If there has been a common thread between the performances of Esque Opera, Encore Theatre Company and the Evandale singers in 2018, it has been the vocal stylings of Michaela Young.
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The 31-year-old starred as Fantine in Encore’s well-received March production of Les Miserables, before appearing in Esque Opera’s Gift of Music at the Holy Trinity Church the following month.
She also performed the works of Antonio Vivaldi, and George Frideric Handel with the Evandale Singers at Longford in May.
The audiences are only going to get bigger Ms Young in the latter half of the year as she heads to Prague in the Czech Republic, to perform in the annual Summer Nights Young Artist Music Festival.
Starting on June 18, the 30-day opera and orchestra extravaganza gives up-and-coming performers the opportunity to perform in some of Europe’s most historic venues.
This will be the second time Ms Young has been accepted to take part in the festival, having made her debut in 2016.
She will form part of the chorus for performances of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute, while also covering the understudy role of Susanna in the former.
Both will be staged at the historic Estates Theatre, which is the only venue left in Europe where Mozart conducted his works.
Ms Young said it was a combination of the places and the people that made her want to audition for the festival for a second time.
“I get to work with some incredible faculty and staff while I’m over there,” she said.
“One of the people teaching over there is Lawrence Brownlee, who is a principal tenor of the New York metropolitan opera and probably among the most famous tenors in the world at the moment.
“Performing in all these amazing old theatres is also just a great experience.
“There is something very special about performing in a place that Mozart himself conducted in.
“I just remember getting so much out of it last time that I just thought it would be good to do it again.”
It will be yet another highlight in a decade-long singing career that has encompassed a diverse range of work.
After completing an associate diploma in classical singing through the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) in 2008, Ms Young became a regular performer in shows, concerts and eisteddfods around the state, including the Launceston and Hobart Carols by Candlelight.
She has previously sung with the Southern Gospel Choir, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Encore Theatre company, Southern Gospel Choir, Melbourne Opera Company, Reprise Opera and Ten days on the Island.
Her talent is not just restricted to the microphone, with Ms Young also dabbling in piano.
It has been on stage where she has made her mark this year, however, with Les Miserables giving her an opportunity to showcase her acting skills.
She said it was difficult to compare her role as Fantine with her other stage work throughout the past 12 months.
“Doing a musical is always such a fantastic experience,” she said.
“I really loved being able to inhabit the character of Fantine and bring that emotion to the Launceston audience.
“But I still also really love singing opera, as its what I originally studied, so being asked to appear in Esque Opera was also something I enjoyed.
“They have all been so different, but I’ve had fun at each performance.”
Ms Young is in the midst of preparing herself for the challenge of singing in foreign languages.
She will be required to sing in Czech as part of one of the concerts at the Summer Nights Festival.
It represents foreign territory for the soprano, who has previously performed music in Italian, German, French and Latin.
She said her preparation consisted of more than simply learning the words of the song she was singing.
“I have to learn the diction of each word as well as its meaning,” she said.
“I don’t have time to learn the full language, so I’m focusing on pronunciation.
“I’m really looking forward to performing in front of a Czech audience and seeing their reaction.
“The festival is pretty full on in terms of the work load, but the challenge of this is part of what will make it so enjoyable and rewarding.”