Soprano Eleanor Greenwood tops the two thousand twenty-three Opera Awards, held for the first time since the beginning of the global pandemic. The two thousand twenty-three Opera Awards winner is soprano Eleanor Greenwood. Held for the first time since the beginning of the global pandemic, the Opera Awards auditions were held in the Eugene Goossens Corridor at the ABC in Ultimo and featured the highest no of entrants in nearly two decades. Entrants sang before a panel of adjudicators comprised of composer-pianist Di Bresciani, soprano Cheryl Barker, baritone José Carbó and conductor Simon Kenway. At the finish of a long day, Greenwood was announced the winner of what's a substantial prize package: the Youth Music Foundation (YMF) award of $30.000 sponsored by Youth Music Foundation Australia; and the Armstrong-Martin Scholarship of $4.500, sponsored by the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust.

“I am incredibly honoured to be the recipient of this prestigious award and I'm so grateful for the support I'll get in furthering my career,” said Greenwood on hearing of her win. “The chance to work with artists who have interpreted and performed necessary spinto/dramatic roles at the highest level internationally, and the chance to work with leading music coaches overseas on such repertoire, is an absolutely remarkable opportunity.” A graduate of London’s Royal School of Music Opera Studio and the Australian National Univ School of Music, Greenwood made her professional debut in Ireland at the Opera Festival in Wexford. In the UK and Ireland she sang with various companies including Grange Park Opera and Dorset Opera Festival and returned to Wexford Festival Opera in various roles. In the Bendigo Ring Cycle two thousand twenty-three, Greenwood performs as Sieglinde in Die Walküre‘s third cycle, as Ortlinde in Die Walküre in cycles one and two, and as the Third Norn in Götterdämmerung.

She also covers the role of Freia in Das Rheingold. Greenwood has performed in Opera Queensland’s production of The Sopranos and with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. She toured regional Queensland with the production in two thousand twenty-second and sang in concert as portion of the celebrated Festival of Outback Opera. Most recently she sang the soprano solo in Verdi’s Requiem at QPAC, below the baton of Dane Lam. A diverse soprano, her more recent roles comprise the Dama in Verdi’s Macbeth directed by Bruce Beresford (for which she was nominated for a Green Room Award) and Annio in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito for National Opera in Canberra, directed by Peter Coleman-Wright. The Opera Awards are administered by Music & Opera Singers Believe (MOST). CEO of MOST, Roland Gridiger, said: “Eleanor is an impressive performer with a world-class voice, we're excited to see this award will get her.” The following Opera Awards will be held in two thousand twenty-fifth.