OPERA IN PARADISE - Biographies

OPERATIF!

Since formation in 1994, OPERATIF! has given Queenslanders of all tastes, ages and budgets a wide variety of wonderful experiences of Opera, Operetta and Song. OPERATIF! as a full-time, self-started enterprise is unique. Proudly based in Queensland it provides regular work opportunities for many fine local artists.

For the corporate world OPERATIF! has performed for tens of thousands of overseas visitors, convention and conference delegates and VIP guests at functions such as the Premier's "Queenslander of the Year" Awards, the opening of the Conrad Treasury Casino and Hotel, and the Queensland Tourism Awards.

In addition to concerts, OPERATIF! has produced and staged intimate operas for events such as the Brisbane Festival and in venues including the Cremorne and QUT Theatres, Brisbane. All have received wide critical acclaim and the last of these, Madam Butterfly, received standing ovations. This production commanded a return season, at the Suncorp Theatre in October 1998. Over 2000 people attended.

No strangers to outdoor concerts, OPERATIF! has performed at many such special events, including Opera in Noosa Amphitheatre, Opera in the Outback at Undara, Opera in Buderim Forest and Music Beneath the Stars, Ormiston House. In 1998 OPERATIF! was invited to perform on board The Norwegian Star, when this luxury cruise ship made its inaugural voyage to Australia. In 2005 OPERATIF! performed at an inaugural event "Opera in the Ruins" on Norfolk Island .Since then the event has grown each year to now become a major event on the outdoor opera calendar in the South Pacific. The six 2008 events were totally sold out. In 2009 OPERATIF! took over the management and marketing of the Opera Festival, renaming it OPERA in Paradise. 2010 sales are extremely healthy with 2011 dates and other OPERA in Paradise locations to be announced soon. HEAR OPERATIF

Jennifer Parish - Soprano

Born and educated in Melbourne, Jennifer studied at the Victorian College of the Arts, before beginning her professional career with Victoria State Opera.

As a young company member, Jennifer worked with visiting vocal coaches and at the invitation of David Harper, went to London and subsequently Germany for intensive periods of study.

Australia was always home however and Jennifer returned to settle in Brisbane where she sang with Opera Queensland, Queensland Symphony and Queensland Pops Orchestra. Realising that work opportunities for professional opera singers were scant, in 1994 she launched OPERATIF! onto the Brisbane music scene via a concert with colleagues at Old Government House. The popularity and demands of what quickly grew into a full-time company have occupied much of Jennifer’s time ever since.

In OPERATIF! productions, Jennifer received wide acclaim in the taxing role of Magda Sorrel in Menotti's "The Consul" for the 1996 Brisbane Festival and in 1997 shone as Puccini's tragic heroine, Madam Butterfly, in a specially devised production sung in English, first in 1997 for the 4MBS Festival and reprised in 1998 for a major season in the Suncorp Theatre.

Despite much acclaim for the small-scale operas OPERATIF! produced, necessary Arts funding was elusive and the decision was taken to concentrate on concerts and special events, teaming with other talented colleagues to take the glory of Opera and Song to broad and diverse audiences in S E Queensland and beyond. HEAR JENNIFER

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Stewart Cameron - Baritone

Stewart Cameron was born in Auckland, New Zealand where he gained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Italian Literature and Language before winning his country's biggest opera competition, the N.Z. Herald Aria.

Granted a scholarship to the Opera School at the N.S.W. Conservatorium of Music he moved to Sydney and studied under the direction of Myer Fredman, learning more than a dozen major baritone roles and taking leads in operas including "La Clemenza di Tito" and "Pelleas and Melisande".

After graduating, Stewart moved to London to study with renowned vocal coach David Harper. He also studied repertoire in Cologne with the internationally renowned conductor, Simone Young. Whilst overseas Stewart performed regularly on the opera and concert stage, including taking the title role in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro for the Cornwall Festival.

Now based in Brisbane, Stewart has performed the role of Papageno in The Magic Flute for Wellington City Opera (NZ) and has appeared as a soloist with all of Queensland’s major orchestras, including Pops, and also with OPERATIF! and Opera Queensland.

Stewart performed the role of John Sorrel in the highly acclaimed production of ‘The Consul’ for the Brisbane Festival.The following year he sang the role of Consul Sharpless, in Madam Butterfly, a production devised by OPERATIF! for a local Festival and later reprised the following year for a mainstream ( and sold-out ) season at Suncorp Theatre. Last year he was the featured soloist in The Best of British with The Queensland Pops Orchestra at the Concert Hall.

Currently, Stewart concentrates much of his energy on performing with OPERATIF! in the company’s busy annual calendar of concerts and special events. Whilst continuing a busy performance career, he also runs a successful teaching studio in Brisbane and on the Sunshine Coast as well as the new Opera Chorus School in Brisbane. He is also director of Voices of Angels.
READ ABOUT STEWART'S OPERATIC ROLES
HEAR STEWART

Patrick Power - tenor

New Zealand born Patrick Power has sung for most of the major opera companies and festivals in Europe and North America in nearly all of the lyric tenor repertoire.

His roles include Alfredo in La Traviata, Rodolfo in La Bohème, Count Almaviva in II Barbiere di Siviglia, Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Des Grieux in Manon, Fenton in Falstaff, the title roles in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Le Comte Ory and Faust, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Nadir in Les Pêcheurs de Perles, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, the Duke in Rigoletto, Maurizio in Adriana Lecouvreur, Don José in Carmen, Narraboth in Salome, Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore and Radames in Aïda

In Australasia he has been a regular guest artist with Opera Australia, all the state companies and the New Zealand companies. His frequent performances in his native New Zealand have included Rodolfo (to the Mimi of Kiri Te Kanawa) for the opening of Auckland’s Aotea Centre and Faust for Auckland Opera. In recent seasons he sang Turiddu (Cavalleria Rusticana) and Canio (I Pagliacci) for Opera New Zealand, Pinkerton for National Opera of Wellington, Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor) at the Norrlandsoperan in Sweden, Faust with Canterbury Opera, The Italian Singer (Der Rosenkavalier) at the New Zealand Festival, Turiddu and Cavaradossi (Tosca) for Opera Queensland, and the title role in the Tales of Hoffmann for Tulsa Opera .

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David Hibbard - bass

Australian bass David Hibbard graduated from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in 1981. As a young artist he gained experience singing minor roles with the State Opera of South Australia before study in New York with Daniel Ferro and in England with Sir Peter Pears.

A contract with the English National Opera saw him as a principal in Die Meistersinger, Julius Caesar and Rossini’s, Moses in Egypt as well as in Simone Boccanegra for the Glyndeboune Festival Opera. He returned to Australia in1988 to appear with The Australian Opera in a number of roles including Fiesco in Boccanegra, Ramphis in Aida, Monterone in Rigoletto, The Speaker in The Magic Flute and Publio in La Clemenza di Tito.

In 1990, after receiving the German Operatic Award from Opera Foundation Australia, he commenced a contract with Cologne Stadtsoper, performing roles by a wide variety of composers before, in 1992, being appointed first Bass with the Bremen Stadts - Theater where he performed Fiesco in Simon Boccanegra, Padre Guardiano in La Forza del Destino, Sparafucile, Baron Ochs, Prince Gremin, Colline and Alvise Badoero in La Gioconda.

Since returning to Australia in 1994 to sing Sarastro for the Western Australian Opera, he divides his time between Europe and Australia.

A highlight in recent years has been the role of Fafner in the acclaimed State Opera of South Australia’s Ring Cycle. When his busy schedule allows, David is delighted to lend his talents to OPERATIF! and is thrilled to be part of his first OPERA in Paradise

HEAR DAVID

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Max Olding and Pamela Page

Maxwell Charles Olding AM was born on 4 July 1929. His career has embraced conducting symphonic, choral, operatic and theatre works as well as teaching, administration and as organist and choirmaster. In 1950, at age 21, he was appointed an Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) Examiner. He won the Commonwealth final of the 1952 ABC’s Concerto Competition.

He began his tertiary teaching career at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium. He was an adjudicator at the 1952 City of Sydney Eisteddfod and has since adjudicated at most of Australia’s major music competitions, has chaired many of them and has acted as external examiner for higher degrees at the Universities of Melbourne, Western Australia, Tasmania, Queensland, Southern Queensland and Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Read full biography

Pamela Harcourt Page was born on 4 April 1934. She won an Empire Overseas Scholarship to study at Trinity College of Music, London, where she was awarded the Maude Seton Prize for the most outstanding student. She later performed on BBC radio and television and gave solo and concerto performances in London and the English counties. She was subsequently accepted into Walter Gieseking’s master class in Saarbrücken.

Back in Australia, she provided the close-up scenes of the pianist's hands in Wherever She Goes, a 1953 biographical film about Eileen Joyce (whose character was otherwise played by Suzanne Parrett). She gave many concerto performances in all capital cities, recitals on ABC radio, live TV appearances and also hosted a TV children’s show. Later she was appointed as Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Music, University of Queensland. She is also a painter.

Max Olding and Pamela Page have one son, the violinist Dene Olding.

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Dene Olding - violin

Dene olding studied at the Julliard School in New York and is a winner of a Churchill Fellowship for advanced studies.

He has won many awards, including that of Bronza Medalist of the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium International Violin Competition. He has been soloist with many orchestras in Austrlia, New Zealand and the USA, and was frequently Guest Concertmaster of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

When Dean joined the Australia Ensemble as first violinist in 1982, he was also Leader of the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Since 2002, Dene has been Concertmaster of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, a position he previously held from 1998 to 1994.

Irina Morozova - viola

Irina studied first with Richard Goldner and Robert Pikler at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music and then undertook advanced studies in Europe and the USA.

She has been principal Viola of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and guest Principal of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. Irina is the viola player in the Australian Ensemble, of which she is the only remaining foundation member.

She appears frequently as soloist with the major Australian orchestras, and has presided on the juries of the Shostakovich International String Quartet Competition in St Petersberg and the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition.