flanders
Philhamonic in Antwerp, ‘Margherite’ in Damnation of Faust for the
Royal Scottish National Orchestra & Opera Queensland, ‘Ascanio’ in Les
Troyens for LSO with Sir Colin Davis, ‘Angelina’ at the Semperoper
Dresden & Opera New Zealand, ‘Scitalce’ in Semiramide for Rossini
Festival in Germany with Richard Bonynge and has also worked for the Royal
Opera House Covent Garden and Scottish Opera.
Her extensive concert work includes working with such orchestras as: The
Sydney Symphony, Australian Chamber Orchestra, West Australian Symphony,
Tasmanian Symphony, Sydney Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Orchestra,
London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, the Edinburgh Festival with
Sir Charles Mackerras, Flanders Philharmonic, Bournemouth & Nottingham
Philharmonic, National Orchestra of Spain in Madrid and New Zealand Symphony
Orchestra . Her repertoire includes: Beethoven’s 9th & Missa Solemnis,
Mozart Requiem, Rossini Stabat Mater, St Matthew Passion, Schubert Mass in A
Flat and Coronation Mass, L'Allegro il Penseroso, Messiah & Stravinsky's
Pulcinella.
She has recently recorded Meyerbeer’s
Semiramide with Richard Bonynge soon to be released and Stravinsky’s
Pulcinella for Naxos, Donizetti’s
Parisina for Opera Rara, a Mozart Bicentennial Celebration for ABC
Classics and Opera Australia and has video recordings of Cosi fan Tutte
and Don Giovanni both with Opera Australia.
For Fiona's testimonial,
click here.
