Opera Prize
Acknowledging excellence in performance
Victorian Opera’s Emerging Artist Prize is awarded to emerging artists to assist them in developing their operatic career. The prize allows recipients to work in residence with the company providing opportunities to perform in Victorian Opera’s mainstage productions and recitals. Recipients also receive private coaching from Victorian Opera’s Artistic Director and music staff.
Victorian Opera is grateful to the supporters of the Opera Prize and their generosity, including:
Founding Patrons: Dr Michael Stubbs & Malcolm Roberts
Supporting: Rachel Joyce, Bailey Montgomerie
Opera Prize Syndicate: Dame Carol Colburn Grigor DBE, Mary Davidson and the family of the late Frederick Davidson AM, Jane Lowther, Joy Selby Smith, Professor Emeritus Barbara van Ernst AM
Supporting: Alessia Pintabona
Soprano Rachael Joyce is a current recipient of Victorian Opera’s 2026 Opera Prize. She was also a recipient of the 2025 Opera Prize. This scholarship is proudly supported by Dr Michael Stubbs and Malcolm Roberts.
Rachael was previously a member of both Melbourne Opera’s Richard Divall Emerging Artist Programme and Opera Scholars Australia. A Monash University graduate, Rachael received First Class Honours after completing a Bachelor of Arts (French) and Music (Honours).
Her recent roles include Edith in The Pirates of Penzance, Mary Crawford in Mansfield Park, the Lyrebird in The Lyrebird’s Voice, Princess Caraboo in English Eccentrics (Victorian Opera); Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro (Melbourne Opera) and Chiara in Biographica (Lyric Opera of Melbourne).
Notable accolades include First Prize in the 99th Herald Sun Aria Competition, runner-up in the Opera Scholars Australia Aria competition and Boroondara Eisteddfod Vocal Championship Winner. In 2024, Rachael travelled to Germany as the recipient of the Melbourne Opera & Rotary New Generations Service Exchange, where she made her concert debut at the Bayreuth Festival.
Bailey Montgomerie is an emerging performer, musical and artistic director, and a fierce advocate for the development of local Australian creative arts and artists.
As Co-Artistic Director of Divisi, Bailey prioritises the commissioning, development, and performance of new and innovative works from emerging and under-represented composers, especially those from the LGBTQ+ community.
On the operatic stage, they have solo credits with Melbourne’s premier opera companies including Victorian Opera, the Australian Contemporary Opera Company, and in Lyric Opera’s production of Biographica, for which Bailey was nominated for a 2024 Green Room Award.
In 2026, Bailey is a recipient of Victorian Opera’s Opera Prize Scholarship. They were also a recipient of the 2025 Opera Prize. This scholarship is proudly supported by Dr Michael Stubbs and Malcolm Roberts.
Australian Italian soprano Alessia Pintabona is fast establishing herself as an in-demand young artist. She is a 2026 recipient of Victorian Opera’s Opera Prize Scholarship. This is generously sponsored by the company’s Opera Prize Syndicate: Dame Carol Colburn Grigor DBE, Mary Davidson and family of the late Frederick R Davidson AM, Jane Lowther, Joy Selby Smith, and Professor Barbara van Ernst AM.
A graduate of the Western Australian Academy of the Performing Arts and the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, Alessia’s most recent credits include Kate in The Pirates of Penzance, Maria in Mansfield Park, White Rabbit in Boojum! and Johanna in Sweeney Todd for both Victorian Opera and Dubai Opera.
She was awarded the 2025 Welsh Male Choir Singer of the Year, and the 2024 Bettine McCaughan Scholarship. She has also been the grateful recipient of The Graff Family Scholarship, Barbara MacLeod Scholarship, Haselhurst Scholarship, and the Royal Overseas League Western Australia Art Song Prize.
To support Victorian Opera’s Opera Prize, please contact:
Louise Lemke, Head of Development
louise@victorianopera.com.au
03 9001 6405 | 0403 584 940