Anna-Louise Cole has been honored with the Dame Heather Begg Memorial Award from the Melba Opera Trust.

As the award winner, she will receive $25,000 to further her opera career.

“I’m still completely shocked… genuinely. I can hardly believe it,” Cole shared in a recent interview with the Melba Opera Trust.

The soprano has performed leading roles at Opera Australia in productions such as “Aida,” “Turandot,” “Der Ring des Nibelungen,” and “Tannhäuser.” She also portrayed Lady Macbeth in “Macbeth” with Opera Queensland. Cole intends to use the award money to aid her international career.

“Casting decisions are typically made by hearing performers live, and the distance to Europe makes it difficult for Australian singers to establish themselves there. Opera is an acoustic art form, and they need to hear your voice and see you perform. Therefore, building a career abroad is quite challenging and takes time,” Cole, who is currently based in Germany, explained.

The Dame Heather Begg Memorial Award was founded in 2013 to honor the New Zealand opera singer, who had a significant international career while also performing often in her home country and Australia. The award supports an emerging singer from Australia or New Zealand.