When I established this business 10 years ago, I had no idea how rewarding it would be. I’ve been blessed with a successful international singing career and now I have the great joy of sharing what I’ve learned with a bunch of brilliant singers! Lessons are fun, stimulating and informative, I make sure that every singer walks out of a lesson feeling vocally improved and inspired! Apart from a solid vocal technique, I try to give my singers a toolbox of skills that will bring out their best and build confidence in performance.
I’m proud to say that many of my singers have had major successes on stage and a number have secured places in internationally prestigious colleges.
Whether you are a complete beginner, or a seasoned professional, I will work with you to achieve your optimal performance.
I look forward to singing with you!
Amelia Farrugia
Founder & Artistic Director since 2015
Amelia structures lessons around the individual — their voice, their goals, their learning style, and the specific challenges they're working through. There is no fixed template, no one-size-fits-all curriculum. What stays constant is the standard: every student is guided toward the best their voice can do, at every stage of their development.
Learn the secrets of a master performer. Amelia’s technique is informed by decades of professional singing at an elite level. She’s had singing lessons with Pavarotti & Dame Joan Sutherland and the Parisian vocal coach of Maria Callas, Janine Reiss. She has worked with supreme conductors, including Maestro Carlo Felice Cillario and Richard Bonynge. Amelia was granted an O1 VISA, reserved for elite artists, which enabled her to join the roster of soloists at The Metropolitan Opera in New York and understudy Renee Fleming, Diana Damrau & Anna Netrebko. She started working with Opera Australia at the tender age of 23.
Read MoreGraduate — Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Bachelor of Music Education, High Distinction in Voice
Winner — Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, New York (1994–1995)
Winner — Sydney Eisteddfod McDonald's Operatic Aria (1994)
Winner — Herald Sun Aria, Melbourne (1994)
Winner — Australian Singing Competition, multiple awards (1993, 1996)
NSW Young Achiever of the Year (1996)
Performed with Opera Australia, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Philharmonia
Joined the roster of soloists — The Metropolitan Opera, New York (2012)
Covered Renée Fleming, Anna Netrebko, and Diana Damrau at The Metropolitan Opera
Performed for Pope Benedict XVI — World Youth Day Final Mass (2008)
Australia Day Ambassador (2005)
First Ambassador — Sydney Eisteddfod (2003)
Board of Directors — Pacific Opera (2012)
Board — Opera Foundation for Young Australians
Vocal tutor — University of Sydney Conservatorium of Music & High School
Sydney Sings Studios are located in Neutral Bay.
Beautiful, accessible studios in the Lower North Shore, in close proximity to some of Sydney’s best schools. While enjoying the experience of singing with a grand piano, our studios provide a safe space where everyone feels at home. Parents are
welcome to stay, there are comfortable areas to sit and work, or simply listen to music and watch your child’s development.
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Watch Amelia perform and see Sydney Sings students in action — from studio sessions to recitals to international stages.
Watch on YouTubeRecordings | International Opera Roles | Opera Australia | Australian Opera Companies | Symphony Orchestra Concerts | Concert Repertoire | Education | Music Theatre | Competitions | Awards | Television | Corporate Events | Honours
Amelia Farrugia is regarded as one of the brightest stars of opera in Australia. Amelia has had a highly successful and varied Australian and International career in Opera, Music Theatre, Symphony Concert, Recital, Corporate Events, Large-Scale Outdoor Events, Recording and Television.
Amelia Farrugia's auspicious debut solo recording, Joie de vivre! was released by Universal Music Australia in December 2005 and released in the UK in October 2006. Recorded in the UK with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Alexander Briger, Joie de vivre! was nominated for a Classical Aria Award (2006). The first Australian solo artist to record on the prestigious Decca label since Dame Joan Sutherland in 1959, Amelia was featured on national television's ABC News, The Today Show, Good Morning Australia, Carols in the Domain, and on radio as ABC Classic FM's CD of the week and 2MBS FM's CD of the month.
In 2017 Amelia appeared in the world premiere of DIVA! (City Recital Hall, Sydney). An uplifting celebration of great Australian Divas, June Bronhill and Dame Joan Sutherland, with original music scored by Elena Kats-Chernin.
Amelia Farrugia runs her own business, Sydney Sings Pty Ltd, teaching singing in her elite studio, sponsored by the SBW Foundation in Neutral Bay. Sydney Sings was founded in 2015. Since that time, alumni of Sydney Sings have commenced studies in New York at The Juilliard School of Music, Parsons The New School, and New York University. Her students regularly win major singing competitions and score the highest marks in AMEB exams and school assessments.
Debut solo album released in Australia and the UK: Joie de vivre! BBC Symphony Orchestra / Alexander Briger (Decca/Universal Music). Receive The Power, The Album, 2007, Sony BMG Music Entertainment (Australia Pty Ltd) and WYD 2008. Bravo Act 2 (Sony BMG). Encore! (ABC Classics/UMA). Café Vienna (Deutsche Grammophon/UMA). The Saint of Bleecker Street, Menotti (Chandos UK). Videos: Fledermaus (OA/ABC Classics); World Youth Day 2008 Final Mass (DVD); The Opera Show (ABC Classics 2012); The Chimney Sweep, Mrs Hawk, Pinchgut (2014).
Amelia Farrugia joined the roster of solo artists for The Metropolitan Opera in New York in 2012, covering Anna Netrebko and Diana Damrau in the title role of Massenet's Manon (2012 and 2015). She covered Renée Fleming and Susan Graham as The Merry Widow (2015). She performed as Musetta in La Bohème for Opera Hong Kong (2010). Amelia performed the role of Adele in Die Fledermaus for Glyndebourne Touring Opera in the UK (2006). Amelia made her UK opera debut for Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 2004, performing Jano in Jenůfa and covering the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte while joining the female chorus of Carmen.
Amelia made a significant international debut at the Spoleto Festival (Italy) in 2001, directed by the composer himself, Gian Carlo Menotti, and conducted by Maestro Richard Hickox, in The Saint of Bleecker Street in the role of Maria Corona. (Released on CD by Chandos UK.)
Amelia Farrugia made her debut with Opera Australia as Casilda in The Gondoliers in 1994. Her roles include: Title role, The Merry Widow; Alice Ford, Falstaff; Title role, Manon (Massenet); Nedda, Pagliacci; Adina, L'elisir d'amore; Rosina, The Barber of Seville; Oscar, Un ballo in maschera; Musetta, La bohème (conducted by Maestro Carlo Felice Cillario); Tytania, A Midsummer Night's Dream; Zerlina (and cover Donna Anna), Don Giovanni; Eurydice, Orpheus in the Underworld; Nannetta, Falstaff (with Bryn Terfel); Adele, Die Fledermaus (released on ABC video); Despina, Così fan tutte; Barbarina and Susanna, Le nozze di Figaro; Papagena and The Queen of the Night, Die Zauberflöte; Clorinda, La Cenerentola; Second Niece, Peter Grimes; Second Novice, Suor Angelica; Emmie, Albert Herring; Damigella, L'incoronazione di Poppea; Zwaantie Hendricx, Batavia (Richard Mills).
Adele, Die Fledermaus (State Opera of South Australia, Opera Queensland); Norina, Don Pasquale (State Opera of South Australia and Opera Queensland); Eurydice, Orpheus in the Underworld (State Opera of South Australia); Cunegonde, Candide (Opera Queensland); Genio, Orfeo ed Eurydice (Sydney Conservatorium of Music, under Maestro Richard Bonynge); Mrs Hawk, The Chimney Sweep (Pinchgut Opera).
Amelia Farrugia is in high demand as a concert artist, having appeared with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (under Edo de Waart), all of the ABC Symphony Orchestras, the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra, and Australian Philharmonic Orchestra. Amelia performed for Opera Australia in conjunction with the Peking Opera in the Opening Ceremony of the 11th Meet in Beijing Arts Festival, attended by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, and televised for CCTV China (2011).
Amelia performed Violetta in La Traviata in concert for Opera Queensland with the Queensland Orchestra and Brisbane Arts Festival (2011), and most recently appeared in concert with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (2016) and Darwin Symphony Orchestra (2016). In 2019 she performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Lunar New Year's Eve concert in Qigang Chen's Iris dévoilée.
Internationally televised concert with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra performing Strauss' Frühlingsstimmen Waltz, The Laughing Song and Lehár's Vilja (New Year's Eve 2004). Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Haydn Scottish Songs and Mozart Vorrei spiegarvi, o Dio (2002). Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Classical Spectacular (2006), Carmina Burana, All-Strauss programs (1997, 1999 and 2001), and guest soloist at the Valentine's Day concert at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl (1998). Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Carmina Burana (2009), Christmas concerts (2004 and 1996), Chamber Music Series featuring Schubert's The Shepherd on the Rock. Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra, Mozart Vespers (1998). Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Mozart Gala (1998) and Viennese Gala (2005). Recital with virtuoso harpist Ieuan Jones. Mozart by Moonlight (1995). Twilight at Taronga (1996, 1998, 1999 and 2001). Opera in the Vineyards (1997, 2007 and 2016). Centenary of Federation Concert, Canberra (2001). The Castlemaine Festival (Victoria). Australian Philharmonic Orchestra, Deep in My Heart (2003), national tour Best of British (2001), New Year's Eve concert Springtime in Paris (2002), From Gershwin to Lloyd Webber. Opera Australia, Fanfare for the New Millennium, Opera in the Park as Musetta in La bohème, New Year's Eve Gala (2005, 2008), Olympic Gala and Tribute to Dame Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge (2004), Christmas at The House (2005). Recital at Government House for the Victor Chang Institute (2003). Recital with Sharolyn Kimmorley at the Art Gallery of NSW (2003). Fundraising recital for Opera Australia with Bryn Terfel. The Queensland Orchestra, Richard Mills St Mark's Passion (2009). Opera in the Arboretum (2010). Huntington Festival (2010). Carmina Burana and Gershwin, Sydney Philharmonia Choir (2011). Gilbert and Sullivan, Sydney Symphony Orchestra (2011). Newcastle Festival Opera (2011). Artsong NSW, The Christmas Cracker Concert (2013). Australia Club Sydney, Christmas Recital (2013 and 2016). Home Sweet Home — Tribute to Australian Divas, and Songbird with Jane Rutter, flute (2014 and 2016). La Stupenda — A Voice Eternal, Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre (2015).
International engagements have included a recital at the Australian Consulate in New York (2000), her European concert debut in a Christmas recital at Teatru Manoel, Malta (1998), a recital for the Linari Festival in Florence (2008), and The Faces of Mercy — an original sacred work by Justice George Palmer — performed at a chapel in Rome (2016).
Amelia graduated in 1992 from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with a Bachelor of Music Education and High Distinction in Voice. While in her final year, she was invited to perform the role of La Fée in the opera school production of Massenet's Cendrillon. Other studies included a Licentiate of Music in Voice, piano, musicianship, and ten years of classical ballet (honours).
Amelia began her performing career in musical theatre, appearing in The Buddy Holly Story (1990) and in the Melbourne and Sydney seasons of The Phantom of the Opera as the alternate Christine (1992–1994). Her music theatre experience also includes Maria in West Side Story and Josephine in HMS Pinafore.
Amelia Farrugia was a winner of the 1995 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in New York and has won many major singing competitions in Australia. In the 1992 City of Sydney Eisteddfod, she won the Open Operatic Aria, Mozart Soprano Aria and Lyric Soprano Awards. In 1993, she won the Australian Singing Competition Marianne Mathy Scholarship, Commonwealth Bank Award and EMI Recording Prize. In 1994, Amelia won the McDonald's Aria in the City of Sydney Eisteddfod, the Herald Sun Aria in Melbourne, and the Australian Finals of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions Competition. In 1996, she won the Opera Award in the Australian Singing Competition. In 1999, she was the recipient of the Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarship. In 2001, Amelia represented her country and competed in the nationally televised finals of the International Singing Contest "New Voices" in Gütersloh, Germany.
Amelia became the NSW Young Achiever of the Year (1996). She received a Green Room Award for Oscar in Opera Australia's Un ballo in maschera (2009). Amelia was nominated for a Classical Aria Award (2006), was four times nominated for Opera Australia's Remy Martin Award, and four times nominated for a Green Room Award for her leading roles in Manon, L'elisir d'amore, Le nozze di Figaro and Die Zauberflöte. She was nominated for a Helpmann Award for Musetta in La Bohème (2005) and for a MO Award in 2007 and 2008.
Amelia's numerous television appearances have included The Today Show (2003 and 2005), Mornings with Kerri-Anne (2003), Carols in the Domain (2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2011), In-Entertainment (2003), Good Morning Australia (2000 and 2005), Compass, Nightline (1998), The Midday Show with Ray Martin, Who Dares Wins, Ernie and Denise, the Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday Appeal, Musetta in La Bohème live on ABC 2 (2008), and Studio 10 (2013).
Amelia is one of Australia's celebrity speakers, performing at various corporate events. Her clients include The Commonwealth Bank of Australia, McDonald's Australia, Orlando Wyndham, Veuve Clicquot, Citibank, The AIDS Trust of Australia, Honda, Queensland Rail, Children's Cancer Institute Australia, SAAB, Leighton Contractors, Dom Pérignon, National Breast Cancer Foundation, ASX Reuters and Piaget (Shanghai), and the Victor Chang Institute — in the presence of HRH Crown Princess Mary and HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark.
Amelia was invited to sing for Pope Benedict XVI in the Final Mass for World Youth Day 2008. Amelia Farrugia was named an Australia Day Ambassador in 2005 and was invited to perform the Australian National Anthem at Government House. Amelia was honoured as the very first Ambassador for the Sydney Eisteddfod (2003) and became an Ambassador for St Lucy's School, Wahroonga (2007). She joined the Council of Patrons for Pacific Opera (2008) and the Board of Directors for Pacific Opera (2012). She joined the Board of Directors for Opera Foundation Australia in 2010.
Contact Amelia with any questions, every voice is welcome!
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