Margaret Medlyn is one of Australasia's finest singers, with consistently highly acclaimed performances in opera, oratorio and recitals, as soloist with all of the top choirs and symphony orchestras, and with the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts, and Perth International Festival of the Arts. Margaret Medlyn is one of Australasia's finest singers, with consistently highly acclaimed performances in opera, oratorio and recitals, as soloist with all of the top choirs and symphony orchestras, and with the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts, and Perth International Festival of the Arts.English-born, Margaret immigrated to New Zealand as a child. After graduating with a Bachelor of Music in Performance from Auckland University, she went back to the UK, where she made her operatic debut as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier with London's Opera Viva after which she performed with Kent Opera for four years.

Since returning to live in New Zealand, Margaret has sung for English National Opera, Covent Garden, Vienna State Opera and all the opera companies in Australia, including Opera Australia.

Margaret Medlyn's recent roles include Salome in Salome, Marie in Wozzeck, Agathe in Der Freischutz, Giorgetta in Il tabarro and Leonore in Il trovatore for Opera Australia, Maddalena di Coigny in Andrea Chenier and Leonore in Il trovatore for Opera Queensland, Leonore in Il Trovatore and Kundry in Parsifal for State Opera of South Australia, and Aida and Tosca for NBR New Zealand Opera.

She has an extensive concert repertoire and has sung with all the major orchestras in Australasia with recent performances including Gutrune in Gotterdammerung with West Australian Symphony for Perth International Arts Festival, Strauss' Four Last Songs with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Sieglinde in Die Walkure for the Sydney Symphony and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Kuala Lumpur with the Malaysian Philharmonic.

Conductors she has worked with include Jeffrey Tate, Mark Elder, Simone Young, Donald Runnicles, Edo de Waart, Markus Stenz, Carlo Felice Cillario, Gabor Ötvos, Jaap van Sweden and Yannick Nezet-Seguin.

As a national recording artist for Radio New Zealand, she recorded an extensive list of recital programmes and also released a CD entitled Burning Bright featuring the work of four New Zealand women composers under the Kiwi Pacific label.

In 2006 Margaret sang in the Skycity Starlight Symphony Concert in Auckland, recitals for New Zealand Wagner Society, Kundry in performances of Parsifal with New Zealand Symphony for the New Zealand Festival of the Arts, Judith in a concert performance of Duke Bluebeard's Castle for Auckland Philharmonia, in association with NBR New Zealand Opera and the title role in a concert performance of Salome with Simone Young conducting for Brisbane Festival. She also added Isolde to her repertoire, covering the role for Welsh National Opera's production of Tristan und Isolde.

In 2007 concerts included Opera in The Park in Nelson, a number of Wagner recitals, a special Wagnerian concert with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in September and a recital for The Gregory Aim Opera Trust. She also sang the title role in Turandot for NBR New Zealand Opera in Auckland and Wellington.

In 2008 engagements include the role of Salome in concert for Auckland Philharmonia, Kostelnicka in Jenufa for NBR New Zealand Opera and Judith in Duke Bluebeard's Castle in a concert performance for Vector Wellington Orchestra in collaboration with NBR New Zealand Opera.

Please visit her website

21/08/08