Lana was not even a teenager when she first sang for Opera Australia. It set her on a lifelong path

Soprano Lana Kains was not yet a teenager when she sang in the children’s chorus for an Opera Australia touring production of La Boheme in Darwin.

“It was really my first exposure to opera,” she says. “I remember being there as a kid and thinking, ‘What is this weird, cool thing?’ I was just having the best time.”

Kains, 28, is one of seven young artists whose talent, commitment and infectious enthusiasm for the artform may excite a new generation of opera-lovers.

The new recruits to Opera Australia’s Young Artist Program will spend 18 months in a paid position with the national opera company as they develop their vocal artistry and stagecraft, working with industry experts.

“Audiences love to see young people do well, to be on stage – and that’s one of the things that the Young Artist Program can do,” says program head Francis Greep.

“People can hear a young singer and their voice touches them, it really affects them. They say, ‘I’m going to follow someone through their career’.”

The excitement of the newcomers is palpable. They are Isobel Archer, repetiteur; Daniel Kramer, bass-baritone; Jake Lyle, baritone; Sidra Nissen, mezzosoprano; Edwina Strobl, director; Christopher Whalley, tenor; and soprano Kains.

While Opera Australia has previously had young artist programs, the new iteration started last year and is the first with dedicated staff to run it. Maureen Wheeler, opera-lover and the co-founder of Lonely Planet, has given “extraordinary” support to get the program up and running.

The young artists will be immersed in the many dimensions of opera production, from intensive voice coaching and language lessons, to group workshops in acting and movement.

Greep says there is “incredible” talent already evident among the young artists. They will be guided through a bespoke program that recognises that, with expert coaching, their capabilities and voice types may change over time.

“It’s exactly the right time for them, where they are ready to work intensely and to develop their potential,” he says.

While he says young singers should not be pushed into major roles before their voices are ready, the Young Artist Program provides them with opportunities to perform that are appropriate for their experience.

He mentions Emma Matthews who was a young artist with Opera Australia in the 1990s and went on to be the company’s reigning soprano.

Graduating artists from the 2025 intake can be heard alongside this year’s newcomers in the Young Artists In Concert showcase in Sydney in August.

One of the graduates, soprano Chelsea Burns, will also appear as Donna Elvira in OA’s national tour of Don Giovanni from July, taking in regional centres in South Australia, Victoria, NSW and Tasmania.

OA received applications for the program from 96 people who first submitted a video audition.

Tenor Christopher Whalley, 26, grew up in the country music capital of Tamworth and discovered opera through his love of singing and drama, taking him to the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

For his final audition in March, he sang Macduff’s revenge aria from Verdi’s Macbeth and a comic aria from Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio to show off his range of expression.

He was at church the next day when he took the phone call that “has changed my life”.

“It’s not lost on us that this is an incredible and rare opportunity for young singers,” he says, describing the mood among his fellow young artists. “We are all excited to get started, keen to jump in.

“The general vibe is rather giddy.”

Opera Australia’s Young Artists In Concert, Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House, August 2