THE RICHARD DIVALL PROGRAM

Tasmanian-born Breanna Stuart is a soprano based in Melbourne, Australia. In 2023 Breanna graduated with a Masters of Opera Performance from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. Her other qualifications include a Bachelor of Music (Melbourne Conservatorium of Music), an AMusA in Classical Voice, and Diploma of Music (University of Tasmania). Breanna made her professional debut as Ianthe in Lyric Opera of Melbourne’s Green Room Award winning production of IPHIS. Her other theatre credits include Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Suor Angelica (both Melbourne Opera), The Grumpiest Boy in the World (Victorian Opera), Die Zauberflöte (Melbourne Conservatorium of Music), and The Consul (ACOCo). Breanna also recently participated in the world premiere of Meta Cohen’s Kiss My Sword with Lyric Opera of Melbourne. In 2024 Breanna participated in the Master Course in the Interpretation of German Lied at the Franz- Schubert-Institute in Austria.

Breanna was a 2023/2024 member of Opera Scholars Australia and was awarded first prize in both their 2024 Art Song Competition and 2024 Aria Competition. This year Breanna has also been awarded first prize at the Warrnambool Eisteddfod and Mildura Eisteddfod Aria Competitions, the Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge Sydney International Song Prize and is a Herald Sun Aria finalist.

Originally from North Wales, Heulen is a classically trained soprano now based in Melbourne. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London (BMus and MA Voice under Lillian Watson), she also trained at the prestigious Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester from the age of 16. She is currently continuing her vocal development under the guidance of mezzo-soprano Roxane Hislop. Heulen’s operatic roles include performances with Opera Cymru and British Youth Opera. Her solo work has seen her perform in concerts across the UK, US, and Canada, and more recently across Melbourne, where she has sung with the Melbourne Welsh Male Choir at venues including St Paul’s Cathedral and MLC Kew.

A winner of the prestigious David Ellis Blue Riband at the 2023 National Eisteddfod of Wales. Heulen has also been a finalist in the Bryn Terfel and W. Towyn Roberts Scholarships, and has participated in masterclasses with artists such as Rebecca Evans and Simon Lepper.

Melbourne based Mezzo-Soprano Sidra Nissen joined Opera Scholars Australia as a Graduate Scholar in 2025. She completed her Bachelor of Music degree in 2023 at The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. Her performance career began with the Victorian Opera Youth Chorus Ensemble (VOYCE) and she made her professional debut with Victorian Opera in Il Mago di Oz (2022), and subsequently, Cheremushki (2023).

Sidra has received numerous awards including: First place Oratorio/Art song category and runner up in the Warrnambool Eisteddfod final (2025). She was the winner of both the Robert Salzer Foundation Scholarship for Best Female Singer and Ian Field Memorial Award for Outstanding German Language Interpretation at the 2023 National Liederfest Competition. Sidra has been selected as a finalist in this year’s IFAC HANDA Australian Singing Competition where she will compete in Sydney in September. She is also a finalist in the OSA Aria competition.

In Australia, Sidra studies under Suzanne Johnston and has had the opportunity to learn from Deborah Birnbaum, Professor Graham Johnson OBE, Janice Chapman, Neil Semer, Bryan Wagorn, and Bryan Zeger in London, New York and Italy.

Tenor Joshua Erdelyi-Götz was born in Melbourne. He works predominantly in the medium of music, voice being his primary instrument and passion. Josh completed his Master of Music Performance at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music in 2018 as a baritone, and after graduating began transitioning to tenor. As a tenor, Josh has participated in several fully staged operas as both Principal and chorus member. These operas include: Acis and Galatea (Coridon), A Husband at the Door (Florestan Ducroquet), Maria Stuarda (Chorus), Werther (Schmidt), Fledermaus (Alfredo), and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Chorus and Apprentice role).

In 2016 and 2017, Josh was a member of the Gertrude Opera Young Artist program and worked with distinguished conductors and musicians such as David Kram, Brian Castles-Onion, Michael Louis, Neil Semer, and Noëmi Nadelmann. Josh recently made his principal debut with Melbourne Opera singing the first Philistine in Samson et Dalila.

Hartley is a Melbourne-based baritone originally from Perth, Western Australia. He graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 2020 with a Bachelor of Music before completing his Master of Opera Performance at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music in 2023. He has been a member of Opera Scholars Australia since 2023. Hartley’s performance credits include an Apprentice in Melbourne Opera’s production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, the roles of Monostatos (Die Zauberflöte) and Lysander (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, as well as Pluto (Orpheus in the Underworld) and Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus) at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. He appeared as Grump 2 and ensemble in Victorian Opera’s The Grumpiest Boy in the World, ensemble in their production The Selfish Giant, and ensemble in Melbourne Opera’s La Boheme and Samson et Dalila.

Hartley is a finalist in the OSA Aria competition and recently won numerous award in Eisteddfod by the Bay. Prior to commencing his vocal training, Hartley trained as a classical ballet dancer at the WA Conservatoire of Classical Ballet.

Soprano Livia Brash is the 2025 the winner of the Sydney Eisteddfod Opera Scholarship, and a current finalist in the Herald Sun Aria. In 2025, Livia covered the role of Eva (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) and performed Musetta (La bohème) for Melbourne Opera, later reprising the role for BK Opera. She made her debut as Rusalka for Boroondara Arts’ Opera in the Park and premiered Kevin March’s Song for Dark Days with Lyric Opera of Melbourne. She also appeared in two major Melbourne Recital Centre projects: the animated, condensed Ring Cycle BrünnhAilde (performing Rheinmaiden, Erda, Sieglinde, Brünnhilde, and Gutrune) with More Than Opera, and Chloe Charody’s song cycle Truth in the Cage with Nightingale Performing Arts. Upcoming performances include her debuts as Abigaille (Nabucco, The CoOperative) and Lady Macbeth (Macbeth, BK Opera), as well as Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte, Melbourne Opera).

Livia is also a prize-winner of several of Australia’s most prestigious competitions. She has received the Opera Foundation for Young Australians Dalwood-Wylie AIMS Award and the AIMS Sundell Award, which supported her studies at the Vienna State Opera. She was a finalist in the Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge Bel Canto Competition for two consecutive years (placing third, then second), and named a finalist in the IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition.