Diva: A recital of operatic arias

Programme

• Nel grave tormento from "Mitridate, re di Ponto" by W. A. Mozart

• Caro nome from "Rigoletto" by Giuseppe Verdi

• Tornami a vagheggiar from "Alcina" by G. F. Händel

• Amour ranime mon courage from "Roméo et Juliette" by Charles Gounod

• Der Hölle Rache from "Die Zauberflöte" by W. A. Mozart

• Quando m'en vo' from "La Bohème" by Giacomo Puccini

• Je suis Titania from "Mignon" by Ambroise Thomas 

Latvian-Australian soprano Lana Kains has performed with prestigious ensembles in Australia and abroad and has experience in genres ranging from early Baroque to Contemporary Classical music. She has been a featured soloist in many of the Sydney Conservatorium’s Greenway Series concerts and opera galas working with conductors Stephen Mould and Erin Helyard and performed with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Johannes Fritsch singing Waldgespräch by Alexander von Zemlinsky. This performance was streamed live and has been broadcast on ABC Classic FM. Lana has a Bachelor of Music Performance in classical voice and a Master of Music Studies in opera performance from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, which she studied under the tutelage of her singing teacher Maree Ryan. She is the recipient of the Henderson Traveller’s scholarship (2022), Patricia Bell Grant (2018 & 2021) and the Helpmann Family Fellowship (2021) from Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Elizabeth Wade Scholarship and Jessie Wakefield-Luckman Prize for Voice from the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music. This year she won First Prize with the Henkell Brother’s Award at the 40th National Liederfest in Melbourne. In 2021 she won the Vocal Showcase Prize in the Fresno State Art Song Festival and in 2019 she won the Nelle Ashdown Memorial Award at the Hobart Eisteddfod.

Stacey Xiaoyu Yang is a doctoral candidate (majoring in organ performance and literature) in the studio of Professor David Higgs at the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY. She is currently also completing a Master’s degree in Collaborative Piano at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She is the Organ Scholar at St Paul’s College, the University of Sydney and the deputy organist and music director at Hunter Baillie Presbyterian Church, Annandale. She holds a MMus (Eastman) and LTCL in organ performance, a LMusA in piano performance and has performed extensively both in Australia and Overseas. As a collaborative pianist, she has worked with many luminous performers including David Elton, Frank Celata, Katie Woolley, Evgeny Sorkin, Emma Scholl, Simon Lobelson, Jeremy Boulton, and Georg Pedersen. Since 2022, she has started to work for Opera Australia. She is the recipient of the prestigious Melba Opera Trust Scholarship in 2023. . 

St James' Music Lunchtime Concerts

St James' Lunchtime Concerts are 30 minutes in length, commencing at 1:15pm, and are livestreamed, giving patrons the choice of attending in person or watching online. A unique bonus is that online ticketholders can watch a recording of the concert as many times as they wish until the Tuesday following the concert. Tickets are $10 and all proceeds go to the musicians and the cost of livestreaming.